Sassenage (France) (AFP)

Thibaut Pinot, who "has a lot of trouble" after his fall from the first stage, intends to finish the Tour de France and "go to Paris", the term scheduled for next Sunday.

"As long as I can continue, I will," said the Franc-Comtois of the Groupama-FDJ team on Monday during the second day of rest in Isère.

QUESTION: Where are you physically and morally?

ANSWER: "The morale is fine, I have known better, I have known worse, I am doing with it. I am always in the optics of an improvement even if there is very little evolution in Concerns the back. I have an autonomy of thirty minutes of maximum effort, where I can hold the best, after I am quickly limited. I can not develop what I want and I struggle a lot. "

Q: Are you considering abandonment?

A: "Basically, the Tour de France is an adventure. I was the leader of the team, I don't want to let down my friends, the whole team. My duty is to go as far as in Paris. Apart from a miracle, there is very little chance that I will weigh on the race. But the Tour is the only race that you cannot give up. As long as I can continue, I will. will do. "

Q: Is it also to escape criticism?

A: "It's out of pride that I don't want to give up, to let the team down. There are days when I'm one of the worst in the peloton. I was scheduled to be in front. and I am fighting to be part of the gruppetto. But there is no other solution. "

Q: Do you still spend so much time in care?

A: "With my physiotherapist and my osteoarthritis, we are about three hours a day on the Tour. I have very little free time to be quiet in my room, it weighs. But, without them, I don't. would not have continued the Tour. They are the ones who keep me going. I did not expect that. The first stage was horrible to live and from there, it was a hassle. I rarely had feelings too bad, I force twice as much as I should. I feel like I take two steps every day. "

Q: How is the team reacting?

A: "The group remains united, the atmosphere is good. We really took a hit on the first stage and it's hard to recover on a Tour de France. We can't rest to heal the injuries. It's not easy to go from one goal to another. We were formatted for the general classification. But the guys are motivated. I hope that in the third week, we will get a good result. "

Q: Would you have been able to fight against the former if you had been in full possession of your means?

A: "I don't really know. At my level, I am able to play with riders like Uran, Porte, Landa. I am largely able to be with them. Roglic and Pogacar are stronger, it could be. With my condition, for sure, I could have played the podium. "

Q: You said in the Pyrenees that this Tour was "a turning point" in your career.

What did you mean?

R: "Perhaps I reacted warmly. I don't think this is the right moment to talk about it. There will be a reflection to do for the orientation to be given for the next big tours, we will see this winter . "

Q: Are Covid tests an additional concern?

Is it anguish?

A: "Normally no. We did internal checks during the week, everyone was negative. We are doing everything well. Normally there is no problem. We do not think too much about it. I hope that" no rider will be affected if we haven't done this really difficult Tour de France for nothing. "

Comments collected during a videoconference interview

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