La Rochelle (AFP)
Thibaut Pinot, in perdition in the Pyrenees, does not suffer from any fracture, announced his team on Monday after exams taken during the day of rest.
"Thibaut Pinot had an MRI of the lumbar spine and pelvis. Imaging reveals the presence of hematomas in the lumbar musculature and inflammation of the sacrum without fracture," Groupama-FDJ indicates in a press release.
"These injuries, consequences of his fall during the first stage of the Tour, correspond to the painful symptoms felt by Thibaut at maximum effort," adds the French team.
After giving up more than 18 minutes on the contenders for the general classification on Saturday in the first Pyrenean stage, the triple stage winner on the Tour de France explained that he was very handicapped by back pain.
"My back hurts so much that I have no strength, I cannot pedal," he explained.
He had fallen on the first day of the Great Loop, just three kilometers from the finish line in Nice.
"I have a bruise on my back because a competitor got into me, he detailed the next day. That's what worries me the most."
Again embarrassed after a few kilometers of ascent, Thibaut Pinot gave up again about 10 minutes on the best Sunday during the second Pyrenean round.
© 2020 AFP