Thibaut Pinot

This is the page about Thibaut Pinot. The French cyclist has previously attracted attention with multiple stage wins in the Tour de France and a victory in the Tour of Lombardy. He currently rides for Groupama-FDJ. IDLProCycling.com keeps a close eye on all news related to Pinot, along with maintaining a biography of his career.

Pinot struggles to confirm form after 2014 Tour de France podium finish

Thibaut Pinot, born in 1990 in Lure, France, started his cycling career after a successful period in the junior category, joining the U23 team of Française des Jeux. With this team, now known as Groupama-FDJ, Pinot made his professional debut in 2010. His first seasons in the pro peloton were decent, but his big breakthrough came in the 2012 Tour de France. As a young rider, he impressively won the eighth stage, encouraged enthusiastically by team manager Marc Madiot, and finished tenth in the overall classification.

A new French grand tour rider seemed to have emerged. However, Pinot found it difficult to meet the high expectations of the French public, resulting in inconsistent performances. Hampered by fear of descending in 2013, bad luck and fear of the peloton in 2015, pressure to perform in 2016 and injuries in 2019 and 2020, several attempts for a good overall classification in the Tour ended in disappointment. In the 2014 edition, however, he delivered a remarkably strong performance in the Tour de France, securing a podium finish in Paris behind Vincenzo Nibali and Jean-Christophe Péraud.

Many tears for struggling Thibaut Pinot

Despite numerous setbacks, Thibaut Pinot consistently found ways to bounce back. His achievements include two more notable stage wins in the Tour de France - in 2015 at Alpe d'Huez and in 2019 at Tourmalet. He also claimed the French National Championship in 2016 and had an exceptionally strong latter part of the 2018 season. That year, he converted his form into two stage victories in the Vuelta a España and triumphed in the Italian autumn races of Milan-Turin and the Tour of Lombardy. His performance in the Giro d'Italia was also impressive, finishing fourth overall in 2017 and clinching a stage win in the penultimate leg.

However, 2021 turned out to be a challenging year for the Frenchman. A crash in the opening stage of the 2020 Tour de France was followed by persistent back issues, preventing him from reaching his top form. In 2022, Pinot set his sights on returning to the winner's circle, shifting his focus away from general classifications to recapture the feeling of victory. His first success came in the Tour of the Alps, but the highlight of his season was a stage win in the Tour of Switzerland. While he rode competently in both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, the Pinot of previous years still seemed out of reach.

The last dance for Pinot

In January, Pinot announced that he would retire from the sport at the end of the 2023 season. Ahead of the Giro d'Italia, Pinot also contested the Tour de Romandie, where he finished in fifth place overall after a second-place stage finish on the penultimate day – a summit finish to Thyon. Pinot led Groupama–FDJ at the Giro d'Italia and ended up winning the blue jersey as leader of the mountains classification. Pinot worked his way up from seventh overall to a remarkable fifth-place overall finish in Rome.