"A war zone..." - Tom Pidcock struggles through the Tour de France's extreme heat
CyclingTuesday, 07 July 2026 at 16:40
With temperatures in their high 30's and hours spent on the heat-absorbing tarmac, it is not surprise that the Tour de France's rider have been suffering through the opening days of the race. In a sport where its athletes are fully exposed to the elements, Olympic Champion Tom Pidcock has opened up about how this has hampered him following stage 3.
No legs for an overheated Pidcock
The stage finished a hilltop finish at Les Angles, a stage that on paper suited the Briton quite well. However at the finishing climb, he struggled to stay with the best and arrived 18 seconds back on stage winner Tadej Pogacar - 16th on the road. A disappointing performance for the Pinarello - Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team rider, but one that he could not prevent, as he had a brutal day with the weather conditions.
“The big moral of the story is how bloody hot it was all day. I don’t think I’ve done such a hard race in such heat before. It was ridiculous," Pidcock said in a post-race interview, as captured by Cyclism'Actu.
Whilst the stage's pace was high, the roads in the Pyrenees are what truly put Pidcock under difficulty. Aiming for the overall classification, Pidcock has not had easy days thus far in this race and is looking to perform consistently. On a stage that was in itself threatened by wildfires, he had a tough time surviving the pace of UAE Team Emirates - XRG.
“It was like a war zone, everyone trying to get bottles. I think we went through about 10,000 bidons today in the peloton," he added, before making his way back down into the team bus.
Tom Pidcock has been struggling through the heat-affected Tour de France
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“I just didn’t have anything in the final. I was a bit cooked. So, yeah, that was it.”
Ahead of him, the celebrating UAE men, who delivered Tadej Pogacar to a comfortable win. “They obviously took so much confidence from yesterday that they felt they could do that. And they can. They’re the only team who could control a day like today. They did it for a reason, and it worked.”
Pidcock began stage 4 of the Tour in 11th place in the overall classification, 1:22 minutes down on Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard; and 5 seconds down on Top10 closer Ilan van Wilder.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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ScottG07-07-2026 - I agree with you, mus. I can't believe it.
KerisVroom07-07-2026 - Translation of his comment - "we need someone, anyone who may be able to beat Tadej!"
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