Jeremy Whittle's report
Tadej Pogacar’s rapacious appetite for stage wins was in evidence yet again in the climbs of the Vosges, as he raced to his fourth victory of this year’s Tour de France at Le Markstein.
Pogacar’s attack came 1.6 kilometres from the summit of the final climb, the Col de Haag and 7.5 kilometres from the finish line and left Jonas Vingegaard, Paul Seixas and Florian Lipowitz in his wake.
Time for me to knock off for the day. Thanks for easing me through a thrilling stage with your emails. More mountains tomorrow, till then – have a lovely evening.
Points standings
1. Mads Pedersen (DEN) Lidl - Trek 397
2. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin - Premier Tech 361
3. Biniam Girmay (ERI) NSN Cycling Team 347
4. Tim Merlier (BEL) Soudal Quick-Step 307
5. Max Kanter (GER) XDS Astana Team 255
6. Olav Kooij (NED) Decathlon CMA CGM Team 210
7. Søren Wærenskjold (NOR) Uno-X Mobility 159
8. Anthony Turgis (FRA) TotalEnergies 129
9. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - XRG 127
10. Milan Fretin (BEL) Cofidis 117
King of the Mountain standings
1 T. PogacarUAE Team Emirates - XRG 52
2 V. Paret-PeintreSoudal Quick-Step 43
3 R. CarapazEF Education - EasyPost 38
4 J. VingegaardTeam Visma-Lease a Bike 35
5 P. SeixasDecathlon CMA CGM Team 24
6 T. PidcockPinarello - Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team 18
7 I. Del ToroUAE Team Emirates - XRG 18
8 N. ProdhommeDecathlon CMA CGM Team 17
9 A. BaudinEF Education - EasyPost 16
10 L. MartinezBahrain Victorious 16
GC standings
Seixas climbs, Pidcock slips to ninth.
1 T. PogacarUAE Team Emirates - XRG 51:18:28
2 J. VingegaardTeam Visma-Lease a Bike +4:30
3 R. EvenepoelRed Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe +5:04
4 P. SeixasDecathlon CMA CGM Team +5:19
5 J. AyusoLidl Trek +5:22
6 F. LipowitzRed Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe +5:44
7 I. Del ToroUAE Team Emirates - XRG +5:50
8 M. SkjelmoseLidl Trek +7:35
9 T. PidcockPinarello - Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team +7:59
10 L. MartinezBahrain Victorious +8:25
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Pogacar: "A really perfect day"
“Today I must say thanks to all the fans, it was really something unforgettable to see the crowds on the top of the mountains. I think all the cyclists have such a massive respect towards each other, and put on a great show and nice to see this kind of racing.
“I knew that Del Toro is not 100 percent so I was waiting for the last km to see if there would be any movement, but Decathalon and Jonus did very good pace on the climb so I thought i’d give it a go in the last 2km and take the opportunity.
“A really perfect day, we marked this stage since the beginning. I know it very well, it is beautiul and an incredible place for cycling.
“Tomorrow is a bit more difficult, will be a hard day for us but we will be ready to fight and see what will happen.”
“An epic stage,” writes Gary Naylor. “The close-up[s showed that the riders aged before our eyes like it was the 1960s all over again. France has a true hero at last. None or that happens without Pidcock, who showed panache even if he did crash and burn. All heroes though.”
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Ninteen year old Paul Seixas moves up to fourth in the GC, is the proud owner of the white jersey and is now just 15 seconds off a podium place in his first Tour.
After yesterday’s magical ride, Tom Pidcock slips to ninth in the GC.
Top five finishers
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates XRG)
2. Isaac del Toro (UAE Emirates XRG), +38’’
3. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM), +38’’
4. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), +44’’
5. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), +48’’
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Del Toro snatches second in the sprint, Seixas third, Vingegaard fourth.
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Pogacar wins stage 14!
