Pidcock reveals sprint gear issue after Van der Poel battle at Tour de France

Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) secured third place from the breakaway on a dramatic and hot stage 9 of the Tour de France in Ussel, after overcoming a late mechanical issue, with the Briton later revealing his gears were not functioning properly during the final sprint.

Pidcock looked like a force throughout the stage, initially bouncing towards the front of the peloton on the Côte de Naves. 

Speaking to FloBikes after the finish, Pidcock described the sweltering conditions ahead of the start, though he admitted that he actually felt better when the race was underway. 

“To be honest, riding to sign-on this morning, it was like when you open the oven, and you’re looking in, and then it all goes in your face, you know when you put your face in the wrong place,” said Pidcock. "But once we started the race, actually it was not too bad.”

Pidcock was then able to successfully jump across a 20-plus-second gap from the peloton to the breakaway, before closing a gap to Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) and Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) on the Suc au May, which formed a selection of eight riders that also included Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost)and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech).

It was Pidcock’s formidable foe, Van der Poel, who forced a deeper selection, launching a rocket on the Mont Bessou with 25km to go. Pidcock, along with Johannessen, was able to latch onto the Dutchman’s wheel before the summit and was joined over the top by Baudin. 

However, moments later, disaster seemingly struck for Pidcock, who suffered a mechanical on the descent of the climb, leaving the Briton to try and perform his own makeshift repairs with his feet. 

Fortunately, Pidcock was able to retrieve the situation enough to regain contact with the leaders, though it remained to be seen if he would be hindered by his machine in the finale. 

In the end, the stage was decided in Ussel with a four-man sprint, and it was Van der Poel who led out and launched the dash to the line. The Dutchman quickly opened an advantage on his opponents to take his third Tour stage, with Johannessen his closest challenger and Pidcock in third. 

Speaking after the finish, Pidcock was asked if he had all the gears he needed and if everything was shifting ok for the sprint. The Briton revealed that his machine wasn’t working at 100% capacity. 

“It didn’t work no, I realised I could shift with my hood shifter, but not the normal one,” said Pidcock, who confirmed that his natural instinct also played its part in the finale.  

“But then in the sprint, I was focused on the sprint and I forgot and was on the drops, and then I couldn’t change gears anymore. That’s why I had to go back on the hoods.”

Ultimately, Pidcock’s third place on the stage marks Pinarello-Q36.5’s highest stage finish of their debut Tour so far. In addition, Pidcock climbed two places in the GC, to sit 13th overall heading into the first rest day, 9:40 behind Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).