Tom Pidcock and Ineos Grenadiers enjoyed a far better day on stage 2 of the Tour de France, with the Briton finishing fourth in the sprint behind solo winner Victor Lafay despite riding with a slow puncture and sealant visibly leaking on his rear tyre.
Pidcock was in the select group of 24 riders that formed over the top of the Jaizkibel climb. Egan Bernal and Carlos Rodriguez were also there.
Pidcock lost 33 seconds to Tadej Pogačar and a number of other overall contenders on stage 1 after he lost contact on the late Côte de Pike climb overlooking Bilbao. He was happy to bounce back and make the selection on stage 2. He moved up to 17th overall, 43 seconds down on Adam Yates.
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“That was much better,” Pidcock told ITV television at the finish line and then spoke further to Cyclingnews at the Ineos Grenadiers team bus.
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Asked to explain what happened during stage 1, Pidcock said simply: “I was shit!” before going on to elaborate a little more to ITV.
“Yesterday was not what I expected at all, I was a bit disappointed, honestly. Almost embarrassed, you could say. But today was better and it’s given me some good confidence now.”
“I knew I had a chance in the sprint but I was kind of a bit boxed in between Wout (Van Aert) and Tiesj (Benoot) and I got a little bit stalled.”
Before Pidcock warmed down on the rollers near the San Sebastian Corniche seafront, he talked to an Ineos Grenadiers mechanic and looked at his rear wheel. He was one of a number of riders to suffer punctures or slow punctures in the final part of the stage. According to Jayco Alula head of Performance Matt White and other riders, tacks were scattered on the road.
Lilian Calmejane collected five tacks in his front wheel and vented his anger via social media.
Pidcock was in the front group and felt his rear wheel soften but opted not to stop and lose contact with the group. He used his superb bike handling skills to stay in control of his bike on the descent of the Jaizkibel.
Ineos Grenadiers use tubeless tyres and the sealant inside the tyre helped stop his puncture from worsening.
“I had a slow puncture and could feel it on the descent of the Jaizkibel but I had to ride it in. I could feel it slipping on the corners a little bit,” Pidcock told Cyclingnews and ITV television.
Pidcock made a late attack on a short climb in the final five kilometres of the stage but he was soon pulled back.
“My sprint was okay but I thought everyone’s legs were falling off there, so if I got a bit of a gap and there was hesitation, I could have come solo to the line,” he explained.
“I was thinking again about trying something in the final kilometre, but I was on the right side and Victory went on the left and I was like, ok, I’ve missed that boat…”
Smiling again after a day of good sensations, Pidcock was more upbeat and looked forward to the Pyrenenian stages after expected sprint finishes on Monday and Tuesday.
“That’s the Tour de France, you can lose 20 seconds or gain seconds very quickly. But I was better today, so I’m more upbeat about the rest of the days now.”
Egan Bernal was also smiling as he warmed down and talked with Rodriguez about the stage.
“I’m happy because it was a hard day and we’ve now got through to complicated stages. We’ve got through this one without crashing and without losing time in the GC,” Bernal said.
“I’m starting to feel good and getting into the rhythm of the Tour. Of course, there’s still a long way to go.”
