Tour de France result gives Tom Pidcock the unexpected spark he needed for the future

Tom Pidcock looks back on the Tour de France with satisfaction. The British rider from Pinarello-Q36.5 wasn’t quite sure what to expect due to a lackluster preparation, but unlike in previous years, he promptly finished in the top ten at the Tour de France. Following his third-place finish in the 2025 Vuelta a España, this is a nice boost, with opportunities for more success in the future.

Pidcock laid the groundwork for a top-ten finish in the Tour during the second week, when he stayed in contention for three consecutive days in the Vosges and, in addition to battling for stage wins, often gained time on his rivals in the general classification. After an excellent time trial on Stage 16, it seemed there might be even more in store, but his energy suddenly ran out in the Alps.

Pidcock didn’t completely fall apart and managed to hold on to a spot in the top ten. In Stage 18, he finished with the other team leaders; a day later, he hit the wall on Alpe d’Huez. Pidcock lost more than 8 minutes to stage winner Tadej Pogacar and dropped from 8th to 9th in the standings. Fortunately for him, the riders around him in the top ten were all completely spent as well.

So it wasn’t such a disaster that Pidcock was once again unable to keep up with the very best in Stage 20. He ultimately crossed the finish line a good 9 minutes behind stage winner Richard Carapaz, thereby retaining his ninth-place position. He’ll ride into Paris on Sunday as the ninth-place finisher in the Tour de France, 29 minutes and 28 seconds behind Pogacar.

Pidcock is thus coming away with something tangible from the Tour de France, just as his coach Kurt Bogaerts had hoped after a difficult first week. The Belgian had said at the time that he would be surprised if Pidcock finished in the top five, and that turned out to be too ambitious. In the battle for stage wins, the Brit came close several times, with third-place finishes in stages 9 and 13 as the highlights.

"I'd be very happy with a top-ten finish," said Pidcock, who had never finished this high in the Tour de France before. Riding for INEOS, he finished 17th in 2022 (with a stage win on Alpe d’Huez), 13th in 2023, and withdrew in 2024. After a podium finish in the Vuelta in 2025, he proved once again that, riding a Pinarello-Q36.5, he can be a general classification contender.

"I would have signed up for this before the start of the Tour," Pidcock said with satisfaction, knowing that he had experienced "setbacks" in his preparation. In March, he fell into a ravine in Catalonia and suffered a knee injury. In June, he fell ill and missed the Tour de Suisse. “Of course, I’m ambitious, and I’m already thinking about what I can do better next year to get closer to those guys.”

"But for now, I'm happy. Today, I knew right from the first climb: this is going to be a long day. It was going so fast."