Dole to Belfort – 208.8 km – Photos: A.S.O.
The longest stage of the Tour de France 2026 gave the advantage to breaks, and two of them managed to keep the Yellow Jersey away to the line.
After more than 100 kilometers of pulling ahead of the peloton among 57 riders, Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) and Tom Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5) took center stage up and down the iconic Ballon d’Alsace.
The British climber attacked at the ascent and opened a massive gap to the peloton. But Schmid, the Swiss powerhouse, attacked on the descent and narrowly edged Harold Tejada (XDS Astana) on the line, with Pidcock rounding out the day’s top 3.
As the peloton finished 7’32’’ behind, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates XRG) retained the leader’s jersey ahead of a gruelling weekend. Pidcock moved up to fourth place in the overall standings, just 9 seconds behind third-placed Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).
The Details
Today’s route passed by Thibaut Pinot’s roads and it featured one of the most iconic ascents in the history of the Tour: Ballon d’Alsace, whose summit is 29.9 km from the finish in Belfort.
A 57-man breakaway
As UAE Emirates XRG tried to control the formation of the early break, it took 33 kilometers for a group of 37 attackers to get away, with Brandon McNulty and Tim Wellens representing the Emirati team.
Tom Pidcock was there with three Pinarello Q36.5 teammates: Quinten Hermans, Xandro Meurisse, and Fred Wright. The group was filled with climbers and sprinters aiming for victory in Belfort, including Grégoire, Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), Kévin Vauquelin (Netcompany Ineos).
Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) was also in the break, a situation that Lidl-Trek wasn’t happy about. Twenty more attackers, including Mads Pedersen, flew off the front at km 55 and eventually made it a 57-man lead group at km 114. The brutal speed showed the magnitude of the battle for the break: 55.3 kilometers were covered in the first hour, and then 51.5 in the second!
Up and down the Ballon d’Alsace
UAE Emirates XRG let the gap grow and Pidcock soon became a significant threat for the top GC contenders. The British star started the stage 10th in the overall standings (+11’49’’). As the gap increased to a maximum of 8’25’’ on the slopes of the Ballon d’Alsace, the main ascent of the day (cat. 1, summit at km 175.9), he was second in the virtual GC!
Pidcock was very active on this most iconic climb, the first major summit passed in the history of the Tour, back in 1905. The British star led the way at the summit, with eight riders in this wake: McNulty, Vauquelin, Braz Afonso, Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Harold Tejada (XDS Astana), Luke Plapp, Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla), and Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies). Wellens joined them on the downhill.
Schmid and Tejada found an opening 16 kilometers from the line. They collaborated well to open a gap of 20 seconds to their chasers. They looked at each other in the final two kilometers. Schmid kept his cool to take victory ahead of Tejada, with Pidcock finishing third just two seconds behind. The peloton finished with a gap of 7’32’’. Pidcock moved up to fourth in the overall standings, nine seconds behind third-placed Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).
