Thibaut Pinot: "I've been waiting so long to be among the favourites again"

Thibaut Pinot has talked about his recent performance at Tirreno-Adriatico and how he feels in relation to his current form that has seen him between the big favourites at the Italian race.

"I've not felt that good since the 2020 Critérium du Dauphiné and, a year and a half later, I feel like I've got a new lease of life. I hope that for me this is the start of a renaissance." Pinot told L'Equipe.

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"After [the time trial], I said to myself 'don't put pressure on yourself, do your kilometres and then see'. The next day I worked a bit for Arnaud and I already did a higher four-minute power output than in the time trial, so the legs were there," he said, regarding his start in the Italian race. Pinot was not planning on making a tilt at the general classification, however after strong performances at the Bellante and Fermo hilly stages, Pinot decided to test himself in the queen stage to Carpegna where Tadej Pogacar decimated the field.

Pinot said of the double ascent to the Appennine climb: "On the first ascent, I looked back, and there were only 20 of us. When you don't understand why the others were dropped, you know you're on a good day. My morale is at nine out of 10. I have to enjoy this."

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"I've been waiting so long to be among the favourites again, and not dropped in the gruppetto 10 or 15 minutes back. I don't want to experience that again," he added. After a promising start to his career, Pinot has often struggled with inconsistency throughout his career, often suffering in the heat as his dream race the Tour the France takes place in the summer. In 2019 Pinot was in top form and within the fight for the win in the final week of the race, but suffered a muscle tear after banging his thigh on the handlebars, and abandoned during the penultimate mountain stage whilst sitting in fifth place. He has since the Tour de France 2020 struggled to find his best form, however last week he's shown very good signs once again.

"I'm not up to my 100 per cent potential, and that gives me confidence and calmness for the rest of the season. I want to really play a role. If I can win something before the Tour de France, that would be ideal," he concluded. Pinot finished Tirreno-Adriatico in eighth place and will be eyeing the Tour of the Alps and the Tour de Romandie later this spring where he will be hoping to achieve more strong results.