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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
John Brewin

Tour de France 2024: Pogacar tightens grip on yellow jersey after winning stage 14 – as it happened

Jonas Vingegaard Pau Tour (Event) Tom Pidcock Carlos Rodríguez Tadej Pogacar UAE Team Emirates
Tadej Pogacar celebrates after winning stage 14.
Tadej Pogacar celebrates after winning stage 14. Photograph: Marco Bertorello/AFP/Getty Images

Here’s Jeremy Whittle’s report from the Pyrenees.

The King of the Mountains standings were changed, too.

  • 1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 56

  • 2. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) Team Visma - Lease a Bike 43

  • 3. Jonas Abrahamsen (NOR) Uno-X Mobility 36

  • 4. Remco Evenepoel (BEL) Soudal - Quick-Step 30

  • 5. Oier Lazkano (ESP) Movistar Team 27

  • 6. Carlos Rodríguez (ESP) INEOS Grenadiers 22

  • 7. David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama - FDJ 20

  • 8. Ben Healy (IRL) EF Education - EasyPost 17

  • 9. Valentin Madouas (FRA) Groupama - FDJ 16

  • 10. Bruno Armirail (FRA) Decathlon - AG2R - La 12

It was a brutal attack from Pogacar to get the job done.

Updated

There is some post-stage controversy over the help Pogacar receives from a camera motorbike that may have aided his climb up the final kilometres. Meanwhile, someone decided to throw Doritos on Pogacar and Vingegaard.

Updated

General classification

  • 1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 56:42:39

  • 2. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) Team Visma - Lease a Bike +1:57

  • 3. Remco Evenepoel (BEL) Soudal - Quick-Step +2:22

  • 4. João Almeida (POR) UAE Team Emirates +6:01

  • 5. Carlos Rodríguez (ESP) INEOS Grenadiers +6:09

  • 6. Mikel Landa (ESP) Soudal - Quick-Step +7:17

  • 7. Adam Yates (GBR) UAE Team Emirates +8:32

  • 8. Giulio Ciccone (ITA) Lidl - Trek +9:09

  • 9. Derek Gee (CAN) Israel - Premier Tech +9:33

  • 10. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Team Visma - Lease a Bike +10:35

Tadej Pogacar speaks: “It was instinct, we tried to go for the stage. Adam attacked and Visma had to maintain the gap. I had to bridge to Adam. I want to thank all my teammates. We wanted a sprint and to take some seconds but this is much better. Let’s keep up this momentum, with good legs. I used to think Mark Cavendish was another planet. I love seeing him win so many stages. It was incredible to watch him as a kid.”

Matxin Fernandez, the Team UAE chief hails the amazing ride from domestiques Soler and Politt and says the “teammates decided to attack” of Adam Yates’ key role in that Pogacar win.

Stage 14 result

  • 1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 4:01:52

  • 2. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) Team Visma - Lease a Bike +39

  • 3. Remco Evenepoel (BEL) Soudal - Quick-Step +1:10

  • 4. Carlos Rodríguez (ESP) INEOS Grenadiers +1:19

  • 5. Giulio Ciccone (ITA) Lidl - Trek +1:23

  • 6. Santiago Buitrago (COL) Bahrain Victorious “

  • 7. Adam Yates (GBR) UAE Team Emirates “

  • 8. Felix Gall (AUT) Decathlon - AG2R - La +1:26 Mondiale Team

  • 9. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Team Visma - Lease a Bike +1:29

  • 10. Derek Gee (CAN) Israel - Premier Tech

Updated

Big hugs for Yates from a delighted Pogacar. A plan almost perfectly executed as the Slovenian wins his 13th stage overall.

Updated

Tadej Pogacar takes stage 14 and command of Le Tour

Vingegaard is dropping to 30 seconds behind – plus the four that will come from bonus second. A relentless ride on full bore. No mercy for his opponents, no mercy for that brave ride by Healy. As Le Tour enters its last week, Pogacar is the man in command. Vingegaard digs deeper and deeper, to climb to second while losing 39 seconds – 43 overall. Evenepoel takes third, 1’12 down, and drops to third on GC.

Updated

1km to go: Almighty ride from Pogacar. That catapult from Yates has cracked the lot of them. The seconds pile up as he reaches Pla d’Alet.

2km to go: Vingegaard looks likely to jump over Evenepoel on the podium; Pogacar has 16 seconds on Vingegaard, who is giving chase and gamely enough. His performance level remains amazing considering his crash this season. Pogacar is, though, laying it on. The gap is 20 seconds with a 10-second time bonus taken too.

