Mauro Schmid wins from the breakaway on stage 13 – Tour de France

Tour de France 2026

Stage 13

Mauro Schmid gave Jayco-AlUla their first success of the 2026 Tour de France, out-sprinting Harold Tejada (XDS Astana) in the race’s longest stage from Dole to Belfort from the day’s successful breakaway.

“I can’t believe it at the moment,” Schmid said after finishing the stage in just over four hours and averaging over 51kph. “It was an incredibly hard day from the start. We were keen with the whole team to be there to be in the breakaway. We tried many times already these last couple of days, and so far it didn’t really go as planned.

“I felt really good from the start, but it was just full gas from the first minute. Then also the boys came from the back, so I could just sit on, so it was pretty much perfect.”

It was Schmid’s first Tour de France stage win and a relief after finishing second in a similar scenario in last year’s race.

“I think that came to my mind many times,” Schmid said. “I started to cramp up a little bit with 4k to go, so I got a little bit worried, so I stayed at the back with 2k to go and hoped he would go from the front. But then at some point he forced me to the first position – I think I launched it a bit late, and in the first 50 meters, I thought maybe it’s the same like last year. But when I saw the finish line, I found my legs again and just went for it.”

The biggest story of the day was the presence of Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) in the day’s escape, which gained almost eight minutes on the peloton and vaulted the Briton much closer to podium position than his previous 10th place in the GC standings.

“I think that came to my mind many times,” Schmid said. “I started to cramp up a little bit with 4k to go, so I got a little bit worried, so I stayed at the back with 2k to go and hoped he would go from the front. But then at some point he forced me to the first position – I think I launched it a bit late, and in the first 50 meters, I thought maybe it’s the same like last year. But when I saw the finish line, I found my legs again and just went for it.”

The biggest story of the day was the presence of Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) in the day’s escape, which gained almost eight minutes on the peloton and vaulted the Briton much closer to podium position than his previous 10th place in the GC standings.

Tadej Pogačar held true to his desire to take it easier on the 205.8-kilometre stage before the race heads into the Alps, keeping the breakaway close enough to prevent anyone threatening his maillot jaune.

There were no fireworks among the GC contenders on the Ballon d’Alsace, and the peloton was led to the line by Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), 7:32 behind Schmid.

With no time bonuses for the top three, Pogačar continues to hold 3:36 over Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), with Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) holding onto third overall at 4:06.

Pidcock moved up to fourth place in the GC standings at 4:15.

There was more intrigue for the green jersey competition on the day, with points classification leader Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) having to scramble across to the breakaway to fight for the intermediate sprint.

The Dane lost five points to Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) but still eads by 41, with Biniam Girmay (NSN) in third just three points behind the Belgian.

The longest stage of the 2026 Tour de France made stage 13 a day for the breakaway, and rather than the typical escape group, a massive group of riders went clear thanks to the presence of teammates of all the top contenders, barring Paul Seixas in the move.

Between the size of the breakaway and a brisk tailwind, the stage was another fast one, with an average speed of 51.45 kph even with the category 1 Ballon d’Alsace featuring in the final 40km.

It all started just a few kilometres from the start in Dole, with 205.8 kilometres between the peloton and the finish in Belfort. The first escape formed with Michał Kwiatkowski (Netcompany Ineos), Kasper Asgreen (EF Education-EasyPost), Louis Vervaeke (Soudal-QuickStep), Alex Kirsch (Cofidis) and Georg Zimmermann (Lotto-Intermarché), but they were caught after 25 kilometres.

Fred Wright (Pinarello-Q36.5) sparked a much larger group to go clear, and so many riders followed that Decathlon CMA CGM and Soudal-QuickStep were the only teams to miss the move.

With high-powered riders such as Brandon McNulty and Tim Wellens from Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad, Victor Campenaerts and Per Strand Hagenes for Vingegaard’s Visma-Lease a Bike team, and Tim Van Dijke and Maxim Van Gils from Remco Evenepoel’s Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe outfit, it was clear that this split would not be coming back.

Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) was the highest placed among the attackers in 10th overall, but he wasn’t too much of a threat, 11:49 behind Pogačar. The Briton had three teammates for company and pulled out such a large lead that all of the other GC contenders had to worry.

The presence of Jasper Philipsen in the attack raised alarm bells within the Lidl-Trek team, and the size of the escape and the number of teams already in it meant they got very little help in chasing down what was a 40-second gap.

They had almost given up when a counter-attack came that included Biniam Girmay (NSN). It was then that green jersey holder Pedersen took matters into his own hands and surged to join the chasers. While the sprinters might not survive the Ballon d’Alsace, there was an intermediate sprint with 68km to go where Pedersen needed to score points.

The presence of Jasper Philipsen in the attack raised alarm bells within the Lidl-Trek team, and the size of the escape and the number of teams already in it meant they got very little help in chasing down what was a 40-second gap.

