classification was definitely over after the stage having lost 16 minutes to stage winner Chris Froome. On stage 9 he was yet again in the breakaway with Rafał Majka. This time Pinot managed to edge out the polish rider to wear the polka dot jersey on stage 10. However, Pinot performed badly on Stage 12 of the Tour de France and withdrew from the race just before the start of Stage 13. On 1 September, Pinot announced on Twitter that his 2016 cycling season had come to an end, citing "persistent fatigue due to a virus" and "in order to prepare best for the next season" as the reasons for his decision to end his season prematurely. 2017 The first win of Pinot's 2017 campaign came at the Vuelta a Andalucía, as he rode past Alberto Contador in the final hundred meters. Pinot finished the race in 3rd position overall, and went on to ride the Strade Bianche in which he finished 9th. Pinot confirmed his form was great when he finished 3rd overall at the Tirreno–Adriatico a week later. As Pinot was targeting the 100th edition of the Giro d'Italia in 2017, his last preparation race was the Tour of the Alps. He finished in top 5 on all 5 stages, including a stage win on the final stage to Trento, and also had the leaders jersey on stage 3. Pinot finished 2nd place overall, and looked strong for the Giro. He started the Giro d'Italia a 4th place on Mount Etna following the other general classification contenders. Finishing 2nd on stage 9 to Blockhaus, Pinot advanced to 2nd place in the general classification. However, on stage 10 which was a 39.8 kilometer long Time trial, Pinot dropped to 4th place. As Pinot won stage 20 of the race, he moved up to 3rd place overall before the Time trial on stage 21. Having a 43-second disadvantage to Nairo Quintana, Pinot was only the underdog going into the final stage. He finished 28th on the stage, and dropped to 4th place overall just 37 seconds behind Vincenzo Nibali. Pinot was never on top of his game at the Tour de France and his best stage finish was 9th on stage 15, before abandoning the race on stage 17. One month later he took revenge by winning the overall at Tour de l'Ain. He finished the season off with riding