Thibaut Pinot: "For me it is now important to continue and win new races"

Yesterday Thibaut Pinot saw his almost 1000-day winless streak come to an end, as he joined the breakaway of the fourth stage of the Tour of the Alps, dropped all his rivals, but was caught almost in sight of the line by Miguel Ángel López. It was a very emotional day for Pinot, but today he got his revenge, as he deployed the same strategy, only this time succeeding in the finale.

“Today I knew from the start that it was going to be a very tough day. I had good legs and I like these conditions. It was really important for me to win: I was very disappointed after yesterday. In fact, I was so disappointed and desperate that I had been thinking about this stage since last night,” Pinot said in a post-race interview with CyclingPro.

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With freedom in the general classification, it was no arduous task to be in the day's breakaway as there wasn't much resistance opposing a strong group from going up the road. From early on, in the first ascents of the day, Pinot settled in the head of the race together with David de la Cruz. The duo rolled alone for almost half of the stage, and was separated only in the final ascent when Pinot went on the attack.

“In such a stage with rain and difficult climbs and dangerous descents, I really wanted to be in the leading group: I knew that if I wanted to win the stage, I would have more opportunities from the leading group, and that's how it happened. I met David De la Cruz, who was also very strong. We worked well together and I think the final and the final sprint were very nice," he added. Despite de la Cruz catching up with the Frenchman in the descent, he didn't have the legs to match Pinot's sprint at the end.

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“For me it is now important to continue and win new races. I want to dedicate my victory to the whole world and to all who have supported me. It's also my dad's birthday, so it's a nice present for him," he concluded. Pinot's success will come as a huge relief and boost in motivation, and in the coming week he will have more opportunities to succeed at the Tour de Romandie.

Équipe Cycliste Groupama-FDJ

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Ça y est, c'est fait et pour notre plus grand plaisir : le retour de Thibaut Pinot vainqueur 🙌 📸 @GettySport

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