Nobody can reproach Thibaut Pinot. Once again the leader of the FDJ team was in the break as he has been almost every day for nearly a week. This time, he quickly realized that he could not realize his dream.

"At the briefing this morning, Thibaut said "I go, we'll see," but after 20 kilometers when I went up to him he immediately said that he was not well," sports director Yvon Madiot said. "He didn't have a good feeling at all. He tried, he fought until the last descent but at the bottom of the Glandon, after being dropped for the first time and losing courage, it became too hard for him.

"He insisted because he is a fighter. He wanted to be in front but he hurt everywhere, and especially the legs did not respond. 

"This morning we talked about the choice to attack again today because it was maybe too early, but we believe the stages of tomorrow and after tomorrow will be targeted by the GC riders, including Quintana who has not won yet. He had relied on today by saying "make or break". 

"There is the fatigue of the last days, yes, but especially there was this crash yesterday which was not so trivial. He hurt everywhere last night: in the back, neck, hip. His mucles felt very hard."