Thibaut Pinot said measuring his gap to his Tour de France rivals is a priority for his first appearance in the Route d'Occitanie, just four weeks before the Tour de France Grande Palais in Nice. My goal is to see where I stand compared to the other riders," he said at a press conference the day before the race in Saint-Affric.

"Everyone will be motivated by participating in a serious race at a level befitting a World Tour. On Tuesday evening, everyone will be happy to have raced here," added the Groupama-FDJ leader. The important thing is to make sure my preparation is going well and that I am on the same level as my Tour rivals. Of course it is important to win, but I am not going to obsess over that this week. The important thing is to get back in the race and get my racing form back as soon as possible."

Pinot came to Occitanie from a training camp in the Alps. He explained, "The training camp in the Alps didn't go as well as I had hoped because I had a problem with one of my teeth and had to get a root canal."

"That went on for 10 days, so camp didn't go as easy as we had hoped. I didn't get to run with the team as much as I had planned and I got tired quickly. I wasn't able to run with the intensity I wanted, which put me a little bit behind where I wanted to be for the race, but the season is just getting started so I don't need to worry too much.

But there is a plus side to it as well, he added. In previous years, this setback would have happened during the Tour de France. If it had, the Tour would not have gone well again," he laughed ruefully. I'm glad I overcame the setback. I'm a little late from training camp, but there's still a month to go before the Tour.

Pinot is aiming for a top overall finish in Occitanie, with a particular focus on stage 3, which finishes at the top of the Col de Beyrade. I don't know the Baillade, but some of my teammates have ridden it and I've heard that it's a typical Pyrenean climb and that the last 4km will decide everything. Peyresourde and Portes de Valles are also very hard mountain stages. It will be a good test."

Pinot previewed the Mont-Aigual stage of the Tour as a final preparation for the four-day race in southwestern France. He had already seen the Alpine stage and said he was not particularly surprised, except for the new Tour finish at the Col de la Rose above Meribel. He said, "It's a real wall, a test like you often see in Spain and Italy, a slope I really like, a place where no one can hide.

Asked by Cycling News for his impression of Lemko Evenpole's dominant win at the Tour of Burgos the day before, Pinot admitted he was not surprised by the Belgian's victory. 'I'm not surprised, especially with a performance like that from him. It doesn't surprise me that a young rider like him would win.

"Players like him, Pogacar, and the still young Bernal will not make the steady progress that older players have made to reach the top. But they could be a real phenomenon that will evolve further until they are 28 years old. They could be an extraordinary generation," the French rider said.

Inevitably, the issue of health measures related to COVD-19 will come up, depriving Pinot of the pleasure of returning to racing, but he said it was entirely necessary.

"I am glad these steps are being taken because I have personally seen what this virus can do. The first few days will be a little strange, but by the time the Tour de France starts, I'm sure we'll be used to these restrictions."