2023-07-15 18:48:56
Carlos Rodriguez won the 14th stage of the Tour de France this Saturday July 15 in Morzine, in the Alps. A stage which was part of a new fierce fight between Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard and a big collective fall which led to at least seven retirements, including that of Romain Bardet.
Published on: 07/15/2023 – 18:48
2 mn
Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos) won the 14th stage of the Tour de France, the first in the Alps, on Saturday in Morzine, winning ahead of Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard who retains the yellow jersey. The Spaniard made the difference in the descent of Joux Plane, where Pogacar and Vingegaard explained themselves without deciding, at the end of a stage marked by several falls and at least seven retirements.
Great hope of Spanish cycling, the winner of the day won five seconds ahead of the two big stars of this Tour to climb to third place in the general classification, clearing the podium of Australian Jai Hindley, who arrived 1 :46 later. It is already the third Iberian victory in this Tour de France, while this traditional cycling nation has been chasing success for five years before this 110th edition.
The Pogacar – Vingegaard duel continues
The stage gave rise to a new mano a mano between Pogacar and Vingegaard which grabbed a second on Saturday, thanks to bonuses at the top of Joux Plane. He now has ten in advance in the general classification, a tiny margin. His Slovenian rival, glasses raised, placed his attack 3.7 km from the top of this exceptional pass. He immediately took a lead of twenty meters.
Read alsoAdrien Petit’s logbook, episode 3: the rest of the warriors
But, as if held by an invisible leash, Vingegaard, with his impenetrable face behind his visor, clung on to cushion the shock and pick up two kilometers further. The two men then found themselves shoulder to shoulder. But when he started his sprint to take the bonus points at the top, Pogacar was blocked by a press motorbike and forced to sit down. Vingegaard took the opportunity to claw back three seconds from his competitor who then took two back by finishing the stage ahead of the Dane.
A collective fall and the abandonment of Bardet
After their battle of leaders, the two favorites temporized, which allowed Rodriguez and Adam Yates, teammate of Pogacar, to pick up on the descent. The Spaniard immediately went on the attack to surprise Pogacar and Vingegaard and win in Morzine.
The stage was also marked by a major collective fall after only five kilometers, causing the retirement of South African Louis Meintjes and the neutralization of the race for about twenty minutes. Twenty kilometers further, the Frenchman Romain Bardet fell in the descent of the first pass of the day and was also forced to leave the race, victim of a concussion.
#Carlos #Rodriguez #wins #Morzine #Vingegaard #stays #yellow