British Cyclists Break 38-Year Tour de France Record
The 12th stage was held on French National Day. The route from Briancon to Alpe d 'Huez is 165.5 kilometers long, with three mountains, Col du Galibier, Col de la Croix de Fer and climbing part of Alpe d' Huez. Cyclists must go through 13.8 km of continuous climbing, with an average slope of 8.1%, to reach the finish line near the ski resort of Alpe d 'Huez.
Pidcock and Chris Froome-four Tour de France winners in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017-teamed up to chase the lead on the downhill of Col du Galibier.
In the final stages of the climb, the lead is a race between Louis Meintjes, Froome, Pidcock, Neilson Powless and Giulio Ciccone. The five cyclists lead the chase group by more than six minutes, which includes the leading candidates.
Amid cowbells and flares from hundreds of thousands of fans along the way, Pidcock sped away from Dauntless and Sikone, 10.5 km from the finish line. Meintjes and Froome tried to compete for the lead, but gradually gave up.
Pidcock-the mountaineering expert who won the gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics-escaped alone to finish first in 4 hours, 55 minutes and 24 seconds, 48 seconds ahead of second-place Louis Mainjes.
At the age of 22, Pidcock made history as the youngest Tour de France cyclist to win the championship at the top of Alpe d 'Huez in the central French Alps. The old record belongs to Lucho Herrera, when Colombian cyclists first climbed the top of Alpe d 'Huez in 1984 at the age of 23.
"It was definitely one of my best experiences on the cycling track," said Pidcock, the world mountain bike champion. "It's hard to describe the feeling of passing flags, the cheering hands of fans and other things. You can't experience it anywhere but Alpe Deves at the Tour de France."
Froome, who finished third behind Pidcock at 2min 6sec, has continued to miss out on winning his first stage since the accident that nearly ended his career three years ago. "I gave everything and have nothing to regret," the 37-year-old said after stage 12.
Jonas Vengegaard in yellow on the first day and defending champion Tad Pogaca finished 3min 23sec behind Pidcock in fifth and sixth respectively. This result helped Vingegaard defend his yellow shirt in 46 hours, 28 minutes and 46 seconds, leading Pogacar himself by 2 minutes and 22 seconds. Wout van Aert, meanwhile, stayed blue with 313 points.
Today, the 2022 Tour de France will continue the 13th stage of the race, with a total length of 193 kilometers from Bourg de Ossans to Saint-Etienne, France.
