Pidcock and Ayuso find themselves in the same boat in the Tour de France, just as they did throughout 2026: ‘I paid for it’

Tom Pidcock and Juan Ayuso didn't have a great day on Alpe d'Huez. The 5th and 8th placed riders in the general classification struggled terribly on the final climb of Stage 19 of the Tour de France and dropped to 7th and 9th, respectively. Will they be able to hold onto their spots in the top ten in Saturday’s grueling stage?

Ayuso made the biggest impression at the finish on Alpe d'Huez. The 23-year-old Spaniard had been Lidl-Trek’s lead-out man throughout this Tour de France, but after losing a significant amount of time in the time trial on Stage 16, things didn’t go much better on Stage 19. Ayuso ultimately finished 6 minutes and 26 seconds behind stage winner Tadej Pogacar, with lead-out man Quinn Simmons by his side.

The American champion immediately came to Ayuso’s aid when he came to a sudden stop against an advertising board right after crossing the finish line. His coach, Aritz Arberas, told *Marca*: “Juan is showing character, even though he’s not feeling his best. We didn’t expect this, but that’s just how the Tour de France is. It can crush you, and today it was Juan’s turn.”

"He fought until the very last moment," his coach observed. "He minimized his losses and is still seventh in the standings. We came here with higher ambitions, but we also have to look at the long term. This is an investment for next year. We’ll let this sink in for now and assess what happened later. We’re going to learn from this.”

At Lidl-Trek, it’s even the case that Mattias Skjelmose, who was supposed to be a luxury domestique, is now suddenly the highest-ranked rider, in sixth place in the general classification. “Juan’s situation makes us angry, because we know how much work we’ve put into this and what he’s done for it. He hasn’t been able to ride this Tour with the ease he’s used to. He just doesn’t feel quite fit.”

Team Manager Josu Larrazabal said they need to figure out exactly what’s wrong with Ayuso. The fact is that he’s no longer able to match the level he showed in the first two weeks during the third week. “We knew Juan wasn’t in top form, but we didn’t expect him to lose 6 minutes. Sometimes your body doesn’t perform at 100 percent; we’re swimming a bit against the current this season.”

Ayuso crashed in Paris-Nice this year, and just as he was regaining his top form in the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, he fell ill. “He’s missing that little extra something,” said his team director. “We didn’t get that final push that we had hoped for based on our preparation.”

In addition to Ayuso, Pidcock also dropped in the standings. The British rider from Pinarello-Q36.5 finished another 2 minutes behind the Spaniard on the climb where he had won from the breakaway in 2023. “On the third-to-last climb, I pushed so hard that I paid for it on the final climb,” Pidcock analyzed afterward. “I was exhausted.”

"Of course, I'm still aiming for a top ten finish," said the climber, who is currently in ninth place and, in theory, still has a 9-minute cushion over 11th place. "What a day—I just didn’t have anything left in my legs. It is what it is. It was great to see all those people who came here for the cycling, including my family. Thanks to everyone who made the atmosphere so great."

Pidcock, too, didn’t have an ideal build-up to the 2026 Tour de France. He crashed into a ravine during the Tour of Catalonia and suffered a knee injury. He also made a comeback, but illness prevented him from racing the Tour of Switzerland. In that regard, Ayuso and Pidcock seem to be pushing their limits, with the Tour’s toughest stage still ahead on Saturday.