"Friday and Saturday’s stages took their toll" - Thibaut Pinot still unable to take farewell stage win at the Tour de France

In the final Tour de France of his career, Thibaut Pinot has been battling hard to try and grab a farewell stage win. Despite three top 10 finishes, as of yet the Groupama - FDJ star has been unable.

On the last day before the second Tour de France rest day, Pinot was once again in the breakaway and seemed one of the favourites to take the win. As it turned out, Wout Poels took the victory with Pinot being forced to settle for 6th. “It’s a shame because it was a good chance today, but I was again at the limit,” he said to the official website of Groupama - FDJ.

“They were stronger up front. We couldn’t follow them in the Aravis climb, and we lost time in the final," the 33-year-old continued. "For sure I’m disappointed after spending three days in front. Eventually, I needed to feel good today, but I was dead. Friday and Saturday’s stages took their toll, and I surely paid for it today.”

Although he has previously expressed his intention only to take stage wins and not compete for the general classification, Pinot is now back up to 13th, just four spots behind his teammate and leading Frenchman at the race, David Gaudu.