Tom Pidcock's coach speaks about the crash and UAE's tactics after stage 8: 'That’s a huge step forward'

Despite putting in a rock-solid performance, Thursday wasn’t Tom Pidcock’s best day at the Tour de France. The British rider from Pinarello-Q36.5 crashed on a descent—normally safe ground for him. Afterward, IDL Pro Cycling spoke to his coach, Kurt Bogaerts, to find out exactly what had happened. And what does this mean for the remainder of this Tour de France?

It was on the descent from Puy Mary that we suddenly saw Pidcock fall behind. The Brit wasn’t the only one; his teammate Chris Harper and Visma rider Matteo Jorgenson, among others, also went down. In fact, all three riders crashed in the same turn.

What had happened there? “He slid out in that turn where I think three or four riders crashed,” Bogaerts said. “Jorgenson, and Harper on our team—he took a much harder fall than even Tom did,” the Belgian added, delivering some bad news about the Australian. Harper did finish the stage, in 83rd place, more than half an hour behind winner Tadej Pogacar.

The reason for the crash? “There’s loose gravel there; I think it’s melting. That’s a spot where they don’t expect it,” said Bogaerts, who also noted that his team was aware of the treacherous descent. “We wanted to get into a good position there, too. I don’t know exactly where in the group he fell, but by the time he crossed the summit, I think he was in fourth or fifth position. It was hard to see.”

Pidcock, who ultimately finished ninth, just under two minutes behind, and is now tenth in the overall standings, had similar comments to share after the race. “I didn’t expect it. I don’t know what they do to the roads here when they’re cleaned, but they put that white stuff on them, and it’s really slippery. You can see it on my legs. I fell right in the middle of the turn and had to chase back.”

Pidcock was doing well under the circumstances after the race. “A little exposed. That’s not what you want in the Tour, but it could be worse,” said Bogaerts. “In the end, it didn’t really affect me that much. I’m okay now, but we’ll see how I feel once the adrenaline wears off. I think I’ll be okay. It’ll be a little annoying,” said Pidcock, who noted that he had never crashed in a Grand Tour before.

Crashing is always a bummer, but this time it was especially unfortunate, since Pidcock was riding really well. “Ultimately, the race is decided on that penultimate climb, where he was eight seconds behind the Vingegaard group. It’s a tight race. If he can latch onto that group there, he’ll finish in the top five. I think that’s a huge step forward compared to the Tourmalet stage,” Bogaerts analyzed.

Pidcock also analyzed his race afterward. “I just missed that first group—let’s not even think about Pogacar, shall we? I’m getting a little stronger, but I couldn’t keep up with Isaac on the final climb. But it was fun racing at the front. It was a fast day, and I felt good. It’s a bit more fun when you’re not suffering the whole day.”

So the question, of course, is: what now? “I think we just need to recover from that crash first and try to get through the next two days in one piece. Then we’ll see if there are any more opportunities after that,” his Belgian coach said, looking ahead. Then we’ll have to hope that UAE gives the breakaway a little more leeway than they did on Tuesday.

Bogaerts had seen it coming that the team from the Emirates would race so aggressively. “Today, I expected the UAE to really go for it, which is why we didn’t go all out to get into the breakaway. There will be other days for us to join the breakaway again,” he said, looking ahead.

It remains to be seen whether the UAE will give the breakaway a little more breathing room. The fact is that the team can expect some criticism from the peloton because it’s racing so dominantly. “That might seem greedy, but if you invest in a team to bring all the best riders together, then you also want to race for the win,” Bogaerts clarifies.

In fact: “I think that’s pretty normal. That’s just how they race. Then you eventually see where everyone stands. If you cross the finish line in ninth place today—as the ninth-best rider... the gaps aren’t really that big compared to the chasing group. Maybe that also opens up possibilities for a breakaway in the future.'

"When you're putting in such a tough effort, the differences aren't that huge after all," Pidcock's coach continued. Bogaerts even anticipated UAE’s tactics. “Of course, this is also how the stage is structured. You’ve just had a rest day, now a tough day, and then you have two days to recover. So you can go all out, and they might do the same at the end of the week. It’s a stage race packed with rest days, and I think they’re taking full advantage of that. And they have an incredibly strong team.”