Updated

3km to go: Can Pogacar snap Vingegaard? Evenepoel has been cracked. Vingegaard looks to the road ahead, which is now full of spectators. The gap is 11 seconds as the road flattens out. Pogacar wants more….and piles it on and on.

Updated

Off goes Pogacar, past Healy and Yates!

4km to go: Off goes Yates, and maintaining a pace, looking behind him for Pogacar to be launched. Vingegaard is the one they are trying to crack, and Pogacar goes clear of the Dane, Evenpoel is sat with the defending champion. Yates will lead Pogacar to the summit. Hard lines for Healy, beaten by the power of UAE. The gap is eight seconds to Vingegaard from Yates and Pogacar. Yates is done, and now off goes the yellow jersey.

5km to go: Healy stays clear for now. A determined ride, and he’s roared along as he rides to the ski chalets and bars that fill the resort. Yates is giving serious chase, almost cruel how much he is taking from Healy. But is he waiting for Pogacar? The gap is just 15 seconds, and Healy begins to look nervous that someone is chasing him.

6km to go: Jorgensen is leading the peloton along for the Visma team. Yates has narrowed the gap on Healy to 34 seconds. To set up a catapult of Pogacar? Meintjes, the South African specialist in breaks, is eaten up.

7km to go: Lazkano is caught; he can give no more. Pogacar is sat in the middle and Adam Yates goes away in pursuit, chasing the stage win, while being little threat on GC. Does Pogacar go and join him?

7km to go: Healy has taken 40 seconds from Gaudu and Lazkano. This is an almighty ride, just what his manager, Jonathan Vaughters, wanted. The gap to the maillot jaune is back at a minute, and Yates and Pogacar are in conversation.

Healy takes the lead and cracks the breakaway

8km to go: Healy is staying around a minute clear. It’s left to Lazkano to chase. He’s cracked Gaudu, an almighty ride to the boy from Kingswinford – Dudley way. Like another fearless Midlander, Dan Martin, he’s leaving it all out on the road for Ireland.

Updated

9km to go: Healy has broken Gaudu at the 12% gradient, and is taking his chance to take the stage. He’s surely landed the combativity. Bernal has been dropped by the peloton meanwhile. Bad news for Big Sir Jim and Sir Dave.

10km to go: Ireland’s Ben Healy attacks, and that instantly does for Kwiatkowski. He and David Gaudu take it up, and take their turn on the front. Soler is done, and drops back after an almighty heave.

11km to go: They head through the small town at the base of the climb – Saint-Lary-Soulan - and Pla d’Adet awaits. The first bit is the steepest, to invoke Rod. Soler leads the peloton on the tail of the famous five.

12km to go: The gap from peloton to break is 1’ 25”, and the three main men, Pogacar, Vingegaard and Evenpoel are in there. Carlos Rodriguez, from Ineos, is looking to challenge. Teammate Egan Bernal is in this group too. The speed towards the climb is breakneck.

15km to go: At the bottom of the climb, a statue is unveiled to Raymond Poulidor, the most beloved of French cyclists. This was the scene of his last stage win, 50 years ago.

20km to go: The famous five at the front seem to be taking the descent seriously, and carefully, though it’s Kwiatkowski setting the pace; he’s a top descender. The 10.6km, 7.9% Pla d’Adet awaits as they idle down. The gap of 1’ 20” will not be enough to keep the break away. Pogacar is taking it easy. The descent is 7km down to the flat, before that final climb.

25km to go: Paul Griffin gets in touch: “The drone issue is battery life. They wouldn’t last long enough to be useful at the moment for a long race like this. They were deployed for a shorter team time trial stage of this years Paris Nice and have been used for short mountain bike and cyclo cross races. Hopefully , this will change, as the shots from a race like this would be incredible (but I’d miss the mosquito buzz of helicopters on the horizon that’s the first signal that the race is not far away). My supplementary question: should we be worried that the Tour is so fast this year? Do better data and nutrition explain it, or advances (?) like this, or is there something more, ahem, inexplicable?”

Crikey.

Updated

David Gaudu takes the race over Hourquette d’Ancizan

27km to go: Some tight hairpin bends on this climb, and the six escapees battle to take the points and prizes on offer.

It’s Michal Kwiatkowski, David Gaudu, Ben Healy, Oier Lazkano , Louis Meintjes who ride to the top. Gaudu and Lazkano do battle for the points on offer, and it’s the Frenchman who takes the points, pulling off a rather risky move to get there. Now comes the descent.

