"He will attack the Giro in top condition" - Cyrille Guimard advises Thibaut Pinot to race Giro d'Italia like Richard Virenque
Cycling
Shall Thibaut Pinot aim for stages or general classification on upcoming Giro d'Italia is the neverending dilemma for riders such as him, riders who can finish in top10 or even a top5, but who are also able to fight for stages and/or KOM jersey.
2nd place on the top of Thyon 2000 was a good sign for the experienced Frenchman towards his Giro d'Italia preparation, where he should be riding in top condition. But even more importantly, racing outside his homeland, Pinot should be able to finally enjoy cycling without the immense pressure that comes from being French GC rider riding Tour de France.
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"Yes, it's a good sign, he will attack the Giro in top condition. Already when he is in Italy or Switzerland he is less stressed than when he races in France, he arrives there without pressure," Cyrille Guimard told Cyclism'actu. "He doesn't arrive saying "I want to win the Giro", when you have Evenepoel and Roglic, it's difficult."
If we are lucky enough, we might be even catch a glimpse of flying Pinot from before his 2019 knee injury after which he never fully came back both; physically and mentally. However he should not have the same objectives as he had in the past.
"It's the ambiguity. This is also often the case for riders who can make a top 10 or even a top 5, but who are also able to get the best climber's jersey and stages. I would be Pinot, the first stages I would end up on the bus and then I would play, like Richard Virenque did. But it's not easy to tell yourself that you have to get up the first few days," Guimard concluded.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- exactly, he had an amazing season, but with these overstatements they don‘t do him good.Ketterechts08-11-2026
- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
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