{"id":696976,"date":"2026-07-17T17:08:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T17:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/696976\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T17:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T17:08:15","slug":"tour-de-france-mauro-schmid-outduels-harold-tejada-in-two-rider-matchup-at-the-line-on-stage-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/696976\/","title":{"rendered":"Tour de France: Mauro Schmid outduels Harold Tejada in two-rider matchup at the line on stage 13"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mauro Schmid gave Jayco-AlUla their first success of the 2026 Tour de France<\/a>, out-sprinting Harold Tejada (XDS Astana) in the race’s longest stage from Dole to Belfort from the day’s successful breakaway.<\/p>\n

“I can’t believe it at the moment,” Schmid said after finishing the stage in just over four hours and averaging over 51kph. “It was an incredibly hard day from the start. We were keen with the whole team to be there to be in the breakaway. We tried many times already these last couple of days, and so far it didn’t really go as planned.<\/p>\n

“I felt really good from the start, but it was just full gas from the first minute. Then also the boys came from the back, so I could just sit on, so it was pretty much perfect.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It was Schmid’s first Tour de France stage win and a relief after finishing second in a similar scenario in last year’s race.<\/p>\n

Latest Videos From<\/p>\n

“I think that came to my mind many times,” Schmid said. “I started to cramp up a little bit with 4k to go, so I got a little bit worried, so I stayed at the back with 2k to go and hoped he would go from the front. But then at some point he forced me to the first position – I think I launched it a bit late, and in the first 50 meters, I thought maybe it’s the same like last year. But when I saw the finish line,\u00a0 I found my legs again and just went for it.”<\/p>\n

The biggest story of the day was the presence of Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) in the day’s escape, which gained almost eight minutes on the peloton and vaulted the Briton much closer to podium position than his previous 10th place in the GC standings.<\/p>\n

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Pidcock led the chase to the line for third and the four-second time bonus to further enhance his fortunes.<\/p>\n

“I’m going to lose a lot of time in the time trial, that’s for sure. I’ll keep doing what I’m doing. I think we definitely earned some respect today from everyone who was pulling hard behind. The next few days are going to be GC days, so we’ll race them as hard as we can,” Pidcock said.<\/p>\n

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\n

\"BELFORT,\n<\/p>\n

Tom Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling) crosses the finish in Belfort in third place (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Tadej Poga\u010dar held true to his desire to take it easier on the 205.8-kilometre stage before the race heads into the Alps, keeping the breakaway close enough to prevent anyone threatening his maillot jaune.<\/p>\n

There were no fireworks among the GC contenders on the Ballon d’Alsace, and the peloton was led to the line by Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), 7:32 behind Schmid.<\/p>\n

With no time bonuses for the top three, Poga\u010dar continues to hold 3:36 over Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), with Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) holding onto third overall at 4:06.<\/p>\n

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Pidcock moved up to fourth place in the GC standings at 4:15.<\/p>\n

There was more intrigue for the green jersey competition on the day, with points classification leader Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) having to scramble across to the breakaway to fight for the intermediate sprint.<\/p>\n

The Dane lost five points to Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) but still eads by 41, with Biniam Girmay (NSN) in third just three points behind the Belgian.<\/p>\n

Breakaway day<\/p>\n

\n

\"A\n<\/p>\n

A general view of the peloton at the start from Dole for stage 13, the longest stage at 205.8km (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The longest stage of the 2026 Tour de France made stage 13 a day for the breakaway, and rather than the typical escape group, a massive group of riders went clear thanks to the presence of teammates of all the top contenders, barring Paul Seixas in the move.<\/p>\n

Between the size of the breakaway and a brisk tailwind, the stage was another fast one, with an average speed of 51.45 kph even with the category 1 Ballon d’Alsace featuring in the final 40km.<\/p>\n

It all started just a few kilometres from the start in Dole, with 205.8 kilometres between the peloton and the finish in Belfort. The first escape formed with Micha\u0142 Kwiatkowski (Netcompany Ineos), Kasper Asgreen (EF Education-EasyPost), Louis Vervaeke (Soudal-QuickStep), Alex Kirsch (Cofidis) and Georg Zimmermann (Lotto-Intermarch\u00e9), but they were caught after 25 kilometres.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Breakaway\n<\/p>\n

Breakaway effort by (L-R) Louis Vervaecke of Soudal Quick-Step, Kasper Asgreen of EF Education – EasyPost and Michal Kwiatkowski of Netcompany Ineos (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Fred Wright (Pinarello-Q36.5) sparked a much larger group to go clear, and so many riders followed that Decathlon CMA CGM and Soudal-QuickStep were the only teams to miss the move.<\/p>\n

With high-powered riders such as Brandon McNulty and Tim Wellens from Poga\u010dar’s UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad, Victor Campenaerts and Per Strand Hagenes for Vingegaard’s Visma-Lease a Bike team, and Tim Van Dijke and Maxim Van Gils from Remco Evenepoel’s Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe outfit, it was clear that this split would not be coming back.<\/p>\n

Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) was the highest placed among the attackers in 10th overall, but he wasn’t too much of a threat, 11:49 behind Poga\u010dar. The Briton had three teammates for company and pulled out such a large lead that all of the other GC contenders had to worry.<\/p>\n

Green jersey battle<\/p>\n

The presence of Jasper Philipsen in the attack raised alarm bells within the Lidl-Trek team, and the size of the escape and the number of teams already in it meant they got very little help in chasing down what was a 40-second gap.<\/p>\n

