Mauro Schmid Wins Stage 13 of Tour de France 2026 in Belfort After Two-Up Sprint

Published: 6:12 pm CEST - Friday, 17 July 2026

Mauro Schmid won stage 13 of the 2026 Tour de France in Belfort, sprinting to his first Tour stage victory after attacking from the day’s massive breakaway with 16 kilometres remaining. The Swiss rider beat Harold Tejada of XDS Astana in a two-man duel, while Tom Pidcock sprinted to third place to surge up the general classification.

Stage 13 Results

Confirmation of the top ten:

1. Mauro Schmid (Team Jayco AlUla) 4hrs 06mins 58secs
2. Harold Tejada (XDS Astana) same time
3. Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team): +2secs
4. Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe): same time
5. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): same time
6. Kévin Vauquelin (Netcompany Ineos): same time
7. Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies): same time
8. Clément Braz Afonso (Groupama-FDJ United): same time
9. Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): same time
10. Lucas Plapp (Team Jayco AlUla): +11secs

It was Schmid’s first Tour de France stage win and Jayco-AlUla’s first victory of the 2026 race. The Australian team had four riders in the day’s breakaway and used their numbers perfectly to set up the winning move.

A Long Day in the Vosges

Stage 13 took the riders over 205.8 kilometres from Dole to Belfort — the longest stage of this year’s Tour . After two sprint stages, this was the day for breakaway specialists. The route offered 150 kilometres of flat roads before two climbs: the category 3 Col des Croix (5.1 km at 4.8%) and the category 1 Ballon d’Alsace (8.9 km at 6.9%), with the summit coming 30 kilometres from the finish .

Three riders did not start: Fernando Gaviria, Jenno Berckmoes, and Frits Biesterbos, all casualties of crashes in previous stages .

The early pace was ferocious. With every team wanting representation in what looked like a guaranteed breakaway stage, the first hour averaged 55.3 km/h . Attacks came from all directions.

The Breakaway Finally Forms

Mathieu van der Poel tried his luck early, but the decisive move took nearly 50 kilometres to stick. A group of 37 riders finally escaped, featuring Tom Pidcock, Jasper Philipsen, Ben Healy, Kévin Vauquelin, Maxim Van Gils, Brandon McNulty, Tim Wellens, and Mauro Schmid.

Lidl-Trek missed the move. With Mads Pedersen in the green jersey and Philipsen up the road, they chased hard. A 20-rider chase group formed, containing Pedersen, Biniam Girmay, Michael Matthews, Ben O’Connor, and Harold Tejada.

The chase group bridged to the leaders after several dozen kilometres. The peloton sat up. The breakaway now had 57 riders — a small peloton — with a lead of nearly eight minutes.

Philipsen Wins the Intermediate Sprint

With Pedersen, Girmay, and Philipsen all in the break, the intermediate sprint in Mélisey became a green jersey battleground. Philipsen won the sprint convincingly, ahead of Pedersen and Girmay . The result trimmed Pedersen’s lead in the points classification, though the Dane retained green.

Ballon d’Alsace Decimates the Field

The race began in earnest on the Ballon d’Alsace. Ben Healy launched an early attack, but the pace was relentless. Riders dropped from the breakaway group in waves. Pinarello-Q36.5 set the tempo for Pidcock, protecting his GC ambitions.

With 4 kilometres to the summit, Maxim Van Gils attacked. Pidcock responded. Others followed: Jegat, Vauquelin, Plapp, Schmid, McNulty, Tejada, and Braz Afonso. Pidcock crested the climb first, taking maximum KOM points. Just behind, Tim Wellens had been dropped but rejoined on the descent.

Nine riders descended together. The peloton was more than eight minutes back.

Schmid and Tejada Slip Clear

The descent into Belfort offered the final chance. With 16 kilometres remaining, Mauro Schmid attacked. Harold Tejada followed. The two riders worked together and quickly opened a 10-second gap.

Behind, the chase group of eight riders, Pidcock, Van Gils, McNulty, Wellens, Vauquelin, Jegat, Braz Afonso, and Plapp, could not organise. Jayco-AlUla had two riders ahead with Schmid and Plapp in the chase. Schmid and Tejada extended their lead to 20 seconds with 6 kilometres to go.

Vauquelin and Jegat launched desperate attacks from the chase, but the duo ahead stayed clear. Schmid led out the sprint from 300 metres. Tejada could not come around. Schmid raised his arms, his first Tour stage win.

Pidcock Jumps to Fourth on GC

Pidcock won the sprint for third place, taking 2 seconds and a 4-second time bonus. The peloton rolled in 7 minutes 32 seconds behind Schmid.

The GC implications were significant. Pidcock, who started the day in 10th place, moved up to fourth overall. His new deficit to yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar is 4 minutes 15 seconds. He now sits just 9 seconds behind Remco Evenepoel in third.

Stage 13 Result

GC After Stage 13

Pogačar remains in yellow, his lead unchanged. The GC contenders now face two days of mountain racing in the Alps starting tomorrow. Stage 14 finishes with the Haag climb, 11.2 km at 7.3%, and the race enters its decisive phase.