Tom Pidcock tops 100km an hour on sensational Tour de France maiden stage win

Tom Pidcock treated the Tour de France to a thrilling glimpse of a possible future Yellow Jersey winner with a stunning breakaway and grinned: “Not bad that, is it?”

On Bastille Day, Pidcock topped a record 100km (63mph) on the descent of the Col du Galibier before conquering the madness of Alpe d'Huez, Le Tour's signature mountain, and its 21 hairpin bends. Just 353 days since he won Olympic mountain bike gold in Tokyo, on his Tour de France debut Pidcock announced himself in the peloton with his first stage win. And on the evidence of 102.5 memorable miles on stage 12, it will be the first of many.

An emotional Pidock, 22, from Leeds, said: "I guess it's made my Tour de France. Even if nothing else happens and I get dropped every day now, I don't care. A stage win in my first Tour, not bad, eh? That was certainly one of my best experiences in cycling. It's unreal when you're literally slaloming through people's flags, fists and God knows what else.

“You can't experience that anywhere else other than the Alpe d'Huez in the Tour de France. I thought I might win one stage somewhere, but to do it here... that was insane. You can't imagine what it's like riding through all those people – there is literally no room. I don't know how they manage to get out of the way in time.”

Pidcock's display was one of the most perfect exhibitions of a cyclist going from 0-100km an hour, mixing stamina on gruelling climbs through vast crowds at the roadside with Evel Knievel-style daredevil descending. He added: “I don't think I've ever been over 100km an hour before – but I'm lucky I can descend, otherwise I wouldn't have won.

“In the end, I paced it pretty well and it was unbelievable going up the Alpe d'Huez – one of the craziest