Cycling-Pinot’s Tour hopes vanish into thin air (Reuters)
By Julien Pretot LAC DE PAYOLLE, France, July 8 (Reuters) – Big things were expected of Thibaut Pinot, widely regarded as the best French hope of a Tour de France winner, but any chance of seeing the FDJ rider succeed Bernard Hinault vanished into thin air in the first tough climb of the year. Pinot, third overall in 2014, looked like he was stuck on the tar in the ascent to the Col d’Aspin, a 12-km climb at an average gradient of 6.5 percent, and lost 2:46 to the other top favourites. “I just did not have the legs,” a dejected Pinot told reporters.