Timed to perfection, his fourth stage win of this tour, the 25th Tour stage win of his career! Head down, yellow pedal power, over the line to the bang of the billboards and both hands raised.
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1km to go Evenepoel, Lipowitz and Ayuso make up the third group , 20 seconds behind Del Toro, Vingegaard and Seixas.
3.5km to go Del Toro joins Vingegaard and Seixas. Pogacar is flying now on the flat – a 29 second lead, as the rain starts to drip again.
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6km to go Pogacar is on his own over the top, but 19 year old Seixas is on Vingegaard’s wheel.
6.7km to go It’s Pogacar, and 10 seconds behind Vingegard, 12 seconds behind Seixas! Allez!
7.4km to go And Pog goes, 1.5k from the top. It is a tiny path, like a railway track, spilling with bodies on both sides. The gradient a horrifying 12 percent. Vingegaard briefly holds on but the gap is already growing.
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8km to go The break has been caught with 2.5km of the climb to go. Vingegaard winds Pogacar up the climb.
Hello Alistair Connor. “I’ve been living in France for forty years and have never seen a French rider win the Tour. Seixas won’t win this year, but he’s ticking all the boxes. His team toughened the race, and Pidcock’s stunt yesterday was all for nothing... Del Toro gone too... “
8.5km to go Johannessen has caught Carapaz, and takes the lead, but the GC group have them in their sights.
9km to go The brave Carapaz now only has 24 seconds on the chasing group of six – Pogacar, Del Toro, Vingegaard, Lipowitz, Ayuso, Seixas.
10.3km to go Martinez and Skjelmose have been dropped, and Evenepoel is holding on by the skin of his teeth. Now dropped.
10.6km to go Lipowitz attacks, followed by Seixas, but Kuss ensures it is only temporary. And now Vingegaard hits the front, with Pogacar on his wheel.
11km to go Carapaz is alleluiaed up a 10 per cent climb, and now he hits the bike path. Tobias Johannessen is 13 seconds behind Carapaz.
12km to go The path is snake narrow, the hillside rises steeply to the side. Kuss is still leading the chasing pack. Carapaz gets a brief respite from a mini flat before restarting the climb – his lead 55 seconds.
13.8km to go Sepp Kuss, Vingegaard’s teammate, moves to the front of the peloton. Carapaz still has a minute on the peloton.
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14km to go The increased pace of the peloton has dropped Pidcock. Pogacar and Vingegaard lurk. At the front Carapaz has dropped Johannessen.
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15km to go Carapaz attacks, Tobias Johannessen stays with him. The front group splits. Pidcock is fading at the back of the peloton.
16km to go Anders Johannessen has been dropped from the lead group, Carapaz, Paret-Peintre, Tobias Johannessen and Rubio remain. There’s a bit of a jostle at the front of the peloton, but McNulty, unfazed by his breakaway efforts yesterday, leads them up the Col du Haag. The lead has shrunk to 1’06”
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19km to go TNT think Pogacar has this. “Our very own Tom Cruise,” says Adam Blythe. “In all good action films the action hero wins.” But the front group still have a 1’26” lead. Never say never.
20km to go Cheers for the leading group as they briefly slip into a gentle valley. Ahead, the imposing Col du Haag - a new climb for the tour, 11.2km of effort, a resurfaced tractor path with some 13 per cent parts. “Perhaps the hardest climb of the Vosges,” in the words of the race director.
28km to go The leading group – Carapaz, Paret-Peintre, the Johannessen brothers and Einer Rubio – go over the top of this unclassified climb and still have 1’29” over the pelaton, who have just caught Ben Healy. The pictorial graph of the Col du Haag comes in jagged, eye-popping angles- a gradient of 7.2.
32km to go Scrub that, Paret-Peintre is still the lead group, but Ben Healy has dropped off, job done. He wipes his forehead and slurps a water bottle.
In other news, Josh Kerr has just broken the mile world record -3:42.68 .
