Tom Pidcock may be a little too arrogant for some tastes, but as his history shows, he does. The 22-year-old from Leeds has quickly transferred his experience in mountain biking and cyclocross to road racing and is the coming force in the Ineos Grenadiers team.
But even though he has won world and Olympic titles, he still struggled to explain the intensity of the races amid the huge influx of spectators from the Alpe d’Huez on Thursday to win the most prestigious cycling summit.
“I can’t tell you,” Pidcock said after winning his first stage in the Tour de France. “You just have to pray for everyone to get out of your way and that’s the most ridiculous experience ever.”
Pidcock’s impressive descending skills caused the spectators to faint, which he attributed to his ease of riding his bike at high speed. “I’ve become very used to cycling in situations where it’s on the edge of control,” he added.
“I grew up with my bike. I went to school every day. I was wandering through the woods, adrift in the mud and coming home and my uniform was completely dirty. “
After looking back briefly, the ambitious Pidcock is planning ahead. “I have won a stage of the Tour so I am quite satisfied. But yes, I compare myself to myself [Tadej] Pogacar and these guys. I have bigger ambitions in this race in the future after that. “
Chris Froome finished third in the 12th stage of the Tour, enjoying his best off-race stage stage result since winning the 2018 Giro d’Italia.
Chris Froome returned to form, finishing third after playing his part in a breakaway. Photography: Guillaume Horcajuelo / EPA
“I felt better and better, and I wanted to aim for a stage like today,” said the four-time Tour winner. “I tried my luck on the getaway and gave him everything I had. I had nothing more to give on that final climb.
“Tom seemed the strongest in the group,” Froome added. “He was flying downhill today. His mountain bike was useful, and there were some points where I backed down because he was overcoming the limits.
“I don’t regret it today. Naturally I would have loved to have put my hands up and tried to win the stage. I gave it my all. Where have I come from in the last three years, fighting my accident to finish third in a “Of the toughest stages of the Tour, I can be very happy with that. I will keep pushing. I don’t know what my limits are, I will keep trying to improve and we hope to go back again.”
Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), forced to repel a resurgent Tadej Pogacar, leader of the UAE team, 48 hours after the Dane had advanced to the Granon Pass, maintained the race leadership. Pogacar’s attacks put Vingegaard under pressure, but ultimately failed to make an impact.
A huge, boisterous crowd approached around the runners as they climbed up the climb, but Vingegaard seemed unperturbed. “Of course, it’s a big risk to have Covid when there are a lot of spectators yelling in your face,” he said. “That’s obvious. But I guess so. Hopefully no one has Covid. It won’t be a good way to get out of the Tour.”
Vingegaard cited the shared respect between him and Pogacar, which was evident when after a fierce attack by Pogacar through the crowded crowd, the couple turned and smiled. “We didn’t talk to each other,” he said. “He just smiled at me. I smiled back. That’s it.”