(Morzine) Spaniard Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos) won the 14e 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.
Rodriguez made the difference in the descent of Joux Plane, where Pogacar and Vingegaard explained themselves without succeeding in deciding, at the end of a stage marked by several falls and at least seven abandonments, including that of Romain Bardet.
A great hope of Spanish cycling, Rodriguez, 22, won five seconds ahead of the duo to climb to third place in the general classification, clearing the podium from Australian Jai Hindley, who arrived 1: 46 later .
Michael Woods was the best Canadian on the stage, finishing in 43e position. His compatriots Hugo Houle and Guillaume Boivin respectively took the 58e and 120e ranks.
It is already the third Spanish victory in this Tour de France, while this traditional cycling nation has been chasing success for five years before this 110e editing.
The stage gave rise to a new head-to-head 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.
PHOTO BENOIT TESSIER, REUTERS
Tadej Pogacar followed by Jonas Vingegaard
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.
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 grab three seconds from the Slovenian who then took two back by finishing the stage ahead of the Dane.
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.