More than 1000 days after his last victory, Thibaut Pinoto came very close this Thursday to finding the way to success in the 4th stage of the Tour of the Alps† De Franc-Comtois, as the leading group of the day, defeated all his rivals in the final climb, but he could not prevent the return of Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana Qazaqstan Team), who came out of the pack and the rider of the Groupama-FDJ 1 kilometer from the finish. Behind that, it is the leaders of the general classification who declared themselves for third place, and it is Romain Bardet (Team DSM) who was fastest for Pello Bilbao (Bahrain victorious). Thanks to the 4 seconds of bonuses, the Frenchman is 2 seconds behind the Spaniard in the general classification for the last stage on Friday. Third, the Hungarian Attila Valter (Groupama-FDJ) is 12 seconds away.
Footage – Thibaut Pinot, his ambitions… 1006 days without victory!
“It sucks, because it would have done me good (…) I could have turned this stupid page and moved on”
�’� Thibaut Pinot’s emotion after his 2nd place in the 4th stage of the Tour des Alpes #theVELOteam pic.twitter.com/F1QT0o2tnV
— the L’Équipe chain (@lachainelequipe) April 21, 2022
Thibaut Pinot didn’t go far to enjoy the joys of victory again… Overtaken in the last few hundred meters, the Frenchman had to bow to Miguel Angel Lopez.
Follow the Tour of the Alps on Eurosport, the Eurosport app and https://t.co/7qbNJbZqbq #LesRP #TotA pic.twitter.com/ZezWgKb29H
— Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) April 21, 2022
Bouchard scores points in the mountains classification, Bilbao and Bardet go into the ground!
After about fifteen kilometers, eleven riders manage to escape from the peloton, including David de la Cruz (Astana Qazaqstan team), Vinicius Rangel (Movistar team), Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroen team), Patrick Gamper (BORA-hansgrohe) or even Simone Ravanellic (Drone Hopper-Androni Gioccatoli). On the first ascent of the day, Kartitscher Sattel (7.3 km at 5.9%), the leading group explodes and we are in front Bouchard† Ravanelli and of the Cruz†
But the peloton is not far and eventually takes everyone back just after the top, Bouchard after passing him in the lead, virtually regaining the King of the Mountains lead at the cost of Pavel Sivakovy (INEOS Grenadiers). A few kilometers further, a major collective fall takes place within the pack, involving particularly those involved Pello Bilbao (Bahrain victorious) and Romain Bardet (Team DSM), the first two in the general classification! However, the Spaniard and the French recovered quickly and resumed their place in the pack. Behind that, the race comes back to life and this time it is fifteen riders who pull away, the leading group of the day is this time well and solidly composed.
A crash in the forestry saw @romainbardet and @marco_brnr involved, but both are back on their bikes and returning to the pack. We hope everyone else involved is okay! † #TotA pic.twitter.com/q08nGSHkxe
—TeamDSM (@TeamDSM) April 21, 2022
The leading group is forming, Thibaut Pinot in the right shot
The composition of the leading group is as follows: Sebastian Henao† Fabio Feline (Astana Qazaqstan team), Andrey Amador† Ben Swift (INEOS Grenadiers), Nicolas Prodhomme (AG2R Citroen team), Matteo Fabbro† Anton Palzer (BORA-hansgrohe), Jonathan Caicedo† Merhawi Kudus (EF Education-EasyPost), Thibaut Pinoto (Groupama-FDJ), Omer Goldstein (Israel-Premier Tech), Abner Gonzalez (Movistar team), Natnael Tesfatsion (Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli), Igor Arrieta (Equipo Kern Pharma) and Unai Iribar (Euskaltel-Euskadi).
At 40 kilometers from the finish, and with only the final climb as the difficulty, the leading group has a lead of 2’10” over a peloton led by a Bahrain victorious rather serene as the best placed in the breakout overall, Natnael Tesfatsion, is almost 4 minutes away. Unfortunately for the front runners, the team of Pello Bilbao then get support from DSM Team, who has a longing for a stage win. 15 miles from the finish, a quartet consisting of Caicedo† Iribar† Fast and Goldstein breaks away at the front of the race, leaving these riders the final ascent of the Kals am Grossglockner (12.4 km at 4.3%) with a few seconds ahead of their pursuers. The peloton is clocked in at 1’30”.
Thibaut Pinot drops all his opponents, Lopez returns and deprives Pinot of victory
Jonathan Caicedo and Omer Goldstein loosen the foot from the collar, then they see the return of To test† Arrieta and Pinot† As soon as it comes back, it will attack in turn and take it with you Goldstein† But the Israeli does not stay long in the wheel of the French, who flies away. In the peloton, clocked in 45 seconds from the frontrunner, these are the INEOS Grenadiers who are now in charge. Difficult during the first 3 kilometers, the final climb is much more sloping after that, allowing the peloton to organize itself to return to Thibaut Pinoto† Giving everything, the Franc-Comtois withstands the peloton well and can dream of this victory that has been fleeing him for almost 3 years.
4 kilometers from the finish, and as the road straightens a little, Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana Qazaqstan Team) is on the pedals. He is mainly hunted by Pavel Sivakovy (INEOS Grenadiers), Mikel Landa† Pello Bilbao (Bahrain victorious) and Romain Bardet (Team DSM), but these don’t suit the Colombian, who comes back hard Pinot† The gap is 10 seconds on 2 terminals from the target, then the trend is confirmed and Lopez returns to Pinot just over 1 kilometer from the finish. As expected, the Colombian immediately attacks his rival and manages to let go despite strong opposition from Pinot First. Miguel Angel Lopez rises to success, Thibaut Pinoto second place in the stage at 7 seconds. Third place was won by Romain Bardetwhich takes 4 seconds worth of bonuses and dangerously close to . coming Pello Bilbao in the general classification, now only 2 seconds between the two riders.
