Pinot to take on the Vuelta a Espana

Image 1 of 4

Thibaut Pinot will tackle the Vuelta a España next month, having finally recovered from the illness and problems that took him out of the Giro d'Italia on the penultimate day. He will ride the Tour of Poland (August 4-10) as his only warm-up race.

"For those who are interested in actuality with @LeTour, I resume competition on @Tour_de_Pologne and I am very impatient!" he tweeted.

The Groupama-FDJ rider was in a comfortable third place on stage 20 of this year's Giro, but saw his podium place disappear the next day. He finished 45:32 down on the stage, dropping to 16th overall. He was taken to hospital that evening and removed from the race, suffering from pneumonia and exhaustion.

The 28-year-old has finished in the top 10 four times in the 10 Grand Tours he has ridden, with one 16th place and the rest DNF.

"It’s not that it just happens often, it always happens. Apart from the 2014 Tour [where Pinot placed 3rd overall – ed.], I’ve never been at 100% like the other leaders in three-week races," Pinot told L'Equipe in mid-June.

"I have the impression that it happens to me every time, even though I follow long-term treatments to help my immune system. It’s hard to deal with in your head, because I know that my only enemy is myself and my health. That's maybe what differentiates me from the great riders, who stay at 100% over three weeks."

After a nearly three month racing pause, he will start in the Tour of Poland in mid-August, to be followed by his third Vuelta. He finished 7th in the race in 2013, and did not finish the next year, abandoning on the 11th stage.