The 109th Tour de France heads for the Massif Central. There are no mountain giants waiting for the drivers, but caution is advised.
On the crisp final climb to Mende, Tadej Pogacar could once again test his rival and yellow card holder Jonas Vingegaard.
Constant ups and downs
On the 14th stage over 192.5 kilometers from Saint-Etienne to Mende, there are four climbs in the third category and one in the second category. Especially the last three kilometers up to the airfield are demanding with an average gradient of 10.2 percent. All in all, the riders climb over 3400 meters in altitude.
Another day in mountain jersey
Simon Geschke has been wearing the mountain jersey for the fifth day in a row, making him the German record holder. The next goal is to keep the white dress with the red dots until Monday’s rest day. And maybe even to the finale on the Champs Élysées? “I dream of Paris, but not in the jersey,” said the 36-year-old Berliner, referring to the difficult stages in the Pyrenees.
A chance for the Germans
The trip to Mende is good for breakaway attempts. It is questionable whether Lennard Kämna will try again, the North German had a slight infection in the past few days. Max Schachmann didn’t really get going in the first week because of his fall injuries. Georg Zimmermann left a good impression in a breakaway group on the stage to Megeve.