They had considered withdrawing at the same time, but Antoine Duchesne overtook Thibaut Pinot by lifting the felts after the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal last fall.
At the start of winter, the Frenchman, who was then 32, cut short all suspense by announcing his retirement at the end of the 2023 season in one of The Team.
“I never wanted this life as a champion”, headlined the sports daily to cap an interview spanning three pages.
Before returning to nature and its animals, his two passions, he wanted to compete in a final Giro, with which he had a score to settle, and a final Tour de France. To prepare for it, he called on Duchesne, who served as his massage therapist, cook and alter ego during two camps.
“It started a bit like a joke, but in the end, we managed to make it happen,” said the 31-year-old Quebecer, who had just put his little Jules, 1, to bed on Thursday.
PHOTO SIMON DROUIN, ARCHIVES SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Antoine Duchesne
The ex-cyclist had exchanged a few text messages with his friend after the 12e step, where Pinot (6e) went on a breakaway in Beaujolais. “He said the stage was tough, but otherwise it was more bullshit than anything…”
A cooking lover for a long time, the Chicoutimi native developed knowledge in massage therapy by following online sessions last winter.
Is he better cook or masso? “He has a lot of gifts, this runner! “, replied Pinot, met before the start of the third stage, in Amorebieta, in the Spanish Basque Country.
It’s true that he’s very good at massage, and he’s very good at cooking too. He shares many of my passions. So that’s why I did a lot of internships with him. [durant sa carrière]. It was always great times.
Thibault Pinot
With trainer Julien Pinot, Thibaut’s brother, Duchesne took part in a camp in the Canary Islands before the Giro, where Pinot surprised with a fifth place overall and two near-victory breakaways (twice second). With a view to the Tour, the trio found themselves in the Col de la Croix Fry, in Haute-Savoie, which the riders will cross on Sunday during the 16e stage.
“It happened naturally, explained Pinot. He too was interested in coming. He immediately accepted this project. He trained in massaging, and since he’s quite good at it too, he continued. »
“A lost romantic in the 21st centurye century “
His podium in 2014 (3e) and his three prestigious Tour stage victories made him a true national hero, but his crashes, injuries and forced retirements also caused him his greatest pain.
PHOTO BENOIT TESSIER, REUTERS
Roadside supporters pay tribute to the French cyclist with a banner listing some of his victories.
“Maybe it was a blessing in disguise, maybe I couldn’t bear to win the Tour de France,” he wondered, to the astonishment of the journalist from The Teamabout his withdrawal in 2019 due to a thigh muscle tear.
“For me, Pinot is a romantic lost in the 21ste century, with its mystery and its paradoxes”, beautifully illustrated Marc Madiot, his boss at Groupama-FDJ.
Duchesne offers another reading: “For me, it’s a bit like a wild beast, a very sensitive wild beast. By his embarrassment and his sensitivity, he has a kind of awkwardness in him, which makes him a bit perceived as grumpy. But when you tame him – or rather when he lets you tame him – you would fight any fight for him. He is an extremely endearing person. »
Arrived at Groupama-FDJ in 2018, Duchesne befriended Pinot during the Tour of Poland and then at the Vuelta, where the Franc-Comtois won two stages, which allowed him to integrate the circle of winners in the three big rounds.
I never tried to go in the same direction as him and it seems he liked it. If something pissed me off, I told him. In general, it always goes his way with most people. I think I earned some respect that way.
Antoine Duchesne
“It’s also complicated to be a leader and to surround yourself with real people in an environment like that, where everyone tries to pull the cover for him,” he observes.
Last lap
During the last Tour, Duchesne and Pinot liked to relax with a beer after the stages. Does the Frenchman miss his Quebec buddy, who introduced him to the music of the dashing Cowboys, which became essential in the team coach last summer?
“It’s true that this is my first year without him for several years. It’s a void, admits Pinot. He was my roommate, so obviously, for me, it’s weird. Afterwards, I see him more often now in everyday life than on the bike. It allows you to have a good time and enjoy him before he goes back to Can… in Quebec. »
PHOTO BENOIT TESSIER, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Thibaut Pinot signs autographs on the sidelines of the 9e stage of the Tour de France, Sunday.
The interview about his friendship with Duchesne ended there. Pinot had agreed to talk about it for a few minutes, but the poles of the microphones of the colleagues quickly found themselves under his nose, eager to know his moods after his “free” day the day before in San Sebastián.
“It may be a bit of age, recognized Pinot, who did not hide his disappointment. I’m starting to get old. My “free” days are a little harder to live with than when I was 25. »
But with his sixth place on Thursday, the winner of the Tour of Lombardy climbed five rungs in the general classification. Here it is 10eabout thirty seconds behind his teammate David Gaudu, in whose service he has served since the big start.
But what Thibaut Pinot aims above all at his 10e Tour de France is a last stage success, a last great emotion, before returning to its lands.
What is a day “without”?
In cycling jargon, a “free day” is a day when the rider has lost his legs, his form, his momentum, suddenly, inexplicably or mysteriously. He will say that he is no longer advancing or that he is glued to the road. The day “without” is particularly feared by the specialists of the general, especially during the big rounds of three weeks, where it can lead to an irrecoverable drop in the classification.
