"It may simply be that their line was not ideal" - Tour official counters after Pidcock's criticism following stage 10 crash
Cycling
The tenth stage of 2026 Tour de France witnessed yet another great performance of Tadej Pogacar, but also multiple crashes in the group of favourites. Those caused notable problems for top-10 contender Tom Pidcock who not only crashed himself, but also lost crucial teammate Chris Harper who hit the deck in the same corner.
In his comments after the stage, Pidcock did not hesitate to pinpoint the main culprit: the unfamiliar white substance covering the road surface on the descent from Puy Mary.
"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," he said after the stage.
His fellow competitor, currently fifth overall Paul Seixas echoed Pidcock's concerns: "I felt my front wheel slip in a corner without even understanding why. I think the tarmac was really melting because the descent was like an ice rink."
White phantom
The white areas are often created by limewash or a similar light-colored agent applied to the roadway.
The light material serves several functions. It reflects sunlight better than dark asphalt, which means the surface heats up less. At the same time, it can partially bind or dry out the sticky, oily components on the surface. This is intended to prevent the asphalt from softening even more in the heat.
"The coating reflects light. The aim is to keep the temperature below 50 degrees Celsius, which is a critical temperature for some surfaces," Tour road coordinator André Bancala told RTBF Sport.
Bancala said local authorities, rather than ASO alone, decide where the treatment is required. Road inspectors identify sections considered vulnerable to heat, with particular attention paid to bends, descents and other technically difficult areas.
Tom Pidcock on Stage 10 of the 2026 Tour de France
The coating is not exclusively used for the Tour de France. According to Bancala, French road authorities are increasingly applying it during periods of intense heat because it uses less water than repeatedly cooling roads with water trucks.
Treating the road does not completely solve the problem. It can even create a new uncertainty. Riders do not always know exactly how the white area will feel under the tire.
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If it is dry and evenly distributed, it can help. But if the material lies on the surface as a dusty film, it can feel slippery. If it gets damp, its behavior can change again. Transitions between normal asphalt, softened bitumen, and treated sections can also be treacherous.
"It is not slippery in itself," the Tour road coordinator countered, pointing to another problem instead: "These are difficult roads, and the descent of the Puy Mary is not easy to navigate."
According to Bancala, riders should take more into consideration the condition of used public roads and not race carelessly in the technical descents.
"The riders should not think they are on a Formula 1 circuit. When only one or two riders crash, it may simply be that their line was not ideal. We did not see a general wave of crashes," he concluded.
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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- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
- How can you use a photo post incident to judge the incident itself (which is not hard to find if you’re prepared to invest the same amount of time in searching as writing that comment? It’s harsh but technically right even though this or worse is not always sanctioned in every race. The two things that went against MS (who unfortunately for her would still have won without making her mistake) are that it was not a bunch sprint where there could have been an overlooked incident or mitigating circumstances explaining a deviation. Everything was focused on just those 2, Schreiber was riding beautifully balanced which made her sudden deviation look unnatural stroke as if it could have been in some part intentional whilst she was slowly drifting ever closer towards the barrier to a point that would have reached obstruction level. In her defence, it might have been the realisation she was heading towards that that made her react suddenly and caused the deviation involuntarily. In any case, congratulations to her for the ride of her life, in people’s minds she will be credited for it.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
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