Thibaut Pinot: "It gives me great pleasure to wear the mountain jersey in the Giro, the race of my heart"

Thibaut Pinot is at the Giro d'Italia with good form and the freedom to choose his own goals. For the time being a choice isn't made, however the Frenchman has put his legs to good use as he jumped to the lead of the KOM classification on stage 3.

“If wearing the KOM jersey helps bring some color back into the team and keeps us on a good footing for the rest of the first week, then that's pretty cool," Pinot said after the stage. "It's a nice bonus and makes me happy to have this jersey for the first time," Pinot said in a post-race interview. "It gives me great pleasure to wear the mountain jersey in the Giro, the race of my heart, for the first time in my career. The blue jersey appeals to me, but it's not a goal for the next three weeks. Although I can change my mind during the last week of the race. We will see."

With the breakaway caught, the Frenchman didn't have to put much effort into grabbing those points, only surging clear in the peloton on both occasions in the final meters. With the possible GC ambitions intact he then rode through the finish safely in the peloton, but was rewarded with a trip to the podium. Albeit short, his efforts now see him with 12 points, whilst former KOM leader Paul Lapeira has 6 points.

Today's finale into Lago Laceno will be well suited to his abilities and with good form, he'll be an outsider. However he isn't sure the GC riders will fight for the win. “I don't expect a big fight tomorrow, but there will undoubtedly be gaps, because the last climb is very tough. There will be a big battle to be in the breakaway of the day, because the pink jersey will probably change shoulders tomorrow," he concluded.