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Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) captured a superb breakaway win on stage 13 of the Tour de France, outsprinting Harold Tejada (XDS Astana) after the duo darted clear of the day’s big escape.
He took the first Swiss win at the Tour in six years, with Tom Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling) leading in Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and former US champion Brandon McNulty (UAE Emirates-XRG) plus four others.
McNulty put in a big move to try to bridge to the leaders inside 2.5km to go, but was recaptured.
The general classification riders did not contest the stage, and were many minutes back. Pidcock’s time gain sees him climb to fourth in the overall but the stage victory is what he was really after.
He jumped up six places in the overall standings, going from tenth overall. He is 4:15 behind the ongoing race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Emirates-XRG), and just nine seconds off the third place of Remco Evenepoel.
Schmid was delighted with the result, not least because he missed out on a stage win last year when he was outpaced by Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) in a two-up sprint.
“I can’t believe it at the moment,” he said. “It was an incredibly hard day from the start. We were keen with the whole team to be there, to be in the breakaway. We tried many times already this last couple of days but so far it didn’t really go as planned.
“I felt really good from the start but it was just full gas from the first minute. Then the boys came from the back so I could just sit on, so it was pretty much perfect.”
Race leader Tadej Pogačar had a relatively uneventful day, retaining his overnight advantage over the other GC contenders. He kept his power dry in advance of Saturday’s far tougher stage to Le Markstein.
“I think it was even better for us that Tom [Pidcock] was in the front because then other teams had to chase a bit in the end,” he said.
“We could sit on the wheels a little bit in the last 30k.”
Massive breakaway scraps it out for stage
Stage 13 of the Tour was the first of three tougher days for the riders, with the sprinters backing off once again on the more mountainous terrain. Starting in Dole and covering 205.8km, it featured two climbs, with the cat. 3 Col des Croix being followed by the cat. 1 Ballon d’Alsace.
This ascent has the distinction of being the first-ever official climb used in the Tour de France.
The day’s big move clipped away with 172 km to go, with 37 riders getting clear.
Those present included Schmid, Pidcock, McNulty, Van Gils, 10-time Tour stage winner Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), Tim Wellens (UAE Emirates-XRG), Matej Mohorič (Bahrain-Victorious), Kévin Vauquelin (Netcompany Ineos) and many others.
Lidl-Trek drove the pace to keep their green jersey Mads Pedersen close, with the Dane then being part of a 20-man chase group which bridged with 92km remaining. Also there was Biniam Girmay (NSN Pro Cycling), with those two finishing just behind Philipsen in the intermediate sprint.
The break was 7:35 ahead of the peloton there, meaning Pidcock was very close in virtual general classification to third-placed Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).
Healy tried to get clear on the Col des Croix but was unsuccessful, and he and many others then faded on the tougher climb.
Plapp and Pidcock cancel each other out
Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla) raced clear 3km from the summit and while Pidcock brought him back, Plapp returned the favor when the Briton tried his own move 800 meters from the top.
They, Schmid, Van Gils, McNulty, Vauquelin, Tejada, Schmid, Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) and Clément Braz Afonso (Groupama-FDJ United) plunged down the descent, with Wellens getting back on to make it 10 riders clear.
Schmid and Tejada attacked 16 from the line and had 20 seconds with 2.5km remaining. McNulty put in a huge attack but was brought back, enabling the two leaders to stay clear and Schmid to take his first Tour stage.
“I was a bit worried the climb might be too hard for me,” he admitted. “At the beginning when Ben [O’Connor] paced, it was like I am not sure if I can go to the top like this.
“Then I think for me it was quite good that it was stop and go. It suits me better.”
It did, and it was crucial to him staying close and going on to win.
Results: Stage 13
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