Pidcock fully enters the fight for the podium in the Tour: he is now fourth after Mauro Schmid's victory in Belfort

Tom Pidcock took advantage of the freedom granted to the breakaway in stage 13 of the 2026 Tour de France to make a huge leap in the general classification. The Brit finished third in Belfort and regained more than seven minutes on the favorites' peloton, allowing him to move from tenth to fourth place, just nine seconds behind Remco Evenepoel. The stage victory went to Mauro Schmid, who narrowly beat Harold Tejada in a tight sprint.

Pidcock changes the Tour in Belfort: fourth and just nine seconds behind Evenepoel

The longest stage of this edition of the Tour de France ended up deeply altering the general classification, although there were no attacks among Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, and Remco Evenepoel. The decision by UAE Team Emirates-XRG not to control the race allowed a large breakaway to build up a sufficient lead, making Tom Pidcock one of the big beneficiaries of the day.

The Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team rider took advantage of a day he had marked as an opportunity. He made it into the decisive break, surpassed the selection at the Ballon d’Alsace, and finished third in Belfort, just two seconds behind Mauro Schmid and Harold Tejada.

His reward was much greater than a podium spot for the stage: Pidcock moved from tenth, 11:49 behind Pogačar, to fourth place in the general classification, 4:15 behind the leader. The Brit is now just nine seconds behind Evenepoel and seven ahead of Juan Ayuso.

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A gigantic breakaway turns the stage into a parallel race

The 205.8 kilometers between Dole and Belfort had a peculiar structure. The first 150 kilometers offered hardly any mountainous difficulties, while the Col des Croix and the Ballon d’Alsace concentrated almost all the toughness in the final part.

The possibility that UAE would grant freedom led to a very long battle to get into the break. After numerous attempts, a huge front group formed that brought together 57 riders.

Among them were some of the strongest cyclists of the day: Tom Pidcock, Brandon McNulty, Tim Wellens, Maxim Van Gils, Ben Healy, Mauro Schmid, Luke Plapp, Harold Tejada, Kévin Vauquelin, Michael Matthews, Jordan Jegat, and Romain Grégoire, among others.

Pinarello-Q36.5 protected Pidcock's interests particularly well, with Quinten Hermans, Xandro Meurisse, and Fred Wright working to maintain the pace and increase the gap. Bahrain Victorious tried to reduce the advantage to defend Lenny Martinez's position, but the gap exceeded eight minutes.

From that moment on, the stage ceased to be just a fight for victory. Pidcock began to climb virtual positions and even temporarily placed himself on the podium before the teams with interests in the general classification accelerated in the peloton.

Pidcock climbs the Ballon d’Alsace among the strongest

The Col des Croix began to reduce the break, but the final selection occurred at the Ballon d’Alsace, an ascent of 8.9 kilometers at 6.9%.

The sprinters and heavier riders began to disappear, while Pidcock showed himself to be one of the most attentive men. The Brit responded to attacks from Jordan Jegat, Maxim Van Gils, and Luke Plapp, and also took the initiative near the summit.

His acceleration did not allow him to break away alone, but it did confirm that he was among the strongest. Nine riders topped the Ballon d’Alsace together: Pidcock, Van Gils, Schmid, Plapp, Vauquelin, Tejada, McNulty, Jegat, and Clément Braz Afonso. Tim Wellens managed to catch up during the descent.

Behind, the main favorites stayed together. Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe took responsibility in the peloton, but no attacks occurred among the yellow jersey contenders. That late control slightly reduced the advantage, but did not prevent Pidcock's great leap.

Mauro Schmid and Harold Tejada surprise the pursuers

The presence of two riders from UAE Team Emirates-XRG and two others from Jayco-AlUla seemed to offer a tactical advantage to both teams. However, Mauro Schmid chose the right moment to attack and found collaboration from Harold Tejada.

The Swiss and the Colombian opened a small gap about 15 kilometers from the finish. The lack of agreement among the pursuers played in their favor. Brandon McNulty, Tim Wellens, Kévin Vauquelin, and Pidcock himself tried to react, but each attack ended up breaking the collaboration.

Wellens launched a final offensive near the last kilometer, although he did not manage to connect. Tejada initiated the sprint less than 200 meters from the finish and initially surprised Schmid, who had ceded the responsibility of leading the duo.

The Jayco-AlUla rider managed to regain ground and surpassed him by a narrow margin at the line in Belfort. Pidcock was clearly the fastest of the chasing group and finished third, two seconds behind.

For Schmid, it was his first stage victory in the Tour de France, after previously winning a stage in the Giro d'Italia. It also marked the first win for Jayco-AlUla in this edition.

Pidcock moves from tenth to fourth and is nine seconds from the podium

The favorites' peloton crossed the finish line 7:32 behind the winner. The absence of attacks among Pogačar, Vingegaard, and Evenepoel kept the top three positions intact, but allowed Pidcock to enter directly into the fight for the podium.

The Brit started the day in tenth, 11:49 behind Pogačar. After the stage, he appears fourth at 4:15, just nine seconds behind Evenepoel.

Additionally, he surpasses Juan Ayuso, Paul Seixas, Florian Lipowitz, Isaac Del Toro, Mattias Skjelmose, and Lenny Martinez. The difference between third and seventh in the general classification is now reduced to just 38 seconds.

Pidcock also avoided losing time in the tactical game at the end. His third place allowed him to collect four seconds of bonus, a gain that could prove important in such a tight classification.

Top 10 of stage 13 of the 2026 Tour de France

1. Mauro Schmid – Team Jayco AlUla – 4:06:58
2. Harold Tejada – XDS Astana Team – same time
3. Tom Pidcock – Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team – at 2 seconds
4. Maxim Van Gils – Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe – at 2 seconds
5. Brandon McNulty – UAE Team Emirates-XRG – at 2 seconds
6. Kévin Vauquelin – Netcompany INEOS – at 2 seconds
7. Jordan Jegat – TotalEnergies – at 2 seconds
8. Clément Braz Afonso – Groupama-FDJ United – at 2 seconds
9. Tim Wellens – UAE Team Emirates-XRG – at 2 seconds
10. Luke Plapp – Team Jayco AlUla – at 11 seconds

Top 10 of the general classification

1. Tadej Pogačar – UAE Team Emirates-XRG – 47:18:31
2. Jonas Vingegaard – Team Visma-Lease a Bike – at 3:36
3. Remco Evenepoel – Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe – at 4:06
4. Tom Pidcock – Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team – at 4:15
5. Juan Ayuso – Lidl-Trek – at 4:22
6. Paul Seixas – Decathlon CMA CGM – at 4:35
7. Florian Lipowitz – Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe – at 4:44
8. Isaac Del Toro – UAE Team Emirates-XRG – at 5:08
9. Mattias Skjelmose – Lidl-Trek – at 5:45
10. Lenny Martinez – Bahrain Victorious – at 6:34