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35km to go It’s a courtly dance phase now. Group Martinez had rejoined the peloton. Paret-Peintre, job done for the day, KOM points in his back pocket, has dropped off the lead group.
“A word about one of the peloton, Abel Balderstone of the Spanish Caja Rural team,” writes Robert Lewis. “His father is from the Lune Valley in Lancashire and has been a teacher in Spain for over 40 years (and a colleague of mine). Young Abel has risen to prominence over the past year or two and at 26 this is his first tour.” Wow, thank you for that Robert!
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38km to go Slowly, incrementally, the front group’s lead is shrinking ,now down to 1’44” as they start to climb again. It’s a punchy slope with no points this time, a preamble to the category one Col du Haag.
47km to go The same six riders are still at the tete de la course, bunched together on a gentle downwards slope. The hungry peloton of about 35 riders lick their lips, though they’re losing bodies off the back including Lenny Martinez and Egan Bernal.
50km to go The peloton have swallowed up Group Pidcock, but on the descent the leaders have a 2’06’ lead to hold to their hearts.
Hello Alistair Connor. “Valentin Paret-Peintre, he of the long-winded name, is not short of breath today. He’s the climber’s sprinter, and has pulled off a real coup today. A shame his brother Aurelien, who was in the extinct Pidcock group, wasn’t with him -- two pairs of brothers in the breakaway would surely be a first.” I put that fraternal question out to the hive mind.
57km to go With those mountain points, Paret-Peintre takes the virtual lead in the King of the Mountain standings – he now has 43 points, to Pogacar’s 42 and Carapaz’s 38.
60km to go The front of the peloton can now see the back of group Pidcock – just over 100m between them. Paret-Peintre looks over this shoulder, once, twice, three times, and takes the points – 25 for the day so far, Carapaz was content with second.
Updated
62km to go UAE have picked up the pace of the peloton, cutting 45 seconds on the lead on the this climb so far. Another ten points lies ahead for the first man up the Ballon d’Alsace – just one km to the top.
64km to go In the peloton, polka dots Vingegaard is on the wheel of yellow jersey Pogacar.
“I like this from Tom Pidcock,” writes friend from the County Blog Gary Naylor. “If he wants a podium in Paris, it’s a good idea to ride the legs off the super-domestiques this weekend. Going mano-a-mano with his rivals is almost certainly his best chance. It could blow up in his face, but he’s not going to Tommy Tuchel this is he?”
65km to go Cancel that, Thymen Arensman has been caught by group Pidcock after that ill-timed flat tyre.
67km to go French hope Kevin Vauquelin has dropped off group Pidcock, alongside Sebastian Berwick. But the gaps are staying pretty even – the leaders have 1’51” over gr Pidcock, with Arensman in between, and 2’52” over the peloton,
68km to go The figures switch on the weatherhouse and the riders move back into sunshine as they take on the Ballon d’Alsace for the second day in a row. A nasty 6.9 average gradient. Carapaz misses a corner and drops a couple of seconds.
75km to go Arensman is still riding a solo race, slotted between the leading group (47”behind) and Pidcock’s chasing pack (1’10” ahead) . The category one climb of the Ballon d’Alsace awaits.
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79km to go. Rain and steep banks on the descent. The road is slicked black with water. You can hear the screech of wet disk breaks.
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80 km to go The crowds thicken again on the final metres of this climb, German, French, Welsh flags flap in the riders’ faces. Healy, unselfish cyclist that he is, hauls the leaders up the Col du Page. The sprint for mountain points kicks off – Valentin Paret-Peintre wins, Richard Carapaz slots in second, followed by TH Johannessen and Einer Rubio.
85km to go Campenaerts has been reeled in by the peloton, but Pidcock’s group have stretched their lead over the peloton back to a minute, but they’re still 1’45” off the leading pack. Just over a km left to the summit of Col du Page.
