Tom Pidcock kicking the everloving s— out of his rear derailleur was probably not the image that drivetrain sponsor SRAM was hoping for out of stage 9, but the American component brand can rest easy: This was an act of God, or at least freak physics, according to Q36.5 team management. And in fact, a key attribute of SRAM's shifters ended up saving the day.
Pidcock was already deep into the business end of stage 9, sitting in the four-rider group fighting for the win in Ussel, when his race nearly came undone. The culprit? A tiny rock wedged itself into his shifter, according to Q36.5 general manager Doug Ryder.
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