Giro d'Italia: Plucky Pinot defiant in face of Quintana's attacks
Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) had pledged to go on the offensive on the Blockhaus and vowed to enjoy the occasion, and he proved to be a man of his word on stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia. In the face of Nairo Quintana's onslaught in the final seven kilometres, most would have been minded to lay down arms and cry out 'no más,' but Pinot responded with a dig of his own before yielding to the inevitable.
That show of defiance did little to dissuade Quintana from his offensive, but it suggested that Pinot was feeling more confident than Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), the only other man to track the Colombian's initial acceleration. So it proved. 3.5 kilometres from the line, Pinot rid himself of Nibali and continued in lone pursuit of Quintana, limiting his losses to just 24 seconds at the finish.
"It was a very tough climb, no doubt about it, and it was a very fast stage. There was only one climb but it was so hard that it made the difference," Pinot said afterwards. "Quintana was very strong. I tried to follow him like Nibali did. It was a bit harder in the final, but I still tried to follow even then. After that, I just tried to limit the damage as much as possible."
Two kilometres from home, as the gradient began to relent ever so gradually, Pinot was caught by Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) and Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo). By that juncture, Pinot's normally languid style was becoming visibly more ragged, but he collected himself well ahead of the final ramps. At an earlier, more vulnerable stage of his maturity, Pinot might have panicked at their presence on his shoulder, but he was composed here, riding with Dumoulin into the final kilometre, and then outkicking the Dutchman to take second place on the stage.
"I felt him coming up, that's his style," Pinot said of Dumoulin. "He dosed his effort more like a time trial. It's a tactic that suits him. My aim was to follow Quintana and try to win the stage."
Like all of the top finishers, Pinot was marshalled into a tent beside the podium to change before descending to his FDJ team bus further down the mountain. On emerging, he paused to speak to a small group of reporters and shook off the idea that he was disappointed to have been beaten to the summit by Quintana. It had been, he said, an enjoyable kind of suffering. "No, I'm happy. I felt strong and rode well," he said. "I have no regrets. I tried to respond as best I could, but Quintana was the strongest today."
Time trial
Stage 9 Highlights
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