Mauro Schmid Wins Tour Stage 13 as Tom Pidcock Jumps 6 Places to Fourth Overall

Q: Did the race leaders make a huge mistake letting a new rival gain over seven minutes?

Probably not a huge mistake, but it was a real tactical concession. The key fact is that Tom Pidcock was not a direct threat to Tadej Pogačar’s yellow jersey at the start of Stage 13. He began the day 10th overall, 11:49 down, and even after gaining 7:32 on the main peloton he is still 4:15 behind Pogačar. UAE and Visma therefore did not lose control of the race leadership itself. Where the decision looks more questionable is the podium battle. Pidcock jumped from 10th to fourth overall and is now only nine seconds behind Remco Evenepoel in third. That is a major shift, and teams defending top-five or podium positions, especially Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, may regret letting such a strong rider into a break that was given so much freedom. The context matters. Stage 13 was the longest of the Tour, the break was huge, and it contained many riders with mixed objectives. In that kind of stage, GC teams often prefer to save energy rather than chase all day, especially when the yellow jersey is not under immediate threat. Pogačar kept his lead over Jonas Vingegaard unchanged at 3:36. What makes this notable is Pidcock’s profile. He is no longer just a stage hunter: his third place at the 2025 Vuelta gave him real GC credibility. So while the leaders did not make a catastrophic error, they did allow a legitimate outsider back into the race for the podium, and that could matter in the mountains ahead.

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 17

Tom Pidcock surged from 10th to fourth overall on Stage 13, briefly riding as high as second after helping spark a breakaway that finally held to Belfort.
A group that started with 37 riders and swelled past 50 gained enough time on the rolling Jura and Doubs roads for Mauro Schmid to take his first Tour stage win, with Pidcock third.
Pidcock began the day 7min 43sec behind Remco Evenepoel and ended it just nine seconds back, giving the Briton a realistic shot at a top-five finish after an uneven Tour.
Tadej Pogacar still leads and sits closer to a fifth Tour title, but Pidcock's rise adds another rival for Jonas Vingegaard to track before a weekend that opens five summit finishes in the final week.