Schmid wins from mammoth break as Pidcock moves back into Tour podium contention

Mauro Schmid (Jayco-Alula) won stage 13 of the Tour de France in Belfort after a mammoth breakaway went the distance on the race’s first day in the Vosges.

The Swiss rider outsprinted Harold Tejada (XDS-Astana) after they attacked from the remains of the break at the bottom of the descent off the Ballon d’Alsace with 16km to go.

They withstood a late chase from Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) to stay clear and fight out the stage honours, with Schmid pipping Tejada to the line after being forced to lead out the sprint. 

Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) endured the frustration of winning the sprint for third at two seconds, but the Briton was leapt firmly back into the podium battle after the break gained almost eight minutes on the peloton. 

The presence of the category 1 Ballon d’Alsace on the profile didn’t prevent an average speed of 50km/h at the end of an intensely contested stage that saw a massive group of 57 riders forge clear and amass a lead of more than eight minutes over the bunch. 

The group was whittled down by the Ballon d’Alsace, where Jayco-AlUla had initially raced in a bid to keep fast man Michael Matthews in contention. Attacks from Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull) and Jorgan Jegat (TotalEnergies) shattered the group and put paid to his chances, and Pidcock led a group of ten riders over the summit after he launched two rasping accelerations of his own near the top.

Pidcock was unable to make the difference on the long descent off the climb, however, and it was Wellens who ignited the attacking. When he was pegged back, Schmid and Tejada seized their opportunity while Luke Plapp played a key role in disrupting the chase.

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) remains in the yellow jersey ahead of Saturday’s demanding leg to Le Markstein.

There was a blistering start to stage 13, with a rolling volley of accelerations as soon as the flag dropped outside Dole. The incessant attacking meant it took some time for a break to gain any traction, and the race covered an eyewatering 55.5km in a breathless first hour of racing.

By then, the early break had just about established itself, with a group of 37 riders forging clear, including Tom Pidcock, who had three of Pinarello-Q36.5 teammates for company, as well as strongmen including Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor), Kévin Vauquelin (Netcompany-Ineos) and Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost).

UAE’s Brandon McNulty and Tim Wellens were also on policing duty in the move, but the break’s chances of success were tempered by the presence of green jersey contender Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), which meant Lidl-Trek were compelled to chase.

That kept the break’s lead at a handful of seconds until an hour or so into the stage, at which point Mads Pedersen and Biniam Girmay (NSN) formed a small chasing group, and the peloton finally relented.  With 130km to go, Pedersen et al were chasing at 45 seconds, while the UAE-led bunch was content to cruise along at 3:45.

Pedersen and company made the junction with a shade over 90km to go, leaving a group of 57 riders at the head of the race, while the peloton now trailed by seven minutes. It already seemed clear that the sizeable front group would fight out the stage honours, but the day’s first prize was at the intermediate sprint in Thibaut Pinot’s hometown of Mélisey with 68km to go. Philipsen took maximum points there, but Pedersen’s chase was not in vain as he sprinted to second ahead of Girmay to extend his lead to 46 points in the green jersey standings.

After the sprint, Pinarello’s Quinten Hermans, Fred Wright and Xander Meurisse continued to drive the front group on behalf of Pidcock, while Bahrain Victorious were now leading the peloton in a bid to protect Lenny Martinez’s ninth place on GC from the Briton.

The break began to fragment on the category 3 Col des Croix with 50km to go, where Alaphilippe was among the first riders to be dropped as Pinarello continued to pile on the pressure. Healy accelerated towards the top of the climb, but Pinarello remained in control and Hermans led the front group over the top.

The day’s key difficulty, the category 1 Ballon d’Alsace, followed quickly, and an early acceleration from Jorgan Jegat (TotalEnergies) whittled the group down still further. Lars Craps (Lotto Intermarché) was the next to go, but the Jayco-AlUla contingent was setting a controlling pace on behalf of Michael Matthews, with Ben O’Connor prominent, while Pidcock bided his time.

Maxime Van Gils (Red Bull) attacked 3.5km from the summit, and his effort sparked a reaction that saw the group fragment still further, with Matthews among those distanced. 

Pidcock himself led the chase to snuff out Van Gils, and his steady effort reduced the front group to just ten riders. He did the same when Luke Plapp (Jayco) attacked 2.5km to the top, underlining his status as the man to beat, though McNulty was also lingering with intent.

The long-awaited acceleration from Pidcock came 800m from the summit, but he couldn’t snap the elastic. Although he led over the top, he entered the final 30km with McNulty, Wellens, Plapp, Mauro Schmid (Jayco), Harald Tejada (XDS-Astana), Vauquelin, Van Gils and Clement Braz Afonso (Groupama-FDJ) for company, while Matthews was in a group chasing at 30 seconds. The peloton, meanwhile, was 8:30 down, which left Pidcock in provisional second overall as they trundled towards the finish in Belfort. 

Wellens’ attempt to attack the break at the foot of the descent with 16km to go was quickly shut down, but Schmid and Tejada slipped away immediately afterwards, and they struck a descent working alliance to hold a lead of 10 seconds they entered the final 10km.