Tour de France: Gear change problem costs Pidcock his chance of a stage win

Kicking the rear derailleur with his shoe whilst riding: millions of television viewers witnessed this bizarre scene on Sunday during the Tour de France. Tom Pidcock was desperately trying to get his faulty gears working again. The attempt was unsuccessful, as the Briton later admitted.

Fault on Mont Bessou

Just under 23 kilometres from the finish of the 9th stage of the 2026 Tour de France Tom Pidcock dropped back and tried to fix his gears. At that point, Pidcock was in a leading group of four riders with Mathieu van der Poel, Tobias Halland Johannessen and Alex Baudin. Van der Poel had thinned out the group on Mont Bessou with an attack. It was precisely at this stage that Pidcock’s lower gear lever failed.

"My gears stopped working on that climb," explained the Pinarello Q36.5 rider after the race. "I was at the back of the group and then realised that the top button was still working." In professional cycling, it is now standard practice to have small buttons at several points on the handlebars for changing gears.

The decisive moment of the 9th stage of the Tour de France

The real disaster for Pidcock occurred in the final sprint. The Briton was in second place behind Van der Poel when the Dutchman launched his sprint. “I was so focused during the sprint that I instinctively moved to the lower part of the handlebars,” Pidcock explained. “I couldn’t change gears from there. I then had to switch to the tops of the brake levers.”

This change of position in the middle of the sprint cost the Briton precious seconds. Van der Poel pulled away and won the stage ahead of Johannessen. Pidcock had to settle for third place. “My bike has been working perfectly throughout the entire tour. And today, when victory is within reach, it’s not working,” said the 26-year-old Pidcock immediately after crossing the finish line.

Bizarre attempts at repair

Television footage had previously shown Pidcock on the descent from Mont Bessou kicking the area around his rear derailleur with his right boot. It was an unusual sight that highlighted the Briton’s desperation. “I didn’t fix it by kicking it – that didn’t help at all,” Pidcock later clarified. “It was just the buttons.”

The Pinarello-Q36.5 team uses SRAM Red AXS electronic gear systems. The exact cause of the fault remained unclear at first. “I don’t know what happened,” said Pidcock. “The shift button isn’t working – only the top one.”

A strong performance despite some bad luck

Despite the technical problem, Pidcock was pleased with his form. “I think I rode really well today. My legs felt really good and I felt strong,” said the British Olympic mountain bike champion. “If I compare it to the last time I was in a breakaway group at the Tour de France – on the gravel stage in 2024 where I finished second – I was right up there with the leaders today. That definitely shows that my level has improved.”

Pidcock’s preparations for the Tour had been anything but ideal. In March, he crashed into a ravine during the Volta a Catalunya and suffered a ligament injury to his right knee. In June, he had to pull out of the Tour de Suisse – his final warm-up for the Tour de France – due to a viral infection.

A realistic assessment following frustration

Taking a step back, Pidcock put his chances of victory into perspective once again. “I don’t think I would have overtaken Mathieu,” he admitted. “I’m quite satisfied. I’m just glad I was able to shift gears at the end and wasn’t in the peloton. At least I was there and could sprint for the win.”