Back in the peloton, Soler from UAE is setting a breakneck pace, and the gap is not much more than a minute.

30km to go: The peloton is a select group now, and is closing fast on that splintering break. Pogacar has four men around him, Vingeggard has just two. The gap with two kilometres left, is 2’ 15”. Adam Yates is in that main bunch as one of Pogacar’s bagmen. “UAE is doing a good pace, that’s good for Jonas,” says Vingo’s Visma team radio. There’s a slight dip before the final climb of this one.

34km to go: Van der Poel is being dropped, as is Sean Quinn, who had looked so strong. The breakaway is beginning to splinter. Nils Politt is done for the day, with the gap around 2’ 45”. Pogacar’s other domestiques must now take the strain.

Question from Gary Naylor: “Any reason why drones appear to be banned by the ASO? The occasional low flying helicopter shots alongside the peloton are always spectacular, but obviously need specific geography to work. Drones could make great coverage truly astonishing.”

35km to go: Politt continues to lead the Pogcar/Vingegaard group. He’s done an almighty shift and the gap is 3’ 11” or so. And that means the breakaway may not get away. Or stay away, as it were. The breakaway has thinned down to these riders:

Michal Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers), Bruno Armirail (Decathlon-AG2R), David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Ben Healy, Sean Quinn (EF Education Easypost), Oier Lazkano (Movistar), Louis Meintjes (Intermarche-Wanty), Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) and Magnus Cort (Uno-X).

Lazkano and Gaudu are going clear on this penultimate climb, and Lutsenko is shelled, cracking as soon as the pressure is ratcheted up.

40km to go: Back on the false flat go the breakaway, one full of talent. Two climbs to go:

  • 1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 36

  • 2. Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) - 36

  • 3. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma – Lease a Bike) - 28

  • 4. Oier Lazkano (Movistar) - 24

  • 5. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) - 18

  • 6. Valentin Madouas (Groupama - FDJ) - 16

  • 7. Ben Healy (EF Education - EasyPost) - 15

  • 8. David Gaudu (Groupama - FDJ) - 15

Updated

45km to go: The speed is up, the clicks are going down fast, and the gaps in the field are opening up but that second climb will soon be upon us, the second category La Hourquette d’Ancizan, last visited in 2022 and summited by Thibaut Pinot. Simon Yates, Chris Froome and Dan Martin have all led over it in previous years.

Abandonments: Alberto Bettiol of EF Education - EasyPost. Jonathan Vaughters, his team boss, says Bettiol has been feeling off-colour – no Covid – just no energy in his legs.

Updated

55km to go: Fabien Grellier, who performed that breakaway on the third stage, is flying down the descent. The speeds are 84km/h.

Gary Naylor gets in touch: “On days like this, I miss David Duffield, whose mix of excitement, confusion, history and genuine lump-in-the-throat memories was an annual delight. He spoke a language all of his own and exulted in an eccentricity that answered to no man.”

58km to go: Geraint Thomas has been fully dropped, begging the question why he started the day when positive for Covid-19. Today may be the last day for the 2018 winner, and his last on Le Tour.

Oier Lazkano takes the Tourmalet

Up at the top, with 5000 euros up for grabs, David Gaudu, the Frenchman, goes hard for the peak. But it’s Oier Lazkano who goes for it, blowing away Gaudu to claim the points and the prize. Van der Poel didn’t do it for his grandfather, and summits, too.

Back in the yellow-jersey pack, Evenpoel looks full of beans. Could he begin to have his say? The new Merckx? Let’s go for the hype.

Updated

64km to go: Roars as Nils Politt pulls the yellow jersey group along. The American, Sean Quinn, is leading the breakaway in his natty Captain America jersey. The gap between those two groups is 3’45”.

67km to go: Joe Pearson gets in touch: “I find these climbs fascinating and even mind-boggling. I couldn’t walk up these hills, and here these guys are riding bikes! And then there are the anxiety-inducing descents. I can hardly stand to look at the screen.”

68km to go: This will be Jonas Abrahamsen’s last day in polka; he’s two minutes behind the Pogacar group with Girmay. He’s been a highlight of Le Tour with all his attacking; he perhaps doesn’t have the physique to be the next Richard Virenque.

70km to go: The gap remains at four minutes. Presume that Van der Poel wants to go over the top first to remember his grandfather. The crowds are getting deeper and deeper as the two main groups climb, caravans aplenty, and fans jumping up and down.

