Stage 14 report: Mollema climbs to victory
Jeremy Whittle was in Quillan to see the Dutch veteran win his first stage of the Tour De France since 2017. Here’s how he saw the action unfold ...
The top five on General Classification
- Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 56hr 50min 21sec
- Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) +4min 04sec
- Rigoberto Uran (EF Education–Nippo) + 5min 18sec
- Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma) +5min 32sec
- Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) +5min 33sec
The yellow jersey group finishes: Tadej Pogacar and the rest of the big-hitters roll over just a few shy of seven minutes behind Mollema. Guillaume Martin goes second on GC after his fine ride in the breakaway, Rigoberto Uran drops to third.
Stage 14 top three
- Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) 4hr 16min 16sec
- Patrick Konrad (Bora Hansgrohe) +1min 04sec
- Sergio Higuita (EF Education-Nippo) +1min 04sec
Updated
The minor placings: Patrick Konrad wins the sprint for second by the width of a tyre from Sergio Higuita.
Bauke Mollema wins the stage ...
The Dutch Trek-Segafredo rider caught his rivals napping on the downhill, attacking when they weren’t expecting it. His bravery paid dividends - he has won after a fine solo effort in the Pyrenees.
1km to go: On and on Bauke Mollema goes, devouring the ground between his front wheel and the finish line.
3km to go: Behind Mollema, Guillaime Martin is riding his way into second place on General Classification and will be the only rider within five minutes of Tadej Pogacar if he can maintain his current lick.
5km to go: Riding into a strong headwind, Mollema increases his lead to 1min 26sec.
7km to go: Bauke Mollema is increasing his lead and looks to be on his way to a second career stage win in the Tour. The gap is 1min 16sec.
11km to go: The yellow jersey group has just crossed the summit of the Col de Saint-Louis.
Updated
12km to go: Mollema is maintaining a steady lead of 1min 07sec over his four chasers and looking good for the stage win.
13km to go: Michael Woods was second over the top, earning himself three more King of the Mountains points. He’ll be wearing the polka-dot jersey tomorrow.
17km to go: Mollema is first over the final climb of the day with a lead of 1min 06 seconds over four riders in luke-warm pursuit: Woods, Cattaneo, Konrad and Higuita.
18km to go: Nairo Quintana is dropped. He’ll lose the King of the Mountains jersey today.
19km to go: Wout van Aert, Geraint Thomas and Sonny Colbrelli are among several riders dropped by the yellow jersey group. Bauke Mollema is two kilometres from the summit of the final climb and will have 17 kilometres downhill into a headwind to negotiate once he reaches the top. The gap is 58 seconds.
20km to go: The group chasing Moillema is back together while the gap is out to 1min 17sec. The yellow jersey group is 5min 38sec as they hit the bottom slopes of the climb with Tadej Pogacar’s UAE Emirates team doing the pulling.
20km to go: Mollema is tackling the final climb of the day, the Category 2 Col de Saint-Louis. The group behind him is breaking up. Higuita tries to pull clear of his rivals as he chases Mollema but is reeled in. The gap is 1min 07sec.
More roadside correspondence: “Crowds went wild for Cav in Espezel,” writes Jim Hitch. “He has taken on legend status amongst the French.”
21km to go: In the group of 13 riders chasing Bauke Mollema, Cofidis’s Guillaume Martin has moved into second place on General Classification having started the day in ninth. He’s just under five minutes behind race leader Tadej Pogacar on GC.
An email: “Haven’t been able follow all this year’s Tour, but in what I’ve seen i haven’t noticed any cobbles – has there been a stage with cobbles?” asks Chris E.
I don’t think so, Chris but will happily stand corrected as I’ve missed two or three stages completely, as well as bits and pieces of several others.
After attacking in the descent 🇳🇱 @BaukeMollema has managed to build a 1'10" lead over the rest of the leaders.
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 10, 2021
Après son attaque dans la descente, 🇳🇱 @BaukeMollema a creusé un écart de 1'10" avec ses 13 poursuivants. #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/dV2sRFXEBO
29km to go: The gap is 1min 09sec and those in the chasing pack are getting a bit antsy and anxious.
31km to go: Mollema is now over a minute clear of a 13-strong chase group with one climb left today. The yellow jersey group is a further four minutes back. Mollema is currently on a bit of a descent ahead of the final jag.
