Thibaut Pinot shuts down potential Maglia Azura criticism: "I don't think I'm wasting any energy at the moment"
Cycling
Thibaut Pinot successfully defends his blue jersey in slippery stage 5 by sneaking into the early breakaway himself and collecting another 10 points which sees him extend his lead ahead of Amanuel Ghebrezabhier by to now 14 points of advantage over the Eritrean climber. And he does so without even tapping into his reserves according to his own words.
"I don't think I'm wasting any energy at the moment. I'm having fun, and it also allows me to think about other things and to have this back-up plan if things go wrong in the general classification," explains the French climber at the microphone of Eurosport.
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Thibaut Pinot also came back to the crashes that marked the end of this stage, one of which happened directly in front of him right at the start of the day. "I was lucky not to fall. We knew there would be a big risk of falling today, it was stressful and I think everyone is happy to be on the bus tonight. The Italian roads are very beautiful, but when it rains, the roads are slippery. It's Italy, it's like that," he concludes.
Thibaut Pinot needs to remain sharp, because although his lead appears very luxurious, tomorrow's stage 6 will offer up to 27 points into KOM classification that will be likely distributed between breakaway of the day. The Frenchman keeps his cards open, however without spending too much energy has already built himself a comfortable lead in the KOM classification lead.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Pidcock finished 9th place, 29 minutes down. he is a helluva rider, so gutsy. and he is amazing at all disciplines. but this headline is . . .mij09-11-2026
- I know, watch the video. and listen to her competitors. it was a tricky tacky call at best. WTF is this guy talking about??? my original comment was from the picture it didn't look like anything.mij09-11-2026
- I dunno what you're talking about. you make no sense. MS's competitor and the competitors coach said it was BS. she didn't deviate in a way that relegation should be required. revel LOL. you're so cool, in your own mind.mij09-11-2026
- deviation lol, watch the videomij09-11-2026
- the 'No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines' comment was unfortunately a bit off. didn't you just boast about your principles in the comments section of another article?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- Are you MrMauMau 2.0? Nothing you are saying is really relevant. Vaguely connected, but irrelevant. The conversation is whether Schreiber impeded Brand or not.
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026
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