“With Tom Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel... I was hoping for a miracle” – Tobias Halland Johannessen pushes peloton superstars all the way at Tour de France
CyclingSunday, 12 July 2026 at 18:16
Tobias Halland Johannessen fought two of cycling’s biggest names for victory on Stage 9 of the 2026 Tour de France and came closer than either Tom Pidcock or Alex Baudin to denying Mathieu van der Poel in Ussel. The Uno-X Mobility leader survived an attritional day in temperatures around 37°C before finishing second in the four-rider uphill sprint.
“When you’re sitting there with Tom Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel, I’m happy with second place,” Halland Johannessen told TV 2 after the stage. “I was hoping for a miracle, but it didn’t happen.”
Johannessen survives Van der Poel attack
Stage 9 had been shortened from 185.5 to 155.5 kilometres after Correze was placed under a red heatwave alert, but the revised route still contained approximately 2,800 metres of climbing.
The prolonged fight for the breakaway eventually produced a 16-rider group containing Halland Johannessen. The Norwegian then attacked with Quinn Simmons before six riders bridged across to form a powerful eight-man move.
UAE Team Emirates – XRG kept the breakaway on a tight leash throughout the afternoon. Its advantage fell below one minute during the second half of the stage, while repeated accelerations and poor cooperation threatened to bring the escape back within reach of the reduced peloton.
Van der Poel transformed the finale with an attack on the Mont Bessou, briefly distancing every other leader on the 900-metre climb at 6.4%. Johannessen was the final rider to lose contact and then fought his way back alongside Pidcock.
Baudin subsequently joined them, while Pidcock overcame a rear-derailleur problem to restore the four-rider group. They maintained enough of an advantage over the pursuing peloton to contest the victory in Ussel.
“It was a fun situation to be in, but I would have preferred to be there with someone other than Mathieu van der Poel,” Johannessen admitted. “I’ll take this second place and hope that my best days are still to come.”
Johannessen beats Pidcock but cannot deny Van der Poel
Van der Poel led the quartet beneath the flamme rouge and launched first on the rising finishing straight. Johannessen produced the strongest challenge, beating Pidcock to second but falling short of the Alpecin-Premier Tech star.
“I’m very happy to see Tobias riding like that, in every possible way,” Uno-X Mobility sports director Stig Kristiansen said. “We knew that both Pidcock and Van der Poel are lightning fast. It is difficult for Tobias to win bike races because he always comes up against extremely good riders in the finales. He produced a fantastic sprint. There is nothing you can criticise, but winning is difficult.”
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The result was Johannessen’s fifth second place of the season. “We also have to make sure we praise him for these incredibly strong performances. He is 20th in the world rankings and a fantastic rider,” Kristiansen added.
Johannessen also climbed two places in the Tour’s general classification, entering the first rest day 11th overall at 9:30 behind Tadej Pogacar.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- seems like he finally found enjoyment ...Ketterechts12-07-2026
- he isn't one dimensional - road, cross, gravel, MTB. he just needs to check these GTs and leave it to the pure sprinters or climbers.mij12-07-2026
- winning MTB races - that would get headlines. anything MVDP does generates a headline.mij12-07-2026
- One-dimensional, haha, only someone who’s world turns around his idol can Trumpify a description so badly.Mistermaumau12-07-2026
- No, there was another reason, it was. TTT so his personal performance wasn’t really that relevant. There may be something to him not being 100% (but still pretty darn good) but nobody except him and his close entourage will know if it’s a remnant of the Giro, a temporary problem, or off day or he’s just pre-peakMistermaumau12-07-2026
- Oh c’mon, ! What’s the point in trying to sound knowledgeable after the man himself had already told the world how he’s feeling. Besides, didn’t take him long to regain that « one » percent.Mistermaumau12-07-2026
- I'm not so sure, going in I agreed with you. But, he hasn't really seemed to be 100% at this race. The only reason he was leading for a few days was UAE goofed on the TTT. Had they not messed up, Pogi would have been in yellow day 1. In the TTT somehow during the climb, the 2 big riders that were supposed to pull dropped off. UAE had faster times on the flats. So, 1 mistake cost a day 1 yellowmd197512-07-2026
- Spoiling it with another cheap silly title.Mistermaumau12-07-2026
- Fair enough but I prefer the MVDP version working for other team goals and even then, none of them really exude that crucial A-M ingredient in their personality, assertiveness. I’d be curious to know which recent riders you’d all consider to have been examples of A-M.Mistermaumau12-07-2026
- Well done guys, even if it failsMistermaumau12-07-2026
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