Thibaut Pinot revealed that he is still recovering from the back injury he sustained in the Tour de France and will head into the Vuelta a España without a shot at the overall title.

Speaking to the press on the eve of the opening stage, the Frenchman said he wanted to rediscover the "fun" of racing again and suggested that his focus in Spain would be on trying to win a stage and supporting his teammate David Gaudou.

Pinot crashed on the home straight of the Tour's opening race, injuring his back when another rider hit his back. He struggled all the way to Paris, although it was clear that he was out of contention for the yellow jersey in the Pyrenees at the end of the first week.

The 30-year-old has not raced since, but despite his initial reluctance to enter the Vuelta fully fit, he has shown a willingness to take something from this season.

"Since the Tour, my back has not recovered 100%. That's a little bit of a concern going into the Vuelta. We'll see. Hopefully it will be for the better. Anyway, it's better than it was at the Tour, but it's not 100%," Pinot said.

"I wanted to be here. After a while I thought I might not be at 100% at the start, but I still want to have a good Vuelta. I don't want to end the year with the Tour and I hope the Vuelta will put me back on the right path and lead me into the winter. I hope the Vuelta will give me some enjoyment that I haven't had in a while."

Pinot was expected to contend for the overall title through 18 stages in this unique late-season Vuelta. However, he had no plans to challenge for the GC.

"This is the first time I came to a Grand Tour without thinking about GC. I had a hard time preparing for the Tour, with fatigue, bad weather, and a sore back that prevented me from doing any significant training rides." But I'm here to help David [Gordou] and if I'm not at 100% I'm going to bring my experience."

"There is certainly less pressure, but we are here as a team to make it a great Vuelta. I have faith that David will get a good result. As for myself, I'll just try to win a stage in the second and third week."

With Pinot refraining from fighting for the red jersey, former Tour de Lavenir champion David Gaudoux has a chance.

Gaudou, 24, has had a great start to his professional career and is being touted as a future Grand Tour contender, but his three weeks of competition, including the last three Tour de France, have so far been overshadowed by Pinot.

He played a key role when Pinot came close to winning the 2019 Tour, most notably winning the Col du Tourmalet, which also features in stage 6 of the Vuelta.

"I think we both have similar roles to play. We want to have a good Vuelta. Right from tomorrow, there are a lot of stages that suit us," Gaudo said.

"Being the leader is not a big pressure for me. I have had many chances to cut my own card in the week races and I want to do the same this time."

"I already want to have the best group of climbers tomorrow. It's a finish that suits climbers and punchers. After that, we'll take it one day at a time, one stage at a time, and let the race discover itself naturally; if we can get to the top on GC, great, but if not, we can look at the stages. But right now I'm thinking about the first stage and then we'll take it from there," said the young French rider.