Thibaut Pinot (opens in new tab) will make his Paris-Nice debut in 2020 for a second attempt at the Tour de France (opens in new tab) The Groupama-FDJ (opens in new tab) rider has been a regular at Tirreno-Adriatico in recent years, with four top-five finishes, but will remain on home roads for the opening week of the new season.

Pinot's first competitive races of 2020 will be the Tour de la Provence (February 13-16) and the Tour du Haut Var (February 20-23), which he won in 2019. He will then compete in Paris-Nice (March 8-15) and will race abroad for the first time in Ituria Basque (April 6-11).

"It's a special race," Pinot told L'Est Republicain (opens in new tab). 'I've been a professional for more than 10 years now, but I've never raced Paris-Nice. It's quite unusual for a French rider on a French team. It's good to go and see what happens."

Pinot admitted that the Race to the Sun, which takes the peloton through often disastrous conditions in central France en route to the Riviera, will be a very different challenge from Tirreno-Adriatico, where he finished third overall in 2017.

The prospect of crosswinds may be an attraction for Pinot, who suffered a setback in the 2019 Tour when the peloton split into echelon on the road to Albi.

"Teams are built for it, too. I'm used to the Tirreno format, and it always works," Pino said.

"And Pino said, 'I'm not sure I'll be able to do it.' The Paris-Nice echelon is different from July, but it's still an echelon race."

In April, Pinot will return to Ituria-Basque, where he has not raced since finishing fourth overall in 2016; he will not race in May to scout the Tour de France route and will compete in the Criterium du Dauphiné in June.

"But right now, I'm not really thinking about next summer. But right now I'm not thinking too much about next summer. I've already been through everything at the Tour, for better or for worse."

In July, Pinot won stage 14 in Tourmalet, solidifying his position as the first French Tour winner since Bernard Hinault, but his challenge ended dramatically when he suffered a muscle injury in the first few kilometers of stage 19 to Tignes, forcing him to retire. Pinot exited the stage in tears.

Pinot has not raced since, but told L'Est Republicain magazine that he has fully recovered from his injury after taking four weeks off the bike after the Tour.

He returned to the saddle in September, rested in October, and resumed training in early November. The cause of the injury is still unknown and remains a mystery."