Thibaut Pinot has never taken the easy way out. His Tour de France history has been tumultuous, and his latest challenge began with the all-too-famous drama of the opening stage around rain-soaked Nice. The day was riddled with crashes, and the peloton eventually opted to halt the race until about 20 kilometers to go. Pinot might have thought he had come out of the worst of it, emerging unscathed from a number of incidents in the hilly terrain north of Nice. The breakaway crash occurred with 3km to go, so Pinot was able to equal the time with stage winner Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates), but the frustrated look on Pinot's face in his torn kit suggested that the incident could have an impact on the overall contenders in this Tour. After the stage, Pinot's Groupama-FDJ team confirmed that Pinot had no broken bones. When Pinot arrived at the start of the second stage on Sunday morning, he was upbeat, although he admitted that he was still feeling the effects of the crash. He said, "I slept well at night and woke up fine. I'm a little sore everywhere this morning, but I don't have any broken bones, so the road goes on," Pino said. 'The pain in my side and the hematoma in my back are worrisome. That's what worries me. I'm hoping that when the weather gets warmer my knee will feel better and I can start running and recover a little bit." On Sunday afternoon, Pinot will have his recovery tested immediately. The Tour will be the fastest into the high mountains since the second stage from San Sebastián to Pau in 1992 through the Pyrenees. The peloton will tackle the Col de la Colmiane and Col de Tourini Category 1 climbs, with the finale at the Col d'Eze and Col de Cattleshman in Nice. 'I want to feel like I'm with the best,' Pinot said. 'It's going to be fast today, and there could be some GC contenders attacking in the finale.' Pinot's obvious frustration as he soft-pedaled alongside his teammates all the way to the finish of Saturday's Promenade des Anglais was reminiscent of his frustration after a crosswind blew him out of position in the 2019 Tour of Albi. Last year's setback initially appeared to be a decisive blow to his challenge, but he recovered by going on the offensive in the Pyrenees and winning on the summit of Tourmalet. Unlike in Albi, Pinot did not concede the gap to his rivals for the overall win, but on Sunday morning his frustration with the danger posed by the treacherous course was evident. When I saw the weather yesterday, I knew what to expect," Pinot said (L'Équipe). I knew what was going to happen when I saw the weather yesterday," Pinot said (L'Équipe). I knew a crash was going to happen, but when I see people criticizing me for neutralizing the race, I ...... He said. As a rider, I don't understand it. It was one of the most stressful days I've ever had. It's not cycling. Rain and crashes are part of racing, but when you can't ride the roads, you can't ...... On the downhill yesterday, the roads were full of diesel. You couldn't see it all on TV. There were crashes on every corner. So it was my first time on a motorcycle." On "France Télévisions," Groupama-FDJ manager Marc Madiot supported the peloton's decision to neutralize the stage, but expressed concern about the condition of David Gault, who suffered sacral trauma in the same crash as Pinot. The climber started the second stage struggling behind the peloton for the first few kilometers. The organizers suggest routes, the coaches and directorate sportif devise tactics, but it's the players who decide what to do. I think they made the right decision."