Britain's Tom Pidcock has made a significant move up the general classification in the Tour de France, rising to fourth place overall after a breakaway on stage 13. The 26-year-old Pinarello-Q36.5 rider finished third on the demanding 205.8km stage from Dole to Belfort, making up six places in the process. Pidcock, who was one of the favourites to win the stage once the breakaway was formed, fought hard to pull away on the category one Ballon d'Alsace climb, bringing home six others to finish just two seconds behind stage winner Mauro Schmid of Switzerland and Harold Tejada of Colombia.
The breakaway, which included several riders from different teams, pulled away from the peloton on a long descent with around 16km to go. Pidcock's team manager, Doug Ryder, praised the rider's performance, saying that he was 'a fighter' and had 'turned the race upside down and made it exciting'. With his progress on stage 13, Pidcock now sits four minutes and 15 seconds behind yellow jersey wearer Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
The Tour de France will continue into its third week, with the high mountains presenting a new set of challenges for the riders. While it is unlikely that Pidcock will challenge for the podium, he could yet win a stage. As Ryder noted, success for Pidcock in this Tour would be a stage win and a great general classification result.