In Moirans-en-Montagne on Friday morning, there was the familiar crowd holding vigil outside the Groupama-FDJ bus. Jonas Vinegaard (Jumbo-Visma) might have the yellow jersey of this Tour de France, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) may continue to vie for the title of G.O.A.T., but Thibaut Pinot commands an adulation that goes far beyond the vagaries of form or the strictures of the results sheet.
Adherents of the Collectif Ultras Pinot, his self-styled fan club, have made regular, performative displays of their devotion across this, his final Tour appearance, but it was a slightly less boisterous demographic that awaited the Frenchman in the sleepy village of Moirans-en-Montagne before stage 19. Their acclaim was more restrained, but no less heartfelt for it.
