Pidcock becomes youngest stage winner
TOM PIDCOCK became the youngest winner of a Tour de France stage on the Alpe d’Huez ahead of a rejuvenated Chris Froome while Jonas Vingegaard defended his new status as race leader as one of cycling’s most famous climbs once again delivered drama.
Pidcock’s first WorldTour win was a spectacular one amid the rowdy crowds, with the 22-year-old riding away from Louis Meintjes, who finished second, and Froome, who came home third, enjoying his best day on a bike since the horror crash in 2019 which threatened to end his glittering career.
Behind, Tadej Pogacar tried to attack Vingegaard 24 hours after losing the yellow jersey to the Dane, but his late digs did nothing to shake the JumboVisma man and the pair came home together with Geraint Thomas on their wheel, while Romain Bardet was behind to lose second place overall.
But the glory belonged to Thomas’ Ineos Grenadiers team-mate Pidcock – an Olympic mountain bike champion, a cyclo-cross world champion, and now a Tour stage winner on his debut in road cycling’s biggest race.
Pidcock and Froome attacked together on the Galibier, the first climb of the 165km stage from Briancon which began by taking the peloton back the way they had come a day earlier.
After bridging over to a sevenman breakaway already clear, Pidcock upped the pace on the Col de la Croix de Fer to get rid of passengers, leading a reduced group of five down the descent at speeds over 100kmh.
Once on the Alpe d’Huez, Pidcock again looked a man in a hurry, attacking with 10km still to go. Meintjes and Froome responded but gradually slipped back as Pidcock showed greater power and poise amid the flares, flags and spilt drinks of the 21 hairpins.
“Not bad that, is it?” said the Yorkshireman. “I guess it’s made my Tour de France. Even if nothing else happens and I get dropped every day now I don’t care. A stage win in my first Tour, not bad…
“That was certainly one of my best experiences in cycling. It’s unreal when you’re literally slaloming through people’s flags, fists and God knows what else. You can’t experience that anywhere else other than the Alpe d’Huez in the Tour de France.”