Frenchman hints he may ride the Giro d'Italia in 2016
Image 1 of 5
Thibaut Pinot (FDJ)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) takes third place(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) shake hands on the podium(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Il Lombardia podium(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The field race Tour of Lombardy from Bergamo to Como(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) finished a proud third at Il Lombardia; satisfied with his performance in arguably the toughest Classics of the season and the one the Frenchman loves the most.
Pinot responded to several attacks by Nibali on the Civiglio climb in the final 20 kilometres of the race and even tried some accelerations of his own. He was unable to follow Nibali when the Italian dived down the descent and just lacked a little extra power to stay with Dani Moreno (Katusha) on the final climb of San Fermo della Battaglia overlooking Como. He finished 32 seconds down on Nibali and 11 seconds behind Moreno.
"It's a hard race but it's a great race. Nibali was simply too strong for the rest of us today," Pinot told journalists in Como after climbing on the podium.
"He was the strongest, the smartest and the sneakiest. He attacked at the right moment after bossing the race. He attacked several times on the climb and then attacked on the descent too. He got 200 metres on us and that was enough, it was race over for the rest of us.
"I'm proud of my place on the podium because Lombardia was a big goal of mine and I worked hard to be good here. To make it on the podium after such a hard, selective race against such good riders is a good day for me. I'm happy."
While loots of riders will head to the UAE on Monday and Tuesday to end the season at the inaugural Abu Dhabi Tour, Pinot is done for the year and is looking forward to a break. Despite failing to repeat his podium spot in the Tour de France, he insisted his season had been a success.
"I'm heading home tomorrow morning and I'm on holiday from tonight. It's time to relax and switch off a little bit," he said.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"I think I've had a good season. I won five races, a podium in a monumental Classic and a stage win at the Tour, so it's been a good season."
Pinot won't stay in Italy for Monday's Giro d'Italia presentation but he signed off by hinting he could be at the start next May.
"I hope to ride the Giro d'Italia next year to aim for a place on the podium," he said. "I like the Giro but of course, like for any French rider, the Tour de France always has priority. We'll see…."
Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
