In difficulty this Tuesday during the second stage of the Tour des Alpes, Thibaut Pinot is not rid of his back pain, according to his sporting director at Groupama-FDJ Philippe Mauduit.
The first test is obviously inconclusive for Thibaut Pinot. Came to the 2021 edition of the Tour des Alpes in order to take stock of his current level and the state of his back, which has been a problem for him since the fall he suffered in the final of the first stage of the Tour de France 2020 in Nice. But, while Simon Yates was the strongest this Tuesday at the finish of the second stage of the event, the leader of the Groupama-FDJ team was struggling. The Franc-Comtois crossed the finish line more than twelve minutes after the Briton from the BikeExchange formation. In a statement from the French training, the sports director Philippe Mauduit does not hide it: ” We are disappointed, Thibaut Pinot the first “. A disappointment whose source is indeed the back of the French. “There is nothing to hide: Thibaut came to test himself and today (Tuesday), we see that after his cut and his treatment, he is still in pain », Adds Philippe Mauduit.
Philippe Mauduit reacts after the day of Thibaut Pinot, arrived at 12’11 behind the winner Simon Yates ⤵ pic.twitter.com/575IF2JRwk
– Groupama-FDJ Cycling Team (@GroupamaFDJ) April 20, 2021
Pinot handicapped by its back, not by its state of form
Back pain that Thibaut Pinot “felt very early in the race” and “when it started, he was immediately put in difficulty”. Philippe Mauduit assures him, his runner struggled “not because of his state of form but because of the pain”. A concern appeared during the race while the Franc-Comtois “felt good in training, he did not feel pain, which allowed him to resume competition”, assured in a statement the team doctor Jacky Maillot. The latter adds that ” unfortunately, the pace of the race awakens the pains “. The sporting director, for his part, assures us that before the start of the stage “we were not certain that everything was going well, but neither was the certainty that everything was going badly”, adding that “it is not not what we wanted but that’s how it is ”. Pain which, for the moment, should not encourage Thibaut Pinot to throw in the towel on the Tour des Alpes. “Human nature is sometimes formidable but when it is out of order, there is no miracle, concludes Philippe Mauduit. Everything has been done to make it work. We will discuss it tonight, but we will be there tomorrow to race. »
