BRATISLAVA. If you regularly watch cycling on Eurosport TV, the following footage is familiar to you.
In one of the commercials you can see a gentleman with graying hair emotionally experiencing the end of the stage at the Tour de France. Shouting and screaming. The intensity of his speech escalates and finally, with joy, he screams and raises his hands above his head.
The team is a former cyclist, two-time winner of the Paris-Roubaix monument and today the general manager of the Groupama team – FDJ Marc Madiot.
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In this way, he encouraged Thibaut Pinot during a stage that culminated in the ascent to the iconic Col du Tourmalet. The Frenchman had the most strength in the final duel of the mountaineers and achieved a very valuable victory.
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However, another did not come for a long time. The wait for him was endless, exactly 1007 days. Only after so long did Pinot be able to raise his hands above his head again at the finish.
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In Friday’s final stage of the race, the Around the Alps won the escape, defeating the Spanish David De La Cruz in the last tens of meters.
He did not come to Slovakia
The native of Lure went through a difficult period when his sports form was not at the level he would have liked.
After the aforementioned triumph at the Tour de France 2019, he was fifth at the beginning of the last competition block with a minimal loss to the main competitors.
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The French saw in him the new Bernard Hinault, who is still the last domestic winner of the most famous bicycle race. But the reality was different. Pinot resigned in the 19th stage due to injury and mourned the wasted chance of life.
He was to return to the competition carousel at the Around Slovakia race. The organizers called him the biggest star of the event
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