Megeve (France) (AFP)
Thibaut Pinot, who fell on Saturday in the 4th stage of the Dauphiné between Ugine and Megève, questioned the condition of the road which was fatal to several riders, in particular the Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk and the German Emanuel Buchmann, forced to abandonment.
The Frenchman, second in the overall standings, got away with a few scratches but said he was "scared".
"We were in the top ten and in the first corner, Kruijswijk slips through the gravel and takes us with him," said the leader of the Groupama-FDJ team after the finish.
"I had a beautiful sun, but I'm lucky. I don't have much considering the fall I had. I was scared. I have a few scratches but it's especially psychologically that it leaves traces ", added the Franc-Comtois by specifying that it is his second fall in two races:" It is not the ideal.
"We recognized this route during training in July," continued Pinot. "We really thought that they were going to do it again, that it was impossible for a bicycle race to pass there. It is practicable limit on mountain bikes, then on road bikes ..."
A few moments before the passage of the race, a double announcement was made on Radio-Tour to mention the danger of this passage, the descent of the unprecedented pass of Plan-Bois, which was 30 kilometers after the start of Ugine. A "fast and winding descent" mention along with the danger sign appeared in the route book for the stage, just like for the descent of the Col des Aravis a few kilometers further.
On arrival at the Megève altiport, Pinot settled the group of favorites in the sprint for 9th place on the stage.
"It climbed very hard in Bisanne, there was not much to do. Jumbo ran smart. There was no opening today, we will see tomorrow (Sunday). I hope that there will not be too many consequences and that the legs will be good, "commented the Frenchman, in a good position to do significantly better than last year in the final classification of the Dauphiné (5th).
© 2020 AFP