Carlos Rodriguez has won the 14th stage of the Tour de France. Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard fought a direct duel on the first stage in the Alps, the Dane defended the yellow jersey.
Rodriguez prevailed on Saturday (07/15/2023) over 152 kilometers from Annemasse to Morzine in a rapid final descent. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) crossed the line in second, just ahead of defending champion Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), who retained the yellow jersey as overall leader.
The Spanish winner of the day from the Ineos Grenadiers team overtook Jai Hindley (Bora-hansgrohe) in the overall standings and is now in third place.
Motorbikes in the way of Pogacar’s attack on Vingegaard
The two big rivals fought a gripping direct duel on the first stage in the Alps over a total of 4100 meters in altitude. The two tour favorites undertook the last ascent on the Col de Joux Plane, a mountain of the highest category, as leaders in a solo journey. Pogacar launched the first attack, but had to stop the seemingly promising attack after a few meters – there was no space between the slow motorbike and the crowded fans on the side of the road.
Afterwards he let himself be surprised by Vingegaard, the Dane pushed past the pass just before the marking of the last climb and secured a valuable time bonus. In the end, he was able to increase his lead over Pogacar in the overall standings by one second to ten seconds.
Stage winner Rodriguez was also crippled by a TV bike on the final climb. He initially pushed it aside and then had to make an unplanned detour.
A top-class escape group of the day, which initially also included Nils Politt and Simon Geschke, had no chance of winning the stage due to the speed work of the Jumbo Express in the main field. Vingegaard’s teammates set an enormously high pace over long periods. Already on the penultimate mountain, Col de la Ramaz, even strong climbers like German champion Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-hansgrohe) fell behind. In the final, Vingegaard was isolated in a duel with Pogacar, but could not be shaken off in a direct duel.
Mass crash shortly after takeoff at Annemasse
The stage was overshadowed by a mass crash and an interruption. Just five kilometers after the start in Annemasse, part of the field fell in a descent. The tour organization immediately neutralized the race and stopped the riders. After about 23 minutes, the race resumed with a two-kilometre neutral phase. Seven professionals, including the French Romain Bardet, had to give up the race.
15th stage in the Alps towards Mont Blanc
On Sunday there should be the next exchange of blows between the two big rivals Vingegaard and Pogacar in the Alps. On the 179 kilometers from Les Gets les Portes du Soleil to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc, the peloton again has to climb 4100 meters, with a seven-kilometer climb up the Col de la Forclaz right at the start of the stage and four more difficult climbs.