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89km to go Arensman has a rear puncture and drops off the Poursuivants group. The front group – Paret-Peintre, Carapaz, Healy and the two Johannessen brothers, are motoring, stretching their lead over the peloton to 2min 30. Although they have now been joined by Rubio.
90km to go Another climb – 6.9km till the top of the Col du Page. The peloton are gaining on Pidcock’s group, just 25 seconds behind.
News from a little earlier today – when Paret-Peintre crossed the line first, he became the first Frenchman in 34 years to win the Grand Ballon.
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100km to go The leaders zip into the final 100k of today’s stage. They’ve got 1’15” on Tom Pidcock’s chasing group, 1’52” on the peloton.
“Thomas Pidcock. I always think of him as Stuart,” writes Alistair Connor. “Not very smart of him to be in the breakaway two days running : he’s lost the element of surprise, and the other guys in the breakaway will hate him when he gets reeled in.”
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106km to go The top five are charging on the downhill now with a few drops of rain hitting the camera, despite the warm sunshine. As the rain falls on the riders’ faces it “completely changes your concept of the descent” say one of the TNT commentators. They’ve got 1 min 55 over the peloton.
118km to go Paret-Peintre beats Carapaz in the race for KOM points and they continue their attack over the top, chased by Healy and the two Johannessen brothers.
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123km to go “Ben, Alors Mon Garcon’ reads a sign. “An indirect alliance in this front group, to put pressure on UAE” says Adam Blythe. This lead group are less than one km from the top of the Grand Ballon now, still 1 minute 14 ahead of the peloton.
123km to go They keep on climbing, 2.5k to go to the top. Three pink shirts lead the front pack, headed by Georg Steinhauser, with a fourth EF rider in the group.
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123km to go An email drops – lovely to hear from you, Bronagh McAtasney! “Ben Healy is so smart. Could be that he knows with Pidcock in the breakaway, it won’t be allowed to go too far ahead and so today is his moment? (Until Pogaçar decides otherwise.)
“I’m pretty much picking Ben for the win for every day until he does it anyway.”
Healy and Castrillo have been caught – for now - and slot back into the leading group. But I agree, Healy is a very smart rider! Hoping for a stage win for him this Tour.
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124km to go Healy and Castrillo have stretched the lead to ten seconds over the poursuivants as they begin to climb again. The crowds are closing in again from both sides, cow bells and applause accompany the riders up.
126km to go A jolly Father Christmas rings an enthusiastic bell as the peloton zip pas . Healy and Castrillo have pulled away from the front group as they hit a little plateau on the Grand Ballon.
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133km to go Past the flags, the camper vans, the parasols, up they go. The gap over the peloton is slowly creeping up to 1.13. If you’re there, or watching, or spot something that I’ve missed, do write in.
133km to go Aha! Tom Pidcock has joined the centre of the front bunch, in the most combative bib.
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134km to go The break has a minute on the peloton at the moment where UAE are setting the tempo.
135km to go A big group in front of the peloton, divided into clumps. The front group includes Antonio Tiberi, Tobias Johannessen Marc Hirschi, Thymen Arensman, Richard Carapaz, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Quinn Simmons, Jan Tratnik, Bruno Armirail and Egan Bernal.
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136km to go The riders are in and out of the shadows of overhanging trees. There are gaps in the peloton now, no UAE riders in the first fifty riders. Bruno Armirail makes a temporary – and brief - bid for freedom.
138km to go First moves are underway, cagey and shoulder shifting. EF Education are stretching out the peloton with Ben Healey in pink at the front.
139km to go They start the 21.5km ascent of the Grand Ballon, the second largest climb of this year’s Tour de France, through a village heavily sprinkled with crowds and out onto tree lined roads.
143km to go NSM start the lead out for the sprint – 25, 20, 16 points waiting for first, second and third over the line. But Philipsen stays cool and gets the 25 point reward, Pedersen second, Kanter third, Girmay fourth. The gap slims down to 36 points for the green jersey.