72km to go: The leading bunch have four minutes on the yellow jersey group, and with 17 riders, may have the capability of staying away. Van Aert is back in the back. There’s 10km to go, the race split into several groups before the grupetto forms.

76km to go: Those sprint points.

  • 1. Biniam Girmay (Intermarche - Wanty) - 355 points

  • 2. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin - Deceuninck) - 277

  • 3. Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) - 147

  • 4. Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny) - 142

  • 5. Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) - 141

Updated

77km to go: Last year, it was Tobias Johannessen who won the race to the top; he’s in 88th this year, the Norwegian.

79km to go: We’re on the Tourmalet and here the fireworks should begin. And it’s the first of the major climbs of day, 17km of lactic acid and muscles burning, a time to regret that suet pudding.

Coquard takes the intermediate sprint, Girmay holds off Philipsen

80km to go: The sprinters’ group drops away from the breakaway, and Girmay can watch Philipsen, who won’t have Van der Poel to lead him out, as he’s detached up the front, and not offering much to it. The green jersey race – for ninth – ends up with Girmay holding off Philipsen – though it looks as if he sat up too early. Let’s wait for the judges to rule/

85km to go: That green jersey group is giving chase, and gets within 10 seconds or so of the leaders. That intermediate sprint approaches, and Girmay and Philipsen have points to compete for. Once that’s done expect them to drop back to the grupetto.

90km to go: Ben Roberts gets in touch: “It feels like in this tdf, when he’s not helping Philipsen, Mvdp is using the tour as an extended high intensity training camp for the Olympic Road Race.”

From Cycling news: “The men’s road race is 273km long with 2,800 metres of climbing and 13 named ascents including the Côte de la butte Montmartre on the 18.4km finishing circuits in central Paris. The last summit of this 1km climb that averages 6.5% comes with 9.5km to go.”

95km to go: David Alderton: “Technical rules based question: what’s the difference between a withdrawal and a DNS? I assume the DNS stands for “Did not start” and that’s just not turning up, and a withdrawal is the politer way of doing it by telling people.”

Anyone know anything further on this?

“Please can I also echo D. Engel, the team have done a superb job. Sorry you have to work weekends for our enjoyment!”

(Having worked almost every weekend since 2000, you get used to it. Just about.)

Breaking news: the break is on. Van der Poel, De Lie, Beullens and Coquard away, and Oier Lazkarno (Movistar), Magnus Cort Nielsen (Uno-X Mobility), Kevin Vauquelin and Raul Garcia Pierna join them. There’s two groups of chasers, the first including Girmay in green, 25 second back. Dylan Groenewegen is giving chase, too.

Pogacar stops to relieve himself: the GC contenders are relaxed about this leading group. Romain Bardet has a puncture and has to get back on. Abrahamsen, chasing mountain points, attacks as Pogacar is zipping up. This is no-no, and Mark Cavendish is among those to rebuke him.

100km to go: William Preston gets in touch: “here’s two different battles going on to eliminate racers here: between the riders and COVID, and Vinegaard and Pogacar’s increasing grip on the racing.

“I think the latter pair are going to move right up through the gears today, to get a stomp on and halt Evenpoel’s tilt at the title. They’ll let thim have a couple of stages, maybe, but for all his thrilling heroics he’ll have to wait another year. It’ll be a storming day on the bikes, though.

“Maybe, given the way illness has spread through the past few years, they’ll be footnotes in books on it all, but time will tell. Have a lovely afternoon, Bill.”

105km to go: What’s this? As the road starts to incline, there’s a break, and it includes Coquard and Matthieu van der Poel – this is the stage his grandfather, Raymond Poulidor, is associated with – and the gap is 15 seconds. Arnaud de Lie, too. But it starts to drop as Wout van Aert pulls the peloton along.

Raymond Poulidor – in 1974 – beats Eddy Merckx.

Updated

112km to go: David Engel gets in touch: “This year’s Guardian coverage of the Tour is its best ever. So enjoying you and your colleagues. Unprecedentedly hard for me to get sustained work done during race hours this year.”

Thanks, David, and thanks, Amy, Luke, Tom and Barry, who have all done their share.

And here’s your list of abandonments.

Updated

115km to go: Bryan Coquard is again having a dig for freedom. So many attempts to go clear, none of them look likely to come off. The gap has barely extended beyond six seconds before it then drops back. No rest for the wicked, those for whom the grupetto is their destiny for the afternoon.

125km to go: A split in the pack? Philipsen is up front. As is Girmay with that sprint coming up ahead. Two Lotto riders are taking it up. Michał Kwiatkowski, from Ineos, is in there. Too many big names for the group to be allowed to get away.

