Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) outsprinted breakaway partner Harold Tejada (XDS Astana) to win stage 13 in Belfort at the end of what was the longest stage of this year's Tour de France.
The pair nipped out of the final selection of a huge breakaway that had established itself after around 30km of riding, and despite a keen chase from behind, managed to hold on to sprint it out in Belfort after a 205.8km stage that took the peloton into the Vosges.
With the riders cresting the cat-one climb of the Ballon d'Alsace with 30km to go, many eyes were on Tom Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5) with his elite descending ability. But the descent was not steep and technical enough and, when Schmid and Tejada broke clear, his challenge ultimately faded out – though he led the chasers in for third place.
Another consolation for Pidcock was a big GC boost – having started the day in 10th place, the Brit finished it in fourth, nine seconds off Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) and the podium, thanks to a 7:32 gap back to the main peloton, including Tadej Pogačar and the other GC players.
Pogačar retains the yellow jersey, and Pidcock's leap up the standings was the only significant GC change.
"I can't believe it at the moment. It was an incredibly hard day from the start," said Schmid afterwards. "We were keen to be there in the breakaway. We've tried many times already but so far it didn't go as planned. I felt really good from the start but it was full gas from the first minute. But the boys came from the back so I just stayed on, it was just perfect.
"I started to cramp up a bit with four Ks to go so I got a bit worried," added the 26-year-old Swiss rider, who lost out in a similar two-up sprint with Jonas Abrahamsen in Toulouse last year. "I stayed at the back with two Ks to go and hoped he would go from the front, but at some point he forced me to the first position. I think I launched it a bit late, and the first 50m I thought, 'ah maybe it's the same as last year', and then I found my legs again and just went for it."
He described the victory as very much a team effort, with Jayco-AlUla's numbers giving them multiple cards to play.
"I was a bit worried the climb might be too hard for me, and at the beginning when Ben [O'Connor] paced I was like I'm not sure I can go to the top like this," he said. "I think for me it was quite good that it was a bit stop and go. It was a good situation because I knew we had Bling [Michael Matthews] in the back, so the first part of the downhill I was just making sure I wasn't getting dropped. Then I tried to put the pace down a little bit, and I tried one time and, yeah, got away."
Despite the continuing heat and its obvious length, there was action from the get-go on today's stage which began in Dole in the Jura region. An early five-man break was chased down unrelentingly before, in the rolling roads of the Doubs département, constant hard riding up front eventually split the peloton, with a total of 37 riders going clear.
Many teams had multiple representatives and multiple goals, with Pidcock hoping for a stage and a GC boost and Jayco-AlUla looking for a first stage win.
Tim Merlier's sprint rivals were also in there, looking to gain points in the intermediate sprint, with Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) leading Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Biniam Girmay (NSN Cycling) through before the trio eventually dropped away on the Ballon d'Alsace.
The big group dwindled rapidly on the slopes of the 8.8km / 6.9% climb, with only a handful of riders left at the top. Schmid's teammate Luke Plapp was active, as was Pidcock, both putting in attacks, but the group remained together for the descent, and when Schmid attacked with 16km to go, only Tejada could follow.
Tour de France 2026, stage 13: Dole > Belfort (205.8km)
1. Mauro Schmid (Swi) Jayco AlUla, in 4:06:58
2. Harold Tejada (Col) XDS Astana, at s.t.
3. Tom Pidcock (Gbr) Pinarello Q36.5, +2s
4. Maxim Van Gils (Bel) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe
5. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates-XRG
6. Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Netcompany-Ineos
7. Jordan Jegat (Fra) TotalEnergies
8. Clément Braz Alfonso (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United
9. Tim Wellens (Bel) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, all at s.t.
10. Luke Plapp (Aus) Jayco AlUla, +11s
General classification after stage 13
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 47:18:31
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, +3:36
3. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Redu Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +4:06
4. Tom Pidcock (Gbr), Pinarello Q36.5, +4:15
5. Juan Ayuso (Esp) Lidl-Trek, +4:22
6. Paul Seixas (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM, +4:35
7. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +4:44
8. Isaac del Toro (Mex) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +5:08
9. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek,+5:45
10. Lenny Martinez (Fra) Bahrain Victorious, +6:34