145km to go Now bright sunshine as the riders pull away from filthy skies – a slim line of Alpecin riders are still pulling the peloton along – hoping to put Jasper Philipsen in position for maximum sprint points – 2.4km to go.
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151km to go The intermediate sprint is in 8.5km and Alpecin are controlling the front.
Kilometre Zero
The race director pops his head out into the dampness, waves his flag, and the riders head off into the pouring rain. No initial attacks in stinking conditions, as sprint and GC teams cover the front of the peloton.
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Rain turns to hail – think Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas.
And actually it is raining already, slanting into the riders as they approach kilometre zero.
Rain is on the menu today for a day of nasty vertical climbs – four classified climbs and 3,800m of vertical gain over 155km.
They are mulling over the possibilities in the studio. “I like to see Jonus go for a stage win, be nice to see the underdog get one.” says Robbie McEwen. The panel think he should keep on riding for first place.
Meanwhile the battle for that third podium place is wide open.
DeBruyne out of the race
A sore throat and a fever have ruined Ramses DeBruyne’s TDF. He was sixth in the young rider’s classification and 18th in the overall standings.
They’ve toddled off, 12.5k till the depart rée.
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“Good vibes in the bus,” says the yellow-jerseyed Pogacar, “and everyone knows what to do.” Ominous, they conclude in the studio.
The start is about five minutes away and it looks hot out there, though it is only showing a relatively comfortable 26 degrees on the themometer at the moment.
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General Classification Standings
In the studio, they’re talking about Tom Pidcock’s ride yesterday that screeched him up the GC rankings. “Audacious all day long,” says Robbie McEwen.“Probably the most talented rider GB has ever had,” adds Adam Blythe.
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): 47hrs 18mins 31secs
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike): +3mins 36secs
3. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe): +4mins 06secs
4. Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5 pro cycling team): +4mins 15secs
5. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek): +4mins 22secs
6. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM Team): +4mins 35secs
7. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe): +4mins 44secs
8. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): +5mins 08secs
9. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek): +5mins 45secs
10. Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious): +6mins 34secs
The points classification
Green jersey standings.
1. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) 377
2. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) 336
3. Biniam Girmay (NSN Cycling Team) 333
4. Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) 307
5. Max Kanter (XDS Astana Team) 239
6. Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) 210
7. Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility) 159
8. Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) 129
9. Milan Fretin (Cofidis) 117
10. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 107
King of the Mountains Standings
There are a maximum of 35 points on offer for the polka dot jersey chasers today:
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 42
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) 27
3. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) 19
4. Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5 pro cycling team): 18
5. Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) 18
6. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) 18
7. Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) 17
8. Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) 16
9. Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) 16
10. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 14
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William Fotheringham’s stage guide
Stage 14, Saturday 18 July: Mulhouse to Le Markstein Fellering, 155.3km
A brutal day’s climbing including a 106km loop that goes through the finish line twice, at the top of the first-category Grand Ballon after 43.9km, then finally via the Col du Haag, a steep, narrow climb, 11km at 7% up what the manual describes as “a forest path which has been converted into a cycle path”. That is after climbing the Ballon d’Alsace for the second time in two days. The trend on the Tour’s shorter mountain stages now is that the early escapees do not get enough space to contest the stage win; this has Pogacar or Vingegaard written all over it.
Preamble
Hello! A weekend of mountain agony in the Vosges awaits for the riders, and a rather more enjoyable couple of afternoons of watching for the rest of us.
An excellent first tour win for Switzerland’s Mauro Schmid yesterday in a sprint for the line was accompanied by a surprise rise up the GC rankings for Tom Pidcock, who starts today in fourth. More knowledgable people than me expect him not to have such a free ride now he has a target on his back.
On stage 13, the peloton drifted in more than seven minutes clear of the leaders, and that’s where Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard bided their time. They are bound to be more conspicuous today – the map of the terrain is a series of nasty looking acute triangles.
Do join us, and send me your musings – I’d appreciate the expertise!
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