135km to go: Two familiar figures in Simon Geschke and Frank van den Broek try and lead the breakaway but none can be formed. It’s all very haphazard. Mark Cavendish is at the front of the house, too. It’s a flat road until they hit a sprint only 70km in.

140km to go: Maxim van Gils, fined yesterday, takes to leading the breakaway.

From Cyclingnews:

Maxim Van Gils was slapped with a 1500 CHF (£1,290/$1,676) fine for shoulder barging into a competitor in the final 500m of Tour de France stage 13.

While Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) won the stage, Van Gils was judged to have hit Amaury Capiot (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) with his shoulder in the build-up to the sprint in Pau on Friday, which caused Capiot to crash. The collision also took out Cees Bol (Astana-Qazaqstan) as well as Van Gils’ sprinter, Arnaud De Lie, in the process.

Capiot abandons

150km to go: Bryan Coquard has gone away from the start while Amaury Capiot sits off the back and looks in no sort of nick. He was involved in that crash as the sprint reached its climax on Friday, and he abandons within a couple of clicks. That’s the Arkea leadout man gone, and applauded as he gets in the broomwagon.

Updated

And away we go in Pau!

M. Prudhomme gets them underway and there’s plenty of noise and movement from the get-go.

A look at this stage’s profile presents the view of how difficult it is going to be.

Could ‘G” pull out soon? He admits here he’s tested positive.

The discussion is of Covid test, though facemasks are not in evidence. Covid’s a bitch, and seems to make a mess of the peloton every year. All that reduced immunity, all that being at close quarters.

They’re slipsliding around the streets of Pau, around 6k from the départ réel.

Expect a change in the King of the Mountains too. A hard day ahead for Jonas Abrahamsen, who has been outstanding in his attacking riding.

  • 1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 36

  • 2. Jonas Abrahamsen (NOR) Uno-X Mobility

  • 3. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) Team Visma - Lease a Bike 28

  • 4. Remco Evenepoel (BEL) Soudal - Quick-Step 18

  • 5. Valentin Madouas (FRA) Groupama - FDJ 16

  • 6. Carlos Rodríguez (ESP) INEOS Grenadiers 12

  • 7. Stephen Williams (GBR) Israel - Premier Tech 10

  • 8. Frank van den Broek (NED) Team dsm-firmenich - 9
    PostNL

  • 9. João Almeida (POR) UAE Team Emirates 6

  • 10. Ben Healy (IRL) EF Education - EasyPost 5

Here’s the GC, which could be much changed by this evening.

  • 1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 52:40:58

  • 2. Remco Evenepoel (BEL) Soudal - Quick-Step +1:06

  • 3. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) Team Visma - Lease a Bike +1:14

  • 4. João Almeida (POR) UAE Team Emirates +4:20

  • 5. Carlos Rodríguez (ESP) INEOS Grenadiers +4:40

  • 6. Mikel Landa (ESP) Soudal - Quick-Step +5:38

  • 7. Adam Yates (GBR) UAE Team Emirates +6:59

  • 8. Giulio Ciccone (ITA) Lidl - Trek +7:36

  • 9. Derek Gee (CAN) Israel - Premier Tech +7:54

  • 10. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Team Visma - Lease a Bike +8:56

Pidcock withdraws with Covid-19

Bad news for Big Sir Jim’s team, possibly bad news for Team GB: the Paris Olympics are just a fortnight away.

Updated

Jeremy Whittle’s report from Friday’s sprint finish in Pau.

William Fotheringham’s stage-by-stage guide had this to say.

The Tour returns to this legendary finish for the 50th anniversary of Raymond Poulidor’s improbable win ahead of Eddy Merckx. With two “super-category” climbs, it’s a good day for someone to stake a firm claim on the polka-dot King of the Mountains jersey. A large break of riders outside the circle of favourites should contest the stage; the 10km finish climb will suit Vingegaard – if he has regained anything like his old form – or the young Spaniard Carlos Rodríguez.

Preamble

After what was supposed to be respite on Stage 13 but became a nervy day full of splits and breakaways, Le Tour takes to the hills once more, the Pyrenees in fact, starting in Pau, a regular launchpad for big stages. Here’s where Jonas Vingegaard and perhaps Remo Evenpoel can put it to Tadej Pogacar; Vingegaard has alteady shown he has the legs but can they be sustained. It promises to be a day of wildcat attacks and wild soloists. Let’s hope so. There’s much to be decided.

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