Pinot's Tour de France hopes dealt hefty blow in crosswinds

There was a microclimate of quiet amid the hubbub on Albi's Lices Georges Pompidou after stage 10 of the Tour de France. By a barrier on the shaded side of the street, the Groupama-FDJ entourage stood in hushed silence as Thibaut Pinot wheeled slowly to a halt and wordlessly accepted a drink from his soigneur.

Sebastien Reichenbach and Rudy Molard pulled up moments later and stood mutely in solidarity with their stricken leader as he bowed his head. They had been Pinot's companions in the small group that came home 1:40 down on the stage after the peloton splintered into shards in crosswinds with a little over 30 kilometres remaining.

At one point, around 10 miles from Albi, they had succeeded in closing the gap to less than 15 seconds, but that was still an eon in these conditions. The deficit yawned out inexorably thereafter.

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Pinot had begun the day in third place overall, the best positioned of the podium contenders. The Frenchman has plumbed deep caverns of disappointment at the Tour over the years, but his near-flawless opening week raised home hopes that this could be his year.

It might yet be, but he will have to claw his way out of a considerable crevasse. He now lies 11th overall, 2:33 behind yellow jersey Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and 1:11 down on defending champion Geraint Thomas (Team Ineos).

A scrum of reporters and television crews inched closer to Pinot as he took a second can from his soigneur. After he had finished drinking, they drew in a little tighter. "It wasn't a good day?" a television reporter asked tentatively.

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