Launched in pursuit of Bob Jungels, the Groupama-FDJ climber came up against the Luxembourger, winner of the 9th stage: "At the top of the last climb with 20 or 25 seconds late, I understood that it was going to be complicated ", delivered Thibaut Pinot who finally finished fourth in the stage.
"Clogging two minutes takes a lot of effort and I paid for it at the end," noted the Franc-Comtois.
The unfortunate hero of the 2019 Tour de France, which he was in a position to win, was rewarded for his attempt at the combativeness prize.
A way to underline the contrast with his difficult day experienced the day before between Dole and Lausanne.
First caught in a fall, he then received a hand in the face by hitting the arm of a Trek assistant who was holding a bag on the side of the road.
Frenchman Thibaud Pinot, Combativity Prize during the 9th stage of the Tour de France, July 10, 2022 in Châtel Thomas SAMSON AFP
"It's a prize that suits me well. But the best prize is still the stage victory, displays the 32-year-old rider, ambitious again. It was the first day of the Tour during which I felt little Well, it gives ideas for the future."
Affected by the Covid-19 the week before the big start of the Tour de France, Pinot, who confessed to "not great sensations" the day before, was reassured.
As often with him, after the rain comes the good weather.
Second in the fourth stage of the Tour des Alpes in April, he had sought revenge for success the next day.
"It was a final that favored him (Jungels), he is much more powerful than me on the flat. I only regained time in the difficult passages", explained Pinot that an alpine triptych awaits after the day of Monday rest.
© 2022 AFP