Dutchman Bauke Mollema from Trek Segafredo celebrates his victory on Saturday in the 14th stage of the 108th edition of the Tour de France.
Image credit: AFP
Quillan, France: Bauke Mollema won a hilly 14th stage of the Tour de France on Saturday, while Tadej Pogacar secured his lead ahead of the race in the Pyrenees.
The 34-year-old Dutch rider for Trek earned his second career stage victory on the Tour when he escaped the descent of the fourth of five climbs of the day. Mollema’s other stage victory dates back to 2017.
Mollema started the windy descent through the steep gorges of the Côte de Galinagues. He quickly set off to build an insurmountable lead and covered the last 42 kilometers up and down the Col de Saint-Louis category 2 on his own.
With no opponent in sight when he crossed the line in just over four hours and 16 minutes, Mollema had time to raise his arms and soak up the applause. Patrick Konrad edged out Sergio Higuita to finish second, more than a minute behind.
The Emirates UAE team from Pogacar remained comfortable in front of or near the peloton throughout the 183.7 kilometer (114 mile) hike from Carcassonne to Quillan in southern France , satisfied to let the escaped group fight for the stage victory.
On Sunday, the riders reached the Pyrenees with a 191 kilometer (118 mile) race starting in Céret and ending in the small mountainous nation of Andorra. The trek includes three category 1 climbs. After a rest on Monday, the peloton will face another three days in the hills and mountains.
Defending champion Pogacar has kept the yellow jersey since he took control of the race on stage 8 in the Alps. With 2020 runner-up Primoz Roglic and other potential contenders out of the race, Pogacar increased his lead in the overall standings.
The 22-year-old Slovenian will enter the final week with a four-minute lead over Guillaume Martin, who was in the breakaway and dropped from ninth to second.
0 Yorumlar