Tour de France 2019 **SPOILERS**

[roadrash]

nightmare for pinot , almost 3 mins behind after having a dressing changed

 

[iandg]

Doesn't look good for Pinot

 

[smutchin]

Doesn't look good for Pinot

Not even his fault this time.

Even if he can carry on, Gaudu has already been dropped from the yellow jersey group, which doesn't bode well.

Bardet also looks in danger of being dropped.

 

[gavroche]

I feel so sorry for Pinot . His Tour is coming to an abrupt end. He did not deserve that. What a shame. He is showing so much courage though but to no avail I think, the pain in his knee will become too much.

 

[roadrash]

pinot abandons in tears , its the right thing to do for him

 

[smutchin]

He's carrying on riding but he's in tears. Don't know if that's from the pain or the fact that he's just seen his best ever chance of winning the Tour go down the toilet.

ETA: he stopped as I was writing that.

 

[iandg]

pinot abandons in tears , its the right thing to do for him

Feel gutted for him

 

[roadrash]

yeah , no one wants to see that

 

[smutchin]

Lutsenko and Caruso are both in the break, so if either of them can get over the Iseran first, they'll take the spotty jumper off Bardet.

This is in danger of turning into a bad day for France.

ETA: actually, just did the maths and Lutsenko would still be a point behind Bardet if he takes the 40 points for Iseran, so he'll need to take the Madeleine as well if he wants the spots. Caruso has already bagged a few points on the first two climbs of the day.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Pinot is beautiful to watch at his best, but he has this fragility and bad luck that always seems to let him down. He just doesn't seem to be quite tough enough, sadly.

 

[iandg]

View: https://www.facebook.com/59088097633/posts/10156572323187634/

 

[smutchin]

Initial reports were suggesting it was a bee sting that did for Thibaut but this statement has just been released:

Thibaut Pinot’s injury is a consequence of an incident that occurred two days ago, sport director Philippe Mauduit revealed to Francetelevisions. “As he avoided a crash, his left knee hit the handlebar and the pain just got worse”, the Frenchman said. “We’ve been hoping for an improvement but we knew this morning that it would be complicated if the race was hard. He’s been in pain since the start. It wasn’t possible to keep riding.” Mauduit was the sport director of Alberto Contador when the Spaniard was forced to abandon the 2015 Tour de France.

 

[smutchin]

snap!

 

[Crackle]

Poor old Pinot but it does typify the luck he has. Muscle tear says Twitter, not his fault, just fekkin unlucky.

They still need to attack Alaphilippe today though.

 

[gavroche]

I am gutted for him but he is only 29 so still young enough for next year. If he prepares like this year and doesn't suffer any injuries, he will be a force to be reckoned with for the 2020 tour. I hope all the stars line up for him then and gives him the chance he deserves.