Tom Pidcock’s attacking approach on stage 15 of the Tour de France came at a cost after race officials handed the Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling rider a series of penalties for illegal assistance during Sunday’s mountain stage.
The Briton, who had made the breakaway for a third straight day, was fined a total of 400 Swiss francs after commissaires ruled that he pushed off a team car on two separate occasions. Along with the financial penalty, he received a 20-second time penalty in the general classification, lost eight King of the Mountains (KOM) points, and had 30 UCI ranking points deducted.
Pidcock had been one of 23 riders in the day’s decisive breakaway and briefly moved into virtual fourth overall thanks to support from teammate Brent Van Moer. However, the group fractured on the Col de la Croisette, and he was unable to stay with the leaders on the final climb to Plateau de Solaison. He eventually crossed the finish line 2 minutes and 34 seconds behind stage winner Remco Evenepoel.
Despite fading late, Pidcock took pride in repeatedly making the breakaway. He noted that reaching the escape group three consecutive days while sitting inside the overall top 10 was a rare achievement. He also admitted the effort left him completely exhausted over the final kilometres.
The post-race sanctions further dented his campaign. Without the eight-point deduction, he would have climbed to fourth in the mountains classification. Instead, he remains seventh with 28 points, well behind race leader Tadej Pogačar’s 67.
Pidcock also stays ninth overall, 10 minutes and 59 seconds behind Pogačar and 31 seconds adrift of Lenny Martinez. Even after another costly day, the British rider is expected to continue his aggressive racing style as the Tour heads into its decisive final week.
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