They had almost given up when a counter-attack came that included Biniam Girmay (NSN). It was then that green jersey holder Pedersen took matters into his own hands and surged to join the chasers. While the sprinters might not survive the Ballon d’Alsace, there was an intermediate sprint with 68km to go where Pedersen needed to score points.

With Pidcock threatening the place of Lenny Martinez, Bahrain-Victorious began working in the bunch alongside UAE Team Emirates-XRG to limit the breakaway’s advantage, but with eight minutes, the Briton was threatening everyone except Pogačar.

As the leaders began to ascend the Ballon d’Alsace, an attack from Tudor’s Rick Pluimers was just the excuse the sprinters needed to sit up, and Girmay, Philipsen and Pedersen made a rapid exit.

Kévin Vauquelin (Netcompany Ineos) countered the move, but his acceleration had more impact on the back of the group than the front. There were only 20 riders left as Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) attacked with 34km to go and 4km to the summit of Ballon d’Alsace.

Pidcock shut the move down but the damage was done – with only ten riders left, Luke Plapp (Jayco-AlUla) attacked and the Briton had no immediate response. However, a steady tempo and an easing of the gradient and Plapp was back in the fold.

With the summit just 800 metres away, Pidcock accelerated hard but still could not dislodge anyone bar Clément Braz (Groupama-FDJ), and went over the top with Plapp and teammate Mauro Schmid, Van Gils, Vauquelin, Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies), Harold Tejada (XDS Astana), and McNulty in tow and 8:30 on the maillot jaune.

On the descent, Braz and Tim Wellens rejoined, bringing the group back to 10.

As the road flattened, Tejada and Schmid went clear with just over 15km to go and gained 20 seconds over the Pidcock group.

In the finale, Schmid was able to hold off Tejada to deliver an important victory for himself and his team.

Tomorrow’s stage 14 of the Tour de France takes the riders through the Vosges Mountains. Starting in Mulhouse, the finish comes 155.3 kilometres later at the Le Markstein ski resort, roughly 6 kilometres after the last of seven climbs on the route

The Tour de France last set off from Mulhouse in 2019. That day, the stage finished at La Planche des Belles Filles, where Dylan Teuns outduelled his breakaway companion Giulio Ciccone in a thrilling finale.

This time, the riders stay much closer to the start, Le Markstein lies less than 50 kilometres away. The route itself is, of course, much longer, though the peloton crosses the finish line fairly early on. After tackling the Grand Ballon,  an irregular 21.5-kilometre climb averaging 4.8%, just 36 kilometres into the stage, they reach the finish area for the first time. From there, a loop of just over 111 kilometres awaits.

After that first passage, the race dives downhill to Kruth, before the Col du Page provides the easiest classified climb of the day: 9.8 kilometres at 4.7%. Right after the descent comes the Ballon d’Alsace, 8.9 kilometres long at an average of 6.9%. At the summit, there are still 61 kilometres to go.

That phase is unlikely to cause much drama. After the descent, the Col du Schirm (3.7 kilometres at 5.3%) and Col du Hundsruck (3.6 kilometres at 5.2%) are the only hurdles. Everyone will be waiting for the final climb.

Or rather — the final climbs. First comes the ascent to Geishouse, 4 kilometres at 9%, before a short descent precedes a section at a fairly steady gradient, after which the final kilometre below the summit ramps up to 9.5%. All in all, the Col du Haag is an 11.2 kilometres test with an average gradient of 7.3%. Once over the top, there are still 5.9 kilometres of rolling terrain to the finish.

In total, stage 14 of the Tour features 3,800 metres of elevation gain.

The Tour last finished in Le Markstein in 2023, when Tadej Pogacar won a sprint from a select group, while Jonas Vingegaard sealed his overall victory. The approach will be from the opposite side this time.

Stage 13 result:

1. Mauro Schmid (Swi) Jayco AlUla, in 4:06:58
2. Harold Tejada (Col) XDS Astana, at s.t.
3. Tom Pidcock (Gbr) Pinarello Q36.5, +2s
4. Maxim Van Gils (Bel) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe
5. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates-XRG
6. Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Netcompany-Ineos
7. Jordan Jegat (Fra) TotalEnergies
8. Clément Braz Alfonso (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United
9. Tim Wellens (Bel) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, all at s.t.
10. Luke Plapp (Aus) Jayco AlUla, +11s

General Classification:

1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 47:18:31
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, +3:36
3. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Redu Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +4:06
4. Tom Pidcock (Gbr), Pinarello Q36.5, +4:15
5. Juan Ayuso (Esp) Lidl-Trek, +4:22
6. Paul Seixas (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM, +4:35
7. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +4:44
8. Isaac del Toro (Mex) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +5:08
9. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek,+5:45
10. Lenny Martinez (Fra) Bahrain Victorious, +6:34