"Even Merlier struggled to control his bike": What did we learn from Pidcock’s "Mickey Mouse" stage in AlUla?

Admittedly, the relatively steep descent in the circuit, which had to be ridden three times, was in poor condition. However, it was striking that the decision to remove a lap and neutralize part of the race came so late — especially considering that by then, numerous race vehicles had already passed through on their way to the final climb. In the end, to ensure rider safety so early in the season, plan B was put into action.

Frank van den Broek (Picnic PostNL) was wearing the white jersey after gaining a bonus second on Monday and was one of the big contenders for a stage win. However, he had to settle for 13th place. "What happened? We heard they were going to neutralize that descent, but at that point, we still thought we had two laps to go. Then, suddenly, we were told that we only had one lap left."

"It was the right decision," echoed the Q36.5 team of stage winner Tom Pidcock, including the Brit himself, his teammate Frederik Frison, and team director Kurt Bogaerts. "There was gravel on the descent, and at one point, I saw Tim Merlier and Bert Van Lerberghe riding between the cars. Even they were struggling to control their bikes, so then you know it could turn into chaos in the peloton."

Then came Pidcock’s turn to weigh in. "So much is happening in this race that I do feel a bit for the ASO. They are trying to organize it well, but I also understand the frustration," said the Brit, who, like the rest of the race caravan, had already faced hours of delays flying from Paris to AlUla. "The road was supposed to be cleaned, but that didn’t happen. And descending at 70 kilometers per hour with a tailwind on gravel is just not safe," he explained.

By the time the situation became clear, two breakaway riders were still 2:30 ahead. Suddenly, things got tense. "We started chasing, and there was a lot of stress in the peloton. At first, they told us we would be stopped, but in the end, that didn’t happen," said Van den Broek. Bogaerts shared the same sentiment. "As soon as we heard about the organization's plan, we took the initiative. Our guys knew they had to give everything they had to close the gap as much as possible. We brought it down to 30 seconds, putting the race back in our hands."

Frison agreed. "Suddenly, we were told the plans had changed completely and that we were already in the final lap. That caused some panic, but we all pushed hard to close the gap as quickly as possible. It worked out relatively quickly, and from there, it was up to Pidcock on the climb." "It felt a bit like Mickey Mouse — full speed at the front, then descend carefully, and then an all-out sprint for five kilometers," he added.

Van den Broek was behind the cars at that point, due to bad luck on the dreaded descent. "I got a flat on the gravel section, so that was a bit of a bummer. I had to quickly change wheels and push back to the front. Even though the descent was neutralized, it wasn’t safe — everyone still wanted to be at the front, knowing there were only five kilometers left. John Degenkolb helped me a lot, and from then on, it was all-out until the finish," said the Dutchman, who felt a more tactical race on the circuit would have suited him better. "I don’t have extreme watts per kilogram for five-minute efforts, but I gave it everything I had. Friday’s stage should suit me better," he said, still motivated.

Bahrain Victorious (the team of number two in this race, Rainer Kepplinger) and Jayco AlUla (who placed third and fourth with Alan Hatherly and Eddie Dunbar) also addressed the bizarre situation in AlUla. "I was a bit surprised that we had to do one lap less — 27 km shorter, including the final climb. But safety comes first, and the organizers made the right decision given the road conditions. We had to adapt, and we did it very well," said Bahrain team director Aart Vierhouten, hinting at the second-place finish of Rainer Kepplinger.

Hatherly, who is a mountain biker, like Pidcock, spoke of a "crazy situation" in Saudi Arabia. "They had to adjust the course for safety, but that led to a really strange finish — neutralized until five kilometers from the finish, and then an all-out sprint to the line. I wasn’t in a great position and had to burn a lot of energy to get back to the front, which left me too spent to follow Tom. But I’m still happy because we’re close in the standings," said the South African.