31km to go: Bauke Mollema extends his lead to 54 seconds.
More roadside correspondence: “And there they went,” writes Martyn Lunn. “A curious spectator experience: three hours of waiting and all over in five minutes barring stragglers.”
If you hang on for another 30 minutes or so, Martyn, you might see Nacer Bouhanni and Cees Bol. They oculd probably do with some encouragment.
43km to go: Trek–Segafredo’s Bauke Mollema has attacked off the front of the breakaway and opened a gap of over 30 seconds. Having finished a valiant third on the double-Mont Ventoux stage, he’s hoping to win today.
44km to go: Woods rejoins the breakaway, which now numbers 14 riders. They’re 4min 07 seconds clear of the Yellow Jersey group.
46km to go: Woods comes perilously close to crashing again, overcooking a corner on his way downhill but managing to stay upright. He’s 15 seconds behind the rest of the escape party and has torn shorts and a visibly swollen elbow following his crash.
49km to go: Michael Woods has crashed on the descent, his wheels going from under him on a corner. He’s back on his bike and playing catch-up with the stage leaders.
57km to go: Wout Poels beats Michael Woods over the top of the Cote de Galinagues, coming with a late surge after the Canadian had pulled clear. He moves on to 49 points, but Woods is in virtual polka-dot having snaffled a point to go one clear of Quintana with 51. They have one climb left today, the Category 2 Col de Saint-Louis, the summit of which is 17 kilometres from the finish.
58km to go: Madouas, Gesbert, Rolland and Pacher jopin the leaders on the way up Côte de Galinagues, the penultimate climb of the day.
The leading 10: Sergio Higuita (EF Education-Nippo), Patrick Konrad (Bora-Hansgrohe), Omar Fraile (Astana), Louis Meintjes (Intermarché-Wanty Gobert), Esteban Chaves (BikeExchange), Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), Woet Poels (Bahrain Victorious), Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation) and Mattia Cattaneo (Deceuninck–Quick-Step).
60km to go: Our lead group of 10 riders is on the downhill and being chased by Rolland, Pacher, Madouas and Gesbert, who are just 11 seconds behind them. The yellow jersey group is a further 2min 45sec back, while the Green Jersey group is 10min 34sec off the pace.
The King of the Mountains standings in running
1. Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic): 50
2. Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation): 50
3. Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious): 47
4. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma): 43
5. Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo): 36
Updated
69km to go: Our lead trio has been joined by seven chasers.
73km to go: Sergio Higuita (EF Education-Nippo), Patrick Konrad (Bora-Hansgrohe), Omar Fraile (Astana), Louis Meintjes (Intermarché-Wanty Gobert), Esteban Chaves (BikeExchange), Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) and Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) are 30 seconds behind the lead trio, who roll over the summit of the Col de la Croix des Morts. Woods is first, followed by Poels. It looks like Nairo Quintana will lose the polka-dot jersey to one of them today.
75km to go: The Green Jersey group is 6min 55sec behind the leaders, while Nacer Bouhanni is reported to be riding alone 14min 30sec off the pace. He’s suffering badly after ending up in a ravine yesterday. His fellow sprinter Cees Bol is also reported to be in trouble.
76km to go: The gap from our three leaders to the yellow jersey is 2min 23sec, with three small groups of chasers on the road between them.
Updated
Some roadside correspondence from France: “The caravan has just passed by,” writes Martyn Lunn. “Lots of tat. Plastic bags, key rings, pencils, sugary sweets and drinks, it’s a scorcher here (Rodom) today. About an hour to wait.”
Ah, the tat. A real Tour highlight and trasure trove. I remember covering the first 10 stages in 2015 and brought home almost an entire suitcase full of tat from the caravan which I divvied up and gave to a pal’s two young daughters. Friends for life!
78km to go: Poels, Woods and Cattaneo are being chased by a group made up of Sergio Higuita (EF Education-Nippo), Patrick Konrad (Bora-Hansgrohe), Omar Fraile (Astana), Louis Meintjes (Intermarché-Wanty Gobert), Esteban Chaves (BikeExchange), Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) and Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo). Nairo Quintana is back in the bunch, 2min 06sec behind the leaders.
79km to go: It’s a little over six kilometrees to the summit of the Col de la Croix des Morts and Michael Woods, Wout Poels and Mattia Cattaneo have a lead of 30 seconds over a chasing group of with the peloton a further 1min 24sec behind.
