Pinot: You can't do much against Nibali when he is so strong
Frenchman fifth in aggressive Il Lombardia
168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) sparked the race-winning move in 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Il Lombardia but ♔admitted after coming in fifth that there was𒆙 nothing he could do against a strong Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida).
Pinot made a strong attack on the Civi♍glio climb and was joined by Nibali before the summit, but he lost any chance of൲ victory when the Sicilian distanced him on the tricky descent and soloed to take the win in Como.
Pinot finished fifth and his only reward was a visit💖 to anti-doping, while Nibali c🌄elebrated on the nearby podium.
"I think I had a super race, I'm 🦋jus𒁏t sorry not to win," he said.
"I came here to win. I was riding to win and wanted to win. I took some risk on the last climb b💯ecause nobody was really moving."
꧃Pinot punched it on the Civiglio and quickly opened up a sizeable gap. The move sparked a reaction first from Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R La Mondiale), but Nibali blew past his compatriot and rapidly bridged to Pinot and continued pushing the pace over the top🐼 and on the sinuous descent.
Pinot, who once was nearly 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:paralyzed with fear on descents and overcame his issues with 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:off-season speed lessons, bravely held Nibali's wheel for much of theꦫ drop down to Como, but a s𒆙mall mistake in one turn he opened up a gap that he could never close.
The latest race content, interviews,💜 featur💜es, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"You can't do much against Nibali when he is so strong. He did an amazing descent. I tried꧂ to go with him but it's difficult. He got away a little bit and then it was impossible to pull back 50 𝓀metres. He went away from me."
Pinot gave everything in pursuit of Nibali and held off the chasers to the suꦇmmit of the final San Fermo della Battaglia climb with 5km to go. However, that meant he had little left when Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-𒆙Step Floors) caught and passed him on the descent, and less for the sprint for third place.
Pinot has won four minor races this year but end♑s his season with third at Tirreno-Adriatico, fourth at the Giro d'Italia, and fifth at Il 💞Lombardia but no regrets.
"I think my season, was good, very good. Maybe not the Tour de France but I was there in all my objectives such as the Giro. I've been strong, perhaps missing a little bit but I was at my usual level. I'm satisfied," he said, before heading to the FDJ team bus to eat a slice of pizza with his teammates and end his season.
Stephen is one of 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.