A piece of asphalt got stuck in his lever: the strange reason why Pidcock ran out of gears

Tom Pidcock finished third in stage 9 of the Tour de France after contesting the victory from the breakaway and suffering a mechanical issue in the decisive kilometers. As we reported earlier, the British rider explained after finishing the stage that his transmission had stopped responding correctly and that during the sprint he could not shift gears from the bottom of the handlebars. Now, the Pinarello-Q36.5 has explained what caused the strange failure.

The Pinarello-Q36.5 explains the strange failure that left Pidcock unable to shift gears

According to information published by the team itself, a small piece of asphalt mixed with tar became lodged inside the right lever of Pidcock's Pinarello Dogma F. The obstruction prevented the normal movement of the lever to operate the shift. However, it did allow shifting from the upper button.

We remind you that the bike is equipped with the SRAM Red AXS electronic group, the same one used by the other riders of Pinarello-Q36.5.

 

 

 

 

 

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A piece of asphalt and tar blocked Pidcock's right lever

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The problem arose as the stage entered its decisive phase. Pidcock was part of the small group contesting the victory alongside Mathieu van der Poel, Tobias Halland Johannessen, and Alex Baudin when the television cameras showed the British rider with evident mechanical issues.

Pidcock even took his right foot off the pedal and hit the area of the rear derailleur while continuing to ride. He later explained that this maneuver did not solve anything and that the problem was actually in the shift buttons.

“A small piece of asphalt mixed with tar somehow became lodged inside the right lever, preventing it from making the normal movement needed to shift gears,” explained Pinarello-Q36.5.

The team also confirmed that no component of the transmission had broken.

“Approximately 24 kilometers to the finish, Pidcock managed to free the chain and get the bike moving again. However, although the transmission was working again, the piece of asphalt remained lodged inside the lever, preventing him from using the full range of gears for the rest of the stage.”

The team's explanation helps to understand the statements made by Pidcock immediately after finishing the stage. The British rider then assured that he had discovered he could still operate the shift using the button located on the top of the lever.

“On the climb, my button stopped working and I couldn’t shift gears. Then I realized I could shift from the top,” Pidcock explained after crossing the finish line.

The SRAM Red AXS levers used by Pinarello-Q36.5 have buttons located on the top. Pidcock was able to resort to this system to continue shifting gears and stay in the fight for victory.

The problem reappeared at the crucial moment. When the sprint began, the British rider instinctively placed his hands on the bottom of the handlebars, from where he could not use the auxiliary button that was still functioning.

“In the sprint, I was so focused that I got into the bottom of the handlebars and couldn’t shift gears. Then I had to move my hands back onto the levers.”

Thus, Pidcock had to modify the position of his hands in the middle of the acceleration while Mathieu van der Poel launched the final sprint towards victory.

The explanation from Pinarello-Q36.5 thus resolves the strange mechanical problem that had caused Pidcock's frustration during the stage. There was no electronic failure nor the breakage of any component of the SRAM Red AXS transmission: a small piece of asphalt and tar lodged in the right lever was enough to prevent the British rider from using the shift normally when he was fighting for the stage victory.