86km to go: The riders continue their descent of Col de Montsegur with Wout Poels and Michael Woods leading the charge. They’re 1min 40sec clear of the yellow jersey group with a sprinkling of riders on the road between them. It’s up and down all the way home now, with three more categroised climbs to negotiate before the downhill finish. It’s a day for the puncheurs.
93km to go: Woods began the day eight points behind Quintana in the KOM stakes, with Poels a further three back.
94km to go: Woods and Poels go clear in their quest for King of the Mountains points. Poels beats Woods over the summit.
96 km to go: Michael Woods, Wout Poels and Mattia Cattaneo go clear on the ascent. They’re 49 seconds clear of the bunch.
96km to go: On the climb up the Category 2 Col de Montségur, Mattia Cattaneo and Wout Poels are leading the way. There’s no sign of Nairo Quintana, who leads the King of the Mountains category by five points from Wout van Aert.
98km to go: In the company of his trusty lieutenant Michael Morkov, Mark Cavendish is struggling at the back of the bunch, just in front of Bissegger, whose shirt and shorts are ripped following his crash. He’s bleeding from cuts on his right shoulder, elbow and knee.
Updated
100km to go: Nibali is reeled in and the peloton is back together, albeit in strung out form.
Bradley Wiggins: On Eurosport, Wiggo says there are lots of guys struggling badly at the back of the peloton. “There was a crash,” he says. “Lots of guys are tired and have their heads down. I think this race is at breaking point now and we’re going to see some big devastation later on in this stage by the looks of the back of the peloton.”
102km to go: Trek-Segafredo’s Vincenzo Nibali, who is expected to leave the Tour this weekend to focus on the Olympics, is trying to go out in style. He launches a one-man breakaway attempt and puts a few seconds into the bunch.
Updated
103km to go: EF Education–Nippo Stefan Bissegger is back on his bike after a crash that left him with several cuts.
107km to go: The gap between the bunch and the breakaway is practically negligible as the riders approach the intermediate sprint, which is won by Jonas Rickaert. Sonny Colbrelli and M ichael Matthews are eighth and ninth, while one of Mark Cavendish’s team-mates gets up to nick second place. He doesn’t need them but in doing so he ensures none of the Green Jersey’s main rivals can get them.
111km to go: Colbrelli is 128 points behind Mark Cavendish in the Green Jersey standings.
112km to go: We’re approaching the intermediate sprint and Sonny Colbrelli moves to the front of the peloton. The gap to the lead quintet is 18 seconds.
115km to go:
It's an all-out battle since the start of stage 14, with an average speed of 45.8km/h in the first 60km... And they're about to hit the main climbing sequence of the day#TDF2021 #TDFdata pic.twitter.com/jmDzKQ1kgM
— letourdata (@letourdata) July 10, 2021
An email: “A couple of former stage winners decided enough was enough today: Warren Barguil and Soren Kragh Andersen,” writes Matt Cast. “I think that’s 35 riders gone leaving 149.” Yep, a quick check reveals 35 to be correct.
On Eurosport: Bradley Wiggins is reporting on the race from the back of a mortorbike and says several riders including Nacer Bouhanni, Tim Declercq and a few others who were invlved in yesterday’s crash have been left behind by the peloton. They’re really suffering and wll do well to finish inside the time limit having been dropped this early.
121km to go: The Australian Bike Exchange team lost two riders yesterday, with Lucas Hamilton and Simon Yates crashing out. Here’s their video diary from a bad day on the Tour.
128km to go: On the descent of the Col du Bac, the gap is only 20 seconds. A group of 20 riders who had been chasing them has been reeled in by the bunch. Trek-Segafredo are doing most of the donkey work at the front of the peloton.
Updated
133km to go: Arkea-Samsic sprinter Nacer Bouhanni has been dropped by the peloton. The gap from the lead quintet to the bunch is 27 seconds.
140km to go: The peloton is refusing to let the breakaway escape and Michal Kwiatkowski, Julian Alaphilippe and Vincenzo Nibali are putting in a dig at the front of the bunch in a bid to muscle in on the action. The gap is 33 seconds.
142km to go: Sbaragli, Rickaert, Skujins, Turgis and Chevalier are 43 seconds clear of the bunch as the riders approach their first categorised climb of the day, the Category 3 Col du Bac. It’s a little over three kilometres in length and 622m high.
