"I want to be at the Tour" - Thibaut Pinot motivated to be at the start of Tour de France in July

Thibaut Pinot arrived to Rome, wearing the blue jersey for the best rider in mountain classification, as the 5th man of recently finished Giro d'Italia. And while the French climber would have certainly loved to have left his ultimate Corsa Rosa with a stage win, he has to be satisfied with what he achieved over the course of last three weeks.

"The objective at the start of this Giro was a stage victory, that's for sure," explains Pinot. "But hey, I also came to do well in general classification and fight with the best. The icing on the cake, it's this blue jersey for best climber that I've been looking for since day 3 so yes, I'm proud of my Giro."

Pinot reminds that while his name was mainly associated with Tour de France, his palmares from the Italian grand tour are just as impressive. "It's a bit of paradox of my career in the end, my defeats were often more beautiful than my victories. What I remember is that I took advantage of my Giro and for me, it will remain the best race of my life."

"I want to be at the Tour," he told Eurosport. "I hope I will get answers quickly. With the legs I have, which I have proven, with this top 5 at the Giro... I am motivated, I want to help the team, so I want to be there. Afterwards, the decision is not mine, but whether it is positive or negative, I hope I will know it quickly because I need to project myself quickly on the continuation of the season," concludes Pinot.