Isaac del Toro lost one spot in the Tour de France 2026 general classification after stage 13 on July 17, dropping to eighth despite finishing with the favorites. The real winner of the day was British rider Tom Pidcock, who joined the breakaway and jumped six places to fourth, pushing the Mexican out of the top seven in a race that sometimes feels like office politics on two wheels.
The 200-kilometer stage from Dole to Belfort featured a first-category climb. A breakaway stayed clear until the end, with Swiss rider Mauro Schmid of Team Jayco winning in 4 hours 6 minutes 58 seconds ahead of Colombian Harold Tejada. Pidcock’s presence forced the peloton to chase, but Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, Juan Ayuso and Del Toro crossed the line 7 minutes 32 seconds behind. That gap proved enough for Pidcock to climb the standings while Del Toro held his relative time but lost a position.
Stage 14 on Saturday covers 155.3 kilometers with four mountain passes, three of them first category, ending uphill and promising more chaos. Del Toro will try to stay inside the top ten and perhaps claw back ground on terrain that rewards climbers who treat suffering like an extreme sport.
The race keeps delivering absurd plot twists, turning a simple bike ride into a soap opera where one breakaway can rewrite the leaderboard faster than a gossip column.
