Tom Pidcock and Ineos Grenadiers were more than delighted as for the second straight year the British squad secured a Tour de France stage victory on Bastille Day, this time with teammate Michal Kwiatkowski.
“I think Bastille Day should be renamed Ineos Day,” Pidcock joked on Eurosport. “I won at Alpe d’Huez last year so that’s two pretty iconic climbs and two stage wins - it’s pretty special.”
Pidcock finished fifth on the stage, losing 13 seconds to Tadej Pogačar, while teammate Carlos Rodriguez was a little more off the pace, shedding 30 seconds. Rodriguez remains in fourth place overall at 4:48 on Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) while Pidcock continues in eighth place, at 5:35.
“At one point we were talking about Kwiato dropping back to help us get into position on the final climb because UAE wasn’t giving the break any time. Then he wins the stage,” Pidcock pointed out.
“I’ve spent the whole time preparing for this race in Tenerife and Suisse with him. I know how hard he’s been working and so it’s super nice to see him win.”
As for his own performance on the 17.5-kilometre Grand Colombier, Pidcock argued that his GC bid remains intact and that he is going from strength to strength.
“I think it’s actually easier, now that I can ride the front group. You ride so fast that the steep parts don’t feel as bad as when you ride them slowly,” he told Eurosport.
“He (Pogačar) rode the last part as if it was a bunch sprint. I was doing 700 watts or something, so who knows what he was doing.”
From the team management’s point of view, Kwiatkowski’s stage win made it a standout day with Rodriguez and Pidcock’s performance keeping their GC hopes alive as the race heads into the Alps.
“It was a bit like Puy de Dôme, we weren’t sure if the break would stick, but if it did, we didn’t want to miss it,” Tour de France lead sports director Steve Cummings told reporters at the team bus.
“We thought UAE would try to control matters and they did. But Kwiato’ was just too strong for them - so chapeau.”
Cumming said he was not surprised by Kwiatkowski’s performance, pointing out that “he’s a world-class bike rider who’s worked very hard. Maybe things haven’t gone too smooth for him in this season in particular, but he’s never stopped trying.”
“He’s an intelligent guy, he’s raced this Tour incredibly well. He’s done all the work we wanted him to do and then he’s got into breakaways as well. He really deserves it.”
Although Kwiatkowski was dropped at one point by the leaders on the stage, he then came back and dropped them, and Cummings explained that this was a case of the Pole taking things at his own pace.
“It was about riding intelligently. It’s a 48-minute climb, probably 50 minutes for him and you finish at the top, not after 20 minutes. So you’ve got to simmer around that red zone or just below.”
Regarding the GC challenge and if they would be more aggressive now they had a stage win in the bag, Cummings said “I think if you’re too conservative you end up getting caught out and having to pull. You don’t have much choice, you have to race intelligently and be represented in big groups.”
On a great day for the team, the one key downside was the loss of Ben Turner, who had to abandon sick after an upset stomach getting the better of him. “Unfortunately he had to stop, but that’s cycling, you’re either up or you’re down,” Cummings reflected.
He admitted with a laugh that Kwiatkowski had not been designated as a rider to get in the day’s break - “his name wasn’t on the board, actually” - but said that with such a flat start on the stage, the former World Champion was one of a group of allrounders who could be in contention on a major final climb.
“At the very start when there were some crosswinds for two kilometres, he knows, he studied the map, he knew what he had to do and was in the right place for that. He doesn’t need telling," he said.
“So he got there in relatively easily but he knew that the break maybe wouldn’t go to the finish so he did the minimum. And then he’s climbing super well, so he really deserved this. I’m really happy for him.”