They had almost given up when a counter-attack came that included Biniam Girmay (NSN). It was then that green jersey holder Pedersen took matters into his own hands and surged to join the chasers. While the sprinters might not survive the Ballon d’Alsace, there was an intermediate sprint with 68km to go where Pedersen needed to score points.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Mads\n<\/p>\n

Mads Pedersen takes second-place intermediate sprint points ahead of Biniam Girmay on stage 13 (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

After bridging to the 20-rider Girmay group, Pedersen pushed the pace for the better part of an hour, finally making contact with the leaders with 90km to go. Now 57 riders strong, the lead group had almost seven minutes on the maillot jaune.<\/p>\n

Philipsen hit out hard to take the points at the sprint in M\u00e9lisey, but Pedersen managed to hold off Girmay for second and only ceded five points to the Belgian.<\/p>\n

The lead group began to shrink before the Col des Croix, but was still quite large as they crested the summit, holding 8:10 on the peloton.<\/p>\n

Ballon d’Alsace<\/p>\n

\n

\"Team\n<\/p>\n

On the Ballon d’Alsace ascent, Team Jayco AlUla team’s Luke Plapp (R), Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team’s Tom Pidcock (C) and Team Jayco AlUla’s Mauro Schmid ride together (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

With Pidcock threatening the place of Lenny Martinez, Bahrain-Victorious began working in the bunch alongside UAE Team Emirates-XRG to limit the breakaway’s advantage, but with eight minutes, the Briton was threatening everyone except Poga\u010dar.<\/p>\n

As the leaders began to ascend the Ballon d’Alsace, an attack from Tudor’s Rick Pluimers was just the excuse the sprinters needed to sit up, and Girmay, Philipsen and Pedersen made a rapid exit.<\/p>\n

K\u00e9vin Vauquelin (Netcompany Ineos) countered the move, but his acceleration had more impact on the back of the group than the front. There were only 20 riders left as Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) attacked with 34km to go and 4km to the summit of Ballon d’Alsace.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Tom\n<\/p>\n

Tom Pidcock of Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling competes in the breakaway (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Pidcock shut the move down but the damage was done – with only ten riders left, Luke Plapp (Jayco-AlUla) attacked and the Briton had no immediate response. However, a steady tempo and an easing of the gradient and Plapp was back in the fold.<\/p>\n

With the summit just 800 metres away, Pidcock accelerated hard but still could not dislodge anyone bar Cl\u00e9ment Braz (Groupama-FDJ), and went over the top with Plapp and teammate Mauro Schmid, Van Gils, Vauquelin, Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies), Harold Tejada (XDS Astana), and McNulty in tow and 8:30 on the maillot jaune.<\/p>\n

On the descent, Braz and Tim Wellens rejoined, bringing the group back to 10.<\/p>\n

As the road flattened, Tejada and Schmid went clear with just over 15km to go and gained 20 seconds over the Pidcock group.<\/p>\n

In the finale, Schmid was able to hold off Tejada to deliver an important victory for himself and his team.<\/p>\n

\n

\"UAE\n<\/p>\n

Tadej Poga\u010dar retained his GC lead (Image credit: Getty Images)ResultsSwipe to scroll horizontallyStage 13 top 10<\/p>\n

Place<\/p>\n

Rider (Country) Team<\/p>\n

Result<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

Mauro Schmid (Swi) Jayco-AlUla<\/p>\n

04:06:58<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Harold Tejada (Col) XDS Astana<\/p>\n

Row 1 – Cell 2 <\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Tom Pidcock (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5<\/p>\n

00:00:02<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Maxim Van Gils (Bel) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe<\/p>\n

Row 3 – Cell 2 <\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates-XRG<\/p>\n

Row 4 – Cell 2 <\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

K\u00e9vin Vauquelin (Fra) Ineos Grenadiers<\/p>\n

Row 5 – Cell 2 <\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

Jordan Jegat (Fra) Totalenergies<\/p>\n

Row 6 – Cell 2 <\/p>\n

8<\/p>\n

Cl\u00e9ment Braz Afonso (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United<\/p>\n

Row 7 – Cell 2 <\/p>\n

9<\/p>\n

Tim Wellens (Bel) UAE Team Emirates-XRG<\/p>\n

Row 8 – Cell 2 <\/p>\n

10<\/p>\n

Lucas Plapp (Aus) Jayco-AlUla<\/p>\n

00:00:11<\/p>\n

Swipe to scroll horizontallyGC top 10 after stage 13<\/p>\n

Place<\/p>\n

Rider (Country) Team<\/p>\n

Result<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

Tadej Poga\u010dar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG<\/p>\n

47:18:31<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike<\/p>\n

00:03:36<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe<\/p>\n

00:04:06<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Tom Pidcock (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5<\/p>\n

00:04:15<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

Juan Ayuso (Spa) Lidl-Trek<\/p>\n

00:04:22<\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Paul Seixas (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM<\/p>\n

00:04:35<\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe<\/p>\n

00:04:44<\/p>\n

8<\/p>\n

Isaac Del Toro (Mex) UAE Team Emirates-XRG<\/p>\n

00:05:08<\/p>\n

9<\/p>\n

Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek<\/p>\n

00:05:45<\/p>\n

10<\/p>\n

Lenny Martinez (Fra) Bahrain Victorious<\/p>\n

00:06:34<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mauro Schmid gave Jayco-AlUla their first success of the 2026 Tour de France, out-sprinting Harold Tejada (XDS Astana)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":696977,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-696976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=696976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696976\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/696977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=696976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=696976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=696976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}