Paris: Tour de France race leader Tadej Pogacar executed a flawless attack, riding solo to victory on stage 14, a grueling 152 km journey from Pau to Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d’Adet that included 4,000 meters of ascent in the Pyrenees.
The Slovenian, adorned in yellow, launched his decisive move 4.5 km from the finish, supported by UAE Team Emirates teammate Adam Yates. This acceleration left his closest competitors, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel, trailing in second and third places, respectively.
Vingegaard, of Visma–Lease a Bike, crossed the finish line 39 seconds behind Pogacar, while Belgium’s Evenepoel, previously second in the general classification, finished 70 seconds later, dropping to third overall behind the Danish rider.
“It was instinct. We tried to go for the stage but more for the sprint. In this situation, Adam attacked and Visma had to try and maintain the gap,” said Pogacar after claiming his 13th career Tour de France stage win. “I saw that if I bridged (the gap) to Adam then he could pull me a little bit and this was really perfect. I must say a big thank you to the team today, they were amazing and this victory is for all my teammates. The plan was to come to the final and make the sprint hard, maybe take some seconds and a stage win. But in the end, (winning) like this, it’s much better.”
The stage featured a punishing ascent to the summit of the Col du Tourmalet. By the second climb up the Hourquette d’Ancizan, Pogacar’s team had closed in on race leader Ben Healy, who had led the breakaway group.
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Healy’s solo attempt at the front faltered as Yates launched his attack approximately 7 km from the finish, aiming to catch the Irish rider. Sensing the opportunity, Pogacar surged ahead, with Vingegaard and Evenepoel closely trailing. Yet, Pogacar’s strength shone through as he surpassed Yates, overtook Healy, and powered up the mountain, ultimately crossing the finish line alone to secure an extended lead comfortably.
The 25-year-old now tops the general classification with a lead of one minute and 57 seconds over Vingegaard, while Evenepoel trails by two minutes and 22 seconds.
Earlier in the day, Tom Pidcock of INEOS Grenadiers withdrew from the stage due to COVID-19 symptoms. Despite also testing positive, 2018 champion Geraint Thomas opted to compete. However, it became evident during the stage that Thomas, 38, was unable to keep pace and soon fell behind the yellow jersey group.
