Groupama-FDJ's Thibaut Pinot may not have done as well as expected in this year's Tour de France, but according to his brother and coach Julien, he will be on his home road between Relais and La Planche des Belle Filles on Saturday for the stage 20 individual time He plans to compete in the trial, passing his high school and university, his alma mater, along the way.
A stage win at the summit of the final climb could be a humiliation for Pinot, who started the Tour as one of the favorites to win, but suddenly lost more than 25 minutes on stage 8 when he was unable to overcome a back injury sustained in the opening stage crash in Nice.
"It's a great opportunity to do a time trial on roads I've ridden thousands and thousands of times," Julien Pinot told the Groupama-FDJ website on Friday. The start is in front of the former high school in Thibault, 50 meters from our parents' house and past the university where we both went to school. It couldn't be a more homey place."
"It's also a comfort to Thibault, and the public is waiting for him. 'You have to enjoy not only the performance, but this very rare moment in a rider's career. It will be a happier note to end this Tour on."
The 36km test is flat in the first half and hilly in the second, and while some riders have switched from time trial bikes to road bikes to tackle the climbs of La Planche des Belles Fils, Julien Pinot sees the stage as consisting of three parts.
"It's a very long time trial, very few riders have ridden such a long time trial this year," he said. There are three parts. The first 16 kilometers are mostly flat. The next 15 kilometers are a gentle climb, and then there is a very technical 3 kilometer descent. Then you arrive at the foot of the Pass de Belle Feuille.
"In less than an hour's effort, the riders experience a variety of profiles and pedal strokes. In that sense, it is a very unique race. This will inevitably lead to some surprises and gaps," said the Groupama-FDJ coach.
Thibaut Pinot, the 2016 French time trial champion, will face race leader Roglic, who is looking for his first Tour victory.
Fourth-placed Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo) will be looking to regain at least some time on third-placed Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana), while 2017 time trial world champion Tom Dumoulin, who helped Roglic in this year's race, is looking for an overall free to fly away from ninth place.
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