Thibaut Pinot is in the final weeks of his career, and the Tour de Luxembourg was supposed to be his last stage race. However, the French climber clearly had higher hopes for his final race. The Groupama-FDJ rider had to abandon the opening stage early due to illness.
Before the Tour de Luxembourg, Pinot had already informed the French TV channel L’Équipe that he wasn’t feeling completely fit. “Over the past weekend and earlier this week, I got sick,” Pinot said. Nonetheless, he started on Wednesday, but the Groupama-FDJ cyclist had to withdraw in the middle of the stage because he was feeling weakened.
His teammate David Gaudu also had to withdraw due to illness on the opening stage in Luxembourg, leaving Groupama-FDJ with only four riders in the race from the very beginning. The French champion Valentin Madouas is the leader in the mountains classification.
However, for the 33-year-old Pinot, his career is not over yet. The Il Lombardia, scheduled for Saturday, October 7th, is expected to be the race where the Frenchman will conclude his successful career. Pinot won the Italian competition in 2018.