Thibaut Pinot has had a difficult year and a half, but after an encouraging week in Tirreno-Adriatico, he is speaking of a "renaissance" and seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

After recording his "worst time in a decade" in the time trial on day one, Pinot thought the same thing would happen all over again.

After coming so close to winning the Tour de France in 2019, Pinot crashed and injured his back on the opening day of the 2020 Tour de France, putting his career on hold. He struggled all the way to Paris, only to exacerbate his problems, which continued throughout the 2021 campaign.

After suffering from multiple illnesses during the winter and early season, the 31-year-old came back to life in Tirreno.

"I haven't been in great shape since the Criterium du Dauphiné in 2020, but after a year and a half, I feel like I have a new lease of life," Pinot told L'Equipe (open in new tab).

"I hope this is the beginning of a renaissance."

Arriving in Tirreno in the midst of a poor run that included 11th in the Etoile de Besseges and 24th in the Tour du Var (3rd in the final stage), Pinot was 91st in the opening time trial, just 13.9 km behind Tadei Pogachar by over a minute.

The next day, Pinot began working to set up a sprint for teammate Arnaud Demaret and quickly noticed the difference

. The next day, he worked a little more for Arnaud, but already had a higher four-minute output than in the time trial.

Pinot then finished with the majority of the GC contenders, albeit behind Pogachar in a punchy stage. His race, however, came to life on an important uphill stage with the double climb of Monte Carpegna.

"On the first climb I looked back and there were only 20 riders. When you don't know why the other riders fell off the bike, you know you had a good day."

"My morale is 9 out of 10. I have to enjoy it; I've been waiting my whole life to be one of the favorites to win again without being dropped 10 or 15 minutes back in the gruppetto. I don't want to go through that again."

After a confusing start to the season, Pinot believes there is plenty of room for improvement. He must be feeling some sort of success at the moment, even if it is only by racing more races, but his ambitions will naturally grow from now on.

With the Circuit de la Sarthe, the Classique Grand Besançon, the Tour de l'Alps, and the Tour de Romandie, April is going to be a busy month.

"I'm not at 100% of my potential and that gives me confidence and composure for the rest of the season.

"I really want to play my part. It would be ideal if I could win something before the Tour de France."