Tour de France: Chris Froome and Tom Pidcock team up to join the breakaway on stage 12

Chris Froome (Israel-Premier Tech) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) combined down the mighty Col du Galibier to join the day’s breakaway on stage 12 of the Tour de France.

Four-time winner Froome had attacked in the final kilometres of the hors-categorie Alpine ascent, the day’s first climb out of Briançon.

Pidcock joined him on the descent, accelerating out of the bunch and carving round the technical early corners.

There are plenty of differences in both appearance and experience between the pair: six inches smaller, 22-year-old Pidcock is in his first Tour. He was eight years old when Froome made his debut in 2008.

Sharing turns and conversation, the British pair combined to close an initial deficit of 90 seconds. Pidcock continued to show his fluidity and bravura bike handling skills: when they joined the breakaway of seven, he pushed the pace and went to the front as they went down the Col de Télégraphe.

Pidcock is the best-positioned of the escape, which includes Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) and Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost).

After stage 11, he is placed eleventh overall on GC, 11:12 down on Vingegaard. It has been an impressive race for the Briton, who finished fourth in Longwy and spent a week in the white jersey of best young rider.

Meanwhile, Froome had earlier spoken to VeloNews of his desire to take any opportunity to get up the road in the mountains, as he feels a huge improvement on the last three years, since his life-changing crash at the 2019 Critérium du Dauphiné.

Prior to the start he specifically mentioned the day’s finish to LeTour.fr. “My relationship with Alpe d’Huez hasn’t been the best one over the years, I’ve often struggled on the slopes of Alpe d’Huez, so I’d like to try and change that if possible.”

After ascending the hors categorie Col de la Croix de Fer, stage 12 concludes with that legendary climb of Alpe d’Huez.