Swiss Rider Schmid Wins Longest Tour de France Stage in Belfort Sprint

Swiss rider Mauro Schmid beat Colombian Harold Tejada in a two-man sprint finish to win the 13th and longest stage of the Tour de France on Friday, July 17. The stage covered 205 kilometers from Dole in the Jura to Belfort in the Vosges. Schmid and Tejada had broken clear of a 10-man group with 16 kilometers remaining and held off their former breakaway companions to contest the sprint.

Tejada launched first in the final sprint, but Schmid dragged him back and pipped him to the line. Briton Tom Pidcock finished third, two seconds behind the winner.

The first two-thirds of the race focused on green jersey contenders battling for points at the intermediate sprint. Fifty-seven riders escaped the peloton and built a lead of more than eight minutes at one stage. The group began to break up on the 5.1-kilometer Col des Croix climb and then split further on the 8.9-kilometer Ballon d'Alsace.

Pidcock was among 10 riders who crested the final climb in the lead with 30 kilometers left. Schmid attacked at the end of the descent, and Tejada was the only rider to follow. The pair worked together until the final kilometer to secure the stage victory between them.

Pidcock edged out Maxim van Gils and Brandon McNulty to claim four bonus seconds for third place. The peloton finished 7 minutes and 32 seconds behind the stage winner. Pidcock moved up six places in the overall standings after starting the day almost 12 minutes behind race leader Tadej Pogacar.

He is now 4 minutes and 15 seconds behind Pogacar and nine seconds off Remco Evenepoel in the final podium spot. Belgian Jasper Philipsen won the intermediate sprint ahead of Mads Pedersen but still trails the Dane by 41 points in the green jersey competition.