Tom Pidcock rues mechanical as Mathieu van der Poel takes Stage 9 victory at Tour de France 2026 - 'I couldn't change gear'
Published 12/07/2026 at 21:10 GMT+1
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Tom Pidcock was left frustrated in his bid for a stage win at the 2026 Tour de France after suffering mechanical problems while chasing victory on a shortened Stage 9 on Sunday, as Mathieu van der Poel powered to victory.
'When the win’s there it doesn’t work' - Pidcock left frustrated by mechanical issues
Video credit: TNT Sports
Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) thrived in the blistering heat to make the decisive breakaway alongside Mathieu van der Poel, (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) and Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility).
However, disaster struck at a crucial moment of the 155km stage, shortened by 30km due to a "red alert" heatwave when a faulty shifter left the Briton unable to change gear properly.
Although Pidcock was able to stay in contention with the lead group, the issue proved costly in the closing stages as Van der Poel surged to victory. Pidcock eventually crossed the line in third, with Johannessen taking second place.
"On the climb there, my shifter stopped working and I couldn't change gear, and then I realised I could only change on the top," he told reporters afterwards.
"But then in the sprint I was focusing so much on the sprint and I was in the drops, and that bottom [shifter] wasn't working and I started sprinting and I couldn't change gear, so then I had to go on my hoods," explained Pidcock at the finish.
"My bike works perfect the whole race and the day when the win’s there it doesn’t work."
While disappointed, Pidcock acknowledged the challenge posed by his fellow escapee.
"Mathieu is a difficult one to beat in those situations so it would have been difficult anyway," he added.
"I was feeling pretty good all day. I came along last to the breakaway and then, felt pretty good all day, even in the heat. It would have been nice if someone as fast as Mathieu wasn't there."
The interview ended with Pidcock making his way for the team bus on team-mate Quinten Hermans' bike and left to reflect on a disappointing end to what had been a highly promising day.
Analysing the moment in which Pidcock lost approximately four seconds, Adam Blythe told The Breakaway: "He looked laboured at the start of the sprint; he didn't look to react quickly enough and when you look from the overhead you can see him just trying to get on top of the gear a little bit more."
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'Not a happy bunny!' - Pidcock suffers mechanical problem at crucial time
Video credit: TNT Sports
Meanwhile, Jonathan Vaughters, chief of EF Education-EasyPost, offered some advice for Pidcock.
"He's a great talent," he said. "I'd just like to see him actually racing for the stages. This is a more natural way of racing for Tom than trying to ride this conservative, save a little bit of energy for the next day kind of race."
It was a third stage victory for Dutchman Van der Poel, with his previous wins coming in 2021 and 2025.
Making his move with 25km remaining, the 31-year-old had powered away from a breakaway group of eight, before proving his class to take an impressive victory.
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”It was a super hard day,” Van der Poel said. ”The start of the Tour was not so great for our team but I think always we stayed calm. We have a really nice group, we kept believing it will turn around.
”Maybe not today, maybe in the second week or the third week, but it’s really nice to get to the first rest day with a win.”
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) remains in control of the yellow jersey, 2'42'' ahead of Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) going into Monday's rest day.
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