Updated
150km to go: Sbaragli attacks and opens a gap of 35 seconds over a chasing quartet of Turgis, Chevalier, Skujins and Rickaert. They’re 1min 21sec ahead of the bunch.
167km to go: Towed along by the riders of Trek-Segafredo, the peloton puts a stop to that particular trio’s gallop.
169km to go: That particular breakaway is reined in and now Julian Alaphilippe, Quentin Pacher and Matej Mohoric have set sail. The elastic remains taut but unsnapped and the peloton is still in hot pursuit.
Updated
171km to go: Thomas De Gendt, Fred Wright, Simon Geschke and Steven Kruijswijk continue with their escape bid. There are lots of riders attempting to bridge from the peloton but few seem to be pulling it off.
173km to go: Edvald Boasson Hagen, who I am astonished to learn is only 34, considering he seems to have been a pro rider for at least 40 years, tries and fails to bridge the gap to our four escapees.
174km to go: There’s no established breakaway to speak of so far. Simon Gesche and Thomas De Gendt, who has had a quiet Tour, are among four riders in the latest group to stretch the elastic.
178 km to go: Those two escape parties are reeled back in by the bunch as the race continues to try to sort itself out. There are quite a few big hitters near the front, Nairo Quintana and Wout van Aert among them.
180km to go: Our trio are swallowed up but another bigger group of 25 riders has put a few seconds between them and a chasing group of 10.
180km to go: They’re off and racing in Stage 14 and three riders immediately jump off the front of the bunch. It’s an audacious escape bid but it may take some time for the race to settle down.
Updated
Kilometre Zero: There’s a delay to the start of racing to give a couple of riders time to get punctures fixed. Ion Izaguirre, who might have hoped to be in today’s breakaway, is among them but he’s now at the back of the bunch.
Although it’s not actually a gun. It’s a yellow flag. Perhaps race director Christian Prudhomme will surprise us one day by emerging from the sun-roof of his branded Skoda wielding a 12 bore shotgun and firing a round in the air. It would certainly wake the riders up.
Updated
Today’s roll-out has begun: THey’ve another two kilometres to go before the riders are given the signal to start racing and such is the nature of today’s stage that fireworks are expected from the gun.
And then there were 143 ...
The peloton lost another four riders yesterday, bringing the toal of withdraweals for various reasons to 33. Michael Gogle (Qhebeka Nexthash) did not start stage 13, while Roger Kluge (Lotto Soudal), Simon Yates (Bike Exchange) and his team mate Lucas Hamilton did not finish it.
Updated
Can the breakaway make it all the way as we head towards the Pyrénées? 🤜
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 10, 2021
En route pour les Pyrénées, l'échappée va au bout aujourd'hui ? En tout cas, tous les voyants sont au vert ! 🤜#TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/W7EA51klQi
The main jerseys ...
- Yellow: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 52hr 27min 12sec
- Green: Mark Cavendish (Deceunininck Quick-Stap) 279 points
- Polka-dot: Nairo Quintana (Areka-Samsic) 50 points
- White: Jonas Vingegaard* (Jumbo-Visma) 52hr 32min 44sec
- Best team: Bahrain Victorious: 158hr 16min 53sec
- Most aggressive rider: Quentin Pacher (B&B Hotels)
Vingegaard is second in the best young rider category behind Tadej Pogacar but wear the white jersey as Pogacar is in yellow.
THe top five on General Classification after stage 13
- Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 52hr 27min 12sec
- Rigoberto Uran (EF Education Nippo) +5min 18sec
- Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) +5min 32sec
- Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) + 5min 33sec
- Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citreon) +5min 58sec
History is made: stage 13 report ...
Jeremy Whittle was in Carcassone to see Mark Cavendish equal Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 stage wins. He’s how he saw a thrilling finale unfold ...
Stage 14: Carcassonne to Quillan (183.7km)
From Will Fotheringham’s stage by stage guide: Only a few stages in this year’s Tour are hilly enough to deter the sprinters and favour the all-rounders as opposed to the pure mountain goats. This is the second, through Cathar country in the rarely visited eastern Pyrenees.
Narrow, twisting roads and constant up and downs favour a breakaway, and the battle to be in it will be desperate as even after two weeks the majority of teams will have yet to win a stage. One for a rider like Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet or Bauke Mollema if they are not involved in the overall battle.
