Yorkshire’s Tom Pidcock rides into Tour de France history books with stage victory

Pidcock’s first ever WorldTour win was a spectacular one amid the rowdy crowds of this stunning sporting arena, with the 22-year-old from Leeds riding away from Louis Meintjes and Froome, who enjoyed 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 Jumbo-Visma man and the pair came home together with Geraint Thomas on their wheel, Romain Bardet distanced to lose second place overall.

But the glory belonged to Thomas’s 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 to again beg obvious questions over just how far he can go in the sport.

Pidcock and Froome attacked together on the Galibier, the first climb of the 165km stage. He upped the pace on the Col de la Croix de Fer to get rid of passengers. 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 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.”