There was a lot of pressure for Thibaut Pinot at the beginning of this year’s Tour the France, carried out from his stellar performance in the 2012 edition of the race, which he finished within the top 10 in the GC. Unfortunately the 23-year old Frenchman turned out to be unable to live up to such expectations, as he had to face his biggest fears connected with high-speed descending, when Sky Procycling successfully attempted to burst the peloton into pieces on first mountainous stages of the event. Now FDJ rider is eager to bounce back with good result at the 2014 Tour and overcome his weakness, as he undergoes special training.

“I want to play a free role at the Tour. I know I am tense on the bike, this is my weak point," he told the French newspaper Dauphiné.

23-year old FDJ rider is fairly regarded as a highly skilled and versatile contender, capable of achieving remarkable results in stage races – including the Grand Tour on his home ground, but his well recognized fear of descending at a high speed – connected with a serious crash Pinot had as a junior, rather discourages to pick the Frenchman among clear favorites due to his unpredictability.

It became a serious issue during the 100th edition of La Grande Boucle, when Pinot struggled to stay with the rest of the peloton in the opening mountain stages in the Pyrenees, losing over 20 minutes to the leader at the end of the stage to Begneres-de-Bigorre and seriously questioning his desire to stay in the race.

Eventually young Frenchman left the race after a stage to Mount Ventoux, however, he managed to bounce back with a surprisingly solid performance in exceptionally mountainous edition of Vuelta a Espana, which he finished 7th in overall classifications with some remarkable performances on the toughest mountain stages including Alto de Penas Blancas, Alto de Hazallanas and l’Angliru climbs.

Having a strong faith in his talented youngster, FDJ general manager Marc Madiot tries to discover best possible methods in order to help Pinot overcome his fears, including car rally driving curse on ice.

"This course helps me because you must be self-assured. Released,” he told Dauphiné.

“Hopefully there will be a release even though I do not expect to be with the best. I just want to get off the bike and not have the apprehension on each mountain summit. The car allows me to learn and move forward and that's good."

Pinot will ride both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España in 2014, as he did this year