Thibaut Pinot sets sights in the Tour de France: "A victory on the Tour is always beautiful"

Thibaut Pinot has shown very meaningful signs of being close to his best level, as he rode to a strong win at the Tour of the Alps and put on a good performance at the Tour de Romandie. He won't have the same ambitions he's had in the past, but he's targeting the Tour de France with dreams ahead.

He's talked about his recent win in an interview with AFP: "It was very hard mentally, long, especially because you can't see the end of the tunnel. We know the date of the fall, but we never know when we're going to to be healed," he said of the last few years which have been complicated with injuries and back issues hindering his best performances. "The end point, the exit from the tunnel, was the victory in the Tour of the Alps."

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With a successful spring out of the way, Pinot will have his next goals in the summer, in a race that has marked his career more than any other: The Tour de France. "A victory on the Tour is always beautiful. I've never won the top climber's jersey. I've dreamed of this jersey since I was a child," he tells, revealing some of the goals he will have during the three-week race.

Groupama - FDJ will have the likes of Michael Storer, David Gaudu and Valentin Madouas - a very strong climbing contingent. However, the general classification is not a goal for Pinot, who has made it very clear before the race: "It's not the mountains that scare me, I still have a lot of apprehension because of the fall. You have to be careful. I'm not yet mentally ready to fight for three weeks. I don't want to relive what I've been through so much that I'm taking even fewer risks than before," he added.

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"This is what is a bit complicated to manage on the Tour. You have more chances of falling in the first week than in the Giro or the Vuelta. Pogacar and Roglic are almost 100 percent unbeatable and problem-free," Pinot pointed out.

He'll be fighting for stage wins, possibly the KOM jersey. "It remains to be seen whether I am able to find my place at the head of the peloton and rub shoulders with the others... But there is still a place on the podium and it is within the reach of many," he concluded.