Tom Pidcock of Ineos Grenadiers attacked from the break on the Alpe d’Huez this afternoon to win Stage 12 of the Tour de France on what is one of – perhaps the – most fabled climbs in cycling.
Less than a year after winning gold in the mountain bike cross-country event at the Tokyo Olympics, and six months on from taking the rainbow jersey in the UCI Cyclo-Cros World Championship, it’s the biggest win to date of the Yorkshire rider’s career on the road.
Aged 22, Pidcock was just 13 when Chris Froome won the first of his four Tour de France titles withTeam Sky.
Today, they were in the break together as Froome, now with returning to the Tour for the first time since his near-career ending crash at the Criterium du Dauphiné in 2019, put in what is his strongest ride since his comeback.
It was the younger man who prevailed though, attacking his breakaway companions with 10.5km remaining and again 3km later and riding away to an emphatic solo win that will see his name join those of some of the greatest riders in the history of the sport on the Alpe d’Huez’s 21 hairpins.
Jonas Vingegaard of Team Jumbo Visma retains the overall lead he took in sensational fashion on the Col du Granon yesterday – but on what turned out to be a terrific day for Ineos Grenadiers, 2018 Tour winner Geraint Thomas moves into a podium place after Team DSM’s Romain Bardet, second this morning, lost time.
Thomas is now third overall, 2 minutes 22 seconds behind the Vingegaard, and 4 seconds down on defending champion Tadej Pogačar of UAE Team Emirates – the trio all crossing the line together, 3 minutes 23 seconds behind Pidcock – with Bardet 9 seconds further back on the Welshman in 4th place.
Ineos Grenadiers now have three riders in the top 10 of the General Classification – besides Thomas and Pidcock, who has moved up to 8th overall, Adam Yates is in 5th place, 3 minutes 44 seconds off the race lead.
Pidcock’s performance today belied his age and included a thrilling descent from the Col du Galibier.
His final attack saw him distance the last of the breakaway companions challenging him for the stage win, Louis Meintjes of Intermarché Wanty Gobert, and the South African would finish second, 48 seconds down on the Ineos Grenadier rider.
Froome was a further 18 seconds back in third place – his first top 10 finish in any race since that horrific crash three years ago, and the first time he has finished inside the top 30 of a WorldTour race since then.
“A stage win in my first Tour, it’s not bad,” said Pidcock afterwards with the kind of understatement that, if you did not already know he was from Yorkshire, would provide a decent clue to his birthplace.
“I guess it’s made my Tour de France so far, even if nothing else happens and I get dropped every day,” he continued.
“The idea was to get in the break. I lost enough time yesterday that hopefully I’d be given freedom.
“If I’d gone up the Galibier maybe I wouldn’t have got away, but on the descent maybe Jumbo don’t want to risk chasing me. Also the gap was small enough to go across so it worked out perfectly in the end.
“That was certainly one of my best experiences in cycling. That was unreal. When you’re literally slaloming through people’s flags, fists and god knows what else – you cannot experience that anywhere else, in anything, other than Alpe d’Huez in the Tour de France.”
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10 comments
1.5 more breaks like that and he has the white jersey! Fantasy land?
Today was magnificent, but now Jumbo will see him as a threat and will not let him get away like that again.
And I don't think Pogacar is quite done yet.
I think that was part of the plan.
Pidcock getting back into the top 10 strengthens Ineos' hand.
Jumbo will now have to mark Pidcock, Yates and Thomas.
If Pogacar is isolated again will Ineos work with him to try and crack Jumbo?
I doubt Ineos will allow him his head again, Thomas and Yates will need him with them in the Pyrenees to consolidate their positions and be ready to take advantage if any of the others in the top five start to show cracks.
It raises an interesting question though, does the white jersey still have a point to it? It really comes from an era when it was highly unusual (though not of course unheard of) for someone to win the Tour aged 23 or under. Now that riders reach the highest level so much younger, it seems something of an anachronism to have a double champion also wearing the youth jersey. Perhaps it could be converted into a best-placed-debutant award?
100% this.
What a fantastic stage, so many different stories unfolding.
And I was there just 11 days ago to ride the La Marmotte sportive, today's stage being kind of a reverse Marmotte. It was fantastic to see them riding the same roads.
Until this point this (wonderful) site had not been following policy and trying to ruin attempts to watch the highlights while not knowing the result. But for this result I can see why you put in a headline.
Well done Tom. His descending was sublime. They don't normally show much on the coverage, and it often gets obscured by the adverts, but it is my favourite bit. And the way that he made up so much time when he went.
Red numbers too!
I thought we'd agreed on a generic headline: 'Something exciting happens in bike race', I think it was (I get a small royalty). But I can't say I blame Simon for waiving the rules on this occasion.
I don't look at the site after 1pm until I've seen the highlights