"I don't know what they do to the roads here... but that white crap was all over it" - Tom Pidcock furious after his crash
Cycling
The tenth stage of 2026 Tour de France brought about some of the anticipated GC action, but it was ultimately Tadej Pogacar who was the day's main winner. Behind, Isaac del Toro backed out of the general classification a bit, but not much has changed on top positions otherwise. For main victims, we'd need to look at those who have crashed, especially Tom Pidcock and Matteo Jorgenson who have both gone down on the descent from Puy Mary.
"I didn't expect it. I don't know what they do to the roads here when they are cleaned, but they put that white shit over them. And that is very slippery," said Pidcock afterwards.
And he wasn't the only Pinarello Q36.5 rider to crash on this descent. His teammate - also part of the GC group at that time - Chris Harper met a similar fate. However, the Australian seems to have been less lucky in extent of suffered damages. The 31-year-old stood still for a moment in pain and eventually finished 32 minutes behind.
"He is in worse shape than Tom," confirmed Pinarello Q36.5 sports director Kurt Bogaerts to In de Leiderstrui. "There is loose gravel there; I think that melts. That is a place where they didn't expect it."
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It was always gonna be a dangerous section
The sports director also indicated that the tricky descent has been part of the team's pre-race briefing. "We wanted to take a good position there as well. I don't know where in the group he drops from, but the moment he goes over the top, I think he's in fourth or fifth position. It was hard to see."
Fortunately, the Brit seems to have escaped with just a few bruises. "A bit open. That's not what you want in the Tour, but it could be worse," said Bogaerts.
"Ultimately, it didn't have a huge impact on me. I'm okay now, but we'll see how I feel after the adrenaline has worn off. I think I'll be okay. But it will be a bit annoying," said Pidcock.
Tom Pidcock during stage 9 of the 2026 Tour de France
Pidcock later made his way back to the main group. But when Pogacar accelerated on Col du Pertus, Pidcock bounced off the back and eventually crawled across the finish line in 9th place in company of Lenny Martinez and Richard Carapaz, two minutes behind Pogacar.
"I just missed that first group; let's not think about Pogacar, shall we? I'm getting a bit stronger, but I couldn't keep up with Isaac on the final climb. But it was fun racing at the front. It was a fast day, I felt good. It's a bit more enjoyable when you're not suffering all day."
Visma pay the price
Pidcock was not the only victim of today's brutal stage. Matteo Jorgenson has also crashed on the way down from the longest climb. For the American, it was already an all-or-nothing effort in downhill as he had lost touch with the GC group earlier on Puy Mary - a risk which did not pay off.
Jorgenson was able to continue with scrapes and gave a thumbs-up to the camera, but Visma | Lease a Bike ultimately called him off as the front of the race started to slip away from the 27-year-old. He finished 12 minutes behind winner Pogacar.
"He is just back on the bus and the doctor will examine him. It was not a nice crash, at high speed. But the good thing was that he could get back on the bike and finish," team manager Marc Reef stated to In de Leiderstrui after stage ten.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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