Pinot struggles in Spanish heat after early illness

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Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) celebrates his first white jersey for the Tour's best young rider(Image credit: ASO/X.Bourgois)

When Thibaut Pinot arrived at the FDJ.fr team bus in Córdoba on Tuesday afternoon, his summation of stage 4 of the Vuelta a España was a blunt one. It had been, he told one onlooker, the worst day of his life as a cyclist.

Barry Ryan was Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.