Swiss rider Mauro Schmid said that he had to overcome cramps before he beat Colombian Harold Tejada in a two-man sprint finish to win the 13th and longest stage of the Tour de France on Friday.
Briton Tom Pidcock, who finished third two seconds back, was the big winner of the day as he climbed up the standings from 10th to fourth overall.
The Olympic mountain bike champion is now just 4min 15sec behind race leader Tadej Pogacar, and nine seconds off Remco Evenepoel in the final podium spot.
Jayco AlUla's Schmid and Astana's Tejada had broken clear of a 10-man group at the head of the race with 16km to ride and they held off their charging former breakaway companions to contest the sprint finish.
Tejada launched first, but Schmid dragged him back and pipped him to the line after 205km from Dole in the Jura to Belfort in the Vosges.
📸 A photo finish that’s already gone straight into the list of the year’s most memorable ones!
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 17, 2026
📸 Une photo finish qui prend directement place parmi les plus marquantes de l'année ! #TDF2026 | @TISSOT pic.twitter.com/HFdfheTDQW
It was particularly satisfying for Schmid, who lost an almost identical finish to Norwegian Jonas Abrahamsen in the 11th stage in Toulouse last year.
"I can't believe it at the moment. It was an incredibly hard day from the start," said Schmid.
"I felt really good from the start but it was just full gas from the first minute."
Schmid said he had started to suffer cramps with 4km left, and that his attempt to make Tejada lead out the sprint in the final kilometre failed.
"At some point he forced me to the first position," said the 26-year-old.
"I launched a bit late. The first 50 metres I thought maybe it's the same as last year.
"Then when I saw the finish line I found my legs again and just went for it."
Behind them, Pidcock edged out Maxim van Gils and Brandon McNulty to claim four bonus seconds for finishing third.
He was more disappointed with missing out on the stage win than celebrating his jump up the standings, which he said he does not expect to last with two tough mountain stages to come this weekend and a time-trial on Tuesday.
"Third is frustrating, but it was also a very positive day, so take everything from that," said Pidcock.
"It would be nice to say, yeah, we can defend (fourth place), but for sure in the time trial I will lose some minutes.
"And I'm going to feel my legs tomorrow, that's for sure."
Tom Pidcock moves up to 4th overall in the GC after today’s stage and takes the combativity award. pic.twitter.com/HXxSGqEzge
— Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team (@Pinarello_Q36_5) July 17, 2026
'CALCULATED SCHMID'
The peloton finished 7min 32sec after the stage winner, meaning Pidcock jumped six places, having begun the day almost 12 minutes behind Pogacar.
The first two-thirds of the race was all about the green jersey contenders battling for points at the intermediate sprint.
That meant 57 riders got away from the peloton, building up a lead of over eight minutes at one stage.
Belgian Jasper Philipsen pipped category leader Mads Pedersen in the sprint but still trails the Dane by 41 points.
At that point, it was clear that Pidcock had a lot to gain from being in the breakaway beyond simply contesting the stage victory.
The group started to break up on the 5.1km-long Col des Croix climb and then exploded on the 8.9km-long Ballon d'Alsace.
Pidcock was among 10 riders to go over the top in the lead, with 30km still to ride, although a dozen or so other riders were within around half a minute.
Schmid made his move at the end of the descent, with Tejada the only man to react initially. The two worked together until the final kilometre to ensure that one of them would take the victory.
"Mauro is a very calculated rider, he's very smart and just (I'm) stoked for him because to come that close in the Tour de France (last year), you never know if you'll even get that form again," said Jayco sporting director Matthew Hayman.
"You never know if you'll get that form, get in the breakaway, and then be in the position to win a stage -- and he's shown his real class today."
Another day with no changes to the distinctive jerseys standings! But wait for tomorrow… Things could change for some… 👀⚪️🔴
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 17, 2026
Nouvelle journée sans changements dans les classements des maillots distinctifs ! Mais attention à demain… Certains pourraient changer… 👀⚪️🔴… pic.twitter.com/sF5Vjl7RMs
STAGE 13 RESULTS
1. Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) – 4h 06m 58s
2. Harold Tejada (XDS Astana) – 4h 06m 58s (+0s)
3. Tom Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5) – 4h 07m 00s (+2s)
4. Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – 4h 07m 00s (+2s)
5. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – 4h 07m 00s (+2s)
6. Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa–B&B Hotels) – 4h 07m 00s (+2s)
7. Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) – 4h 07m 00s (+2s)
8. Clément Braz Afonso (Groupama-FDJ) – 4h 07m 00s (+2s)
9. Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – 4h 07m 00s (+2s)
10. Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla) – 4h 07m 00s (+2s)