After the disappointment, Thibaut Pinot is already looking to the future. The French rider, forced Friday to retire at the 19th stage, two days before the arrival of a Tour de France which he was among the favorites for the final victory, spoke on Twitter and is part of his intention to return to the roads of the Great Loop next year.
THE ADVICE OF THOMAS VOECKLER - "The dice are thrown, Egan Bernal will be winner of the Tour de France"
"I leave the road of the Tour with tears in my eyes, my head full of memories ... I think of my whole team, my family, you who gave me chills and incredible strength for three weeks", he explains to his fans, in a message showing him in tears, comforted by his teammate William Bonnet. While he was the strongest mountain in the Pyrenees, including a victory at the top of the Tourmalet, the Franc-Comtois quickly left behind Friday, one hour after the departure of Saint-Jean-de-France. Maurienne, diminished by a muscular lesion.
1/2 I leave the road of the Tour full of tears, memories full of my head ... I think of my whole team, my family, you who gave me chills and incredible strength for 3 weeks . pic.twitter.com/CIIQ2RGlfZ
- PINOT Thibaut (@ThibautPinot) July 27, 2019A victory at Tourmalet
"I always fought, I thought, he said in a first reaction after the race." I had always hoped to have this little bit of luck, I felt since Sunday, after the Pyrenees, I was able to do it. "" But we'll never know, "he continued, crying. It will take time (to recover), but it's the Tour. "
But this Saturday, the tone is now more conquering, and the winner of the Tour of Lombardy is already thinking of next season. "I do not know what the rest of the season has in store for me, but I'm sure I'll be starting the Tour in 2020," he explains on Twitter. A strong statement, as the rider of the Groupama-FDJ formation made his return this year on the French race, he who had long preferred to the roads of the Tour the Italian mountains of the Giro.