Pinot plays down Tour de France chances

Thibaut Pinot has played down his chances of Tour de France success in the coming weeks despite two top-10 finishes in his previous four appearances.

The 26-year-old, who signed a new two-year deal with FDJ on Thursday, has been tipped to do well over the 21 stages of the Grand Tour, building on his third place in 2014 and 10th two years earlier.

Pinot has two stage wins to his name at the Tour and claimed the young rider classification in 2014, but ruled himself out of contention this time around.

"We all want to win, but we must be clear, I'm not the strongest of the bunch, and in recent years we have seen that it is the strongest rider who wins.

"[Chris] Froome was a class above last year. Now there might be [Alberto] Contador and [Nairo] Quintana [challenging], we'll see."

This year has seen Pinot crowned French time-trial champion and claim stage wins at the Criterium du Dauphine and Tour de Romandie, but he knows the three weeks in France will define his season.

He added: "The pressure is that my season will be judged on my Tour de France.

"I try not to think about it. The biggest danger is the first four stages, which are the tough. "