Hello and welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of the 102nd Tour de France. Stage 14 sees the riders travel 178.5km from Rodez to Mende.
Tour de France Stage 13 report
The Cyclingnews Tour de France Podcast episode 15
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It's another fine day at the Tour de France. After finishing yesterday's stage in Rodez, the riders were able to stay there overnight and that is where we start this morning.
If you were following yesterday's stage, you'll be aware that Jean Christophe Peraud took a serious fall yesterday. He managed to make it to the finish and a trip to the medical unit showed no broken bones. Last year's second place finisher says he's determined to carry on though.
Yesterday's uphill finish was a tough one but Greg Van Avermaet came through victorious, with Peter Sagan having to accept yet another second place at the Tour. The GC favourites were distanced by the pair but came through together. You can read yesterday's full report here, but here is a quick look at the top 10 from yesterday's stage.
The MTN-Qhubeka team will be wearing special helmets for today's stage to honour Mandela Day. Twitter user Owen Hannie posted this shot of Daniel Teklehaimanot this morning.
The neutralised start is less than 10 minutes away, here is what the riders face today. That last uphill ramp is expected to cause some problems.
Alberto Contador is just over four minutes down in the overall classification at the moment but he's been showing signs of improvement int he last couple of days. He says that he's getting better but he needs time. Read what the former champion has to say here.
The last ramp into the finish might only but 3km but with an average gradient of just over 10 percent we could see some of the overall favourites losing a little bit of time. This is how the general classification looks today.
As the riders near the start proper, news has come through this morning that Vincenzo Nibali's room was broken into with 500 euros stolen. Probably not an amount he'll worry too much about but a worrying moment for the Astana rider and it won't help his mind-set going into today.
If you haven't already, listen to the latest episode of our Tour de France podcast as we discuss yesterday's scorcher into Rodez and the history of GC upsets in Mende our finish town for today. Subscribe on iTunes to get each episode as soon as it's available.
The flag has dropped for the riders and we've already got attacks coming off the front of the bunch. Nothing successful thus far though.
173km remaining from 178km
Thibaut Pinot and his teammate Steve Morabito were involved also, with Morabito abandoning. Pinot is back on his bike as is Gesink.
We've got our first serious break attempt this afternoon with two riders out front. Cyril Gautier, who was on the attack yesterday, initiated the move, with Ruben Plaza of Lampre-Merida jumping the gap to join him.
161km remaining from 178km
Riders are slowly making their way back to the bunch following that crash. It looks like Jean Christophe Peraud was involved or at least held up by it. He's already without a lot of his skin after that huge crash yesterday, which he says happened because he was looking behind him for a teammate.
Our two plucky escapees have been brought back by the bunch and all of the stragglers have rejoined from the rear so it's gruppo compatto after 20km of racing.
Green jersey Peter Sagan has gone on the attack, he's been pretty aggressive in the opening kilometres and is obviously on the hunt for the points at the intermediate sprint. He's got Warren Barguil, Giampaolo Caruso, Bartoz Hursarski and Pieter Weening with him.
The Sagan group now have 22 seconds on the bunch with Pierre Rolland and Bob Jungles chasing at 10 seconds back. Sagan's attack had forced a split in the bunch again with Porte and Kennaugh missing the cut.
Porte, Kennaugh and the other stragglers have re-joined the peloton while the leading group has grown to 24 riders with a 1:05 advantage. Riders out front include Peter Sagan, Ryder Hesjedal, Andrew Talansky, Rigoberto Uran and Warren Barguil.
Behind the 24 leaders there are two more chasers. Mickael Cherel and Benoit Vaugrenard are about 18 seconds behind and look like they'll make it over, while the peloton are 1:20 back now.
Here we have it, the full list of the 24 out front: Andriy Grivko (Astana), Matthieu Ladagnous (FDJ), Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo), Adriano Malori (Movistar), Warren Barguil and Koen de Kort (Giant-Alpecin), Giampaolo Caruso and Alberto Losada (Katusha), Pieter Weening and Simon Yates (Orica-GreenEdge), Rigoberto Uran (Etixx-QuickStep), Pierre Rolland and Cyril Gautier (Europcar), Bob Jungels (Trek Factory Racing), Ruben Plaza and Rafael Valls (Lampre-Merida), Andrew Talansky and Ryder Hesjedal (Cannondale-Garmin), Luis Angel Maté (Cofidis), Jarlinson Pantano (IAM CYcling), Bartosz Huzarski and Paul Voss (Bora-Argon 18), Pierre-Luc Périchon (Bretagne-Séché Environnement) and Stephen Cummings (MTN-Qhubeka)
The two chasers got very close but they have been brought back by the peloton. The gap is just 1:10 and with so many strong riders out front the peloton will be reluctant to let this go too far up the roac.
Sagan extended his lead in the points classification yesterday but he had to settle for second behind Greg Van Avermaet in the sprint for the finish line. The Tinkoff-Saxo rider says he made an error in sitting up when he caught Van Avermaet's wheel.
Despite having a rider in the break it is IAM Cycling that is pulling the peloton along. The gap briefly goes under the minute mark before rising again to 1:05.
Chris Froome remained comfortably in the lead yesterday as most of the GC favourites rolled across the line together. However, the team Sky rider is expecting the attacks to fly later today as the riders head into Mende. Read what he said here.
134km remaining from 178km
With the peloton edging ever closer five riders have decided to strike out from the leading group. Grivko, Ladagnous, Uran, Plaza and Talansky have gone off the front. IAM cycling still doing the chasing behind.
Despite climbing for most of opening kilometres, the riders have averaged 41.8kph in the first hour of racing.
The riders are currently enjoying temperatures of over 30 degrees again today but there is a storm predicted for the finish. While most won't be looking forward to it, perhaps the likes of Pinot and Thomas will be after already stating their preferences for the colder wetter weather.
119km remaining from 178km
The front group has been whittled down to just eight riders and we now have Jan Bakelants and Jonathan Castroviejo trying to join them.
111km remaining from 178km
We've finally got a proper check on the peloton, who are 4:40 back on the leading group. There is a group of 12 riders trying to catch the 7 leaders and they are: Bakelants, Castroviejo, Golas, Gautier, Cummings, Van Avermaet, S. Yates, Pinot, Roy, De Kort, Koren, Périchon, Maté.
Andrew Talansky looks bitterly disappointed about missing out on the break due to an untimely puncture. He gets some sympathy from his teammates.
The peloton have really turned off the afterburners and the gap has grown very quickly to 7 minutes. The chasers behind are just 22 seconds back through.
Sagan strikes out and easily takes the full points at the intermediate sprint. With no Greipel in the group that will give him a very comfortable lead in the points classification.
Just 17 seconds separate the leaders and the chasers. Here's a reminder who is in that chasing group. Romain Bardet and Jan Bakelants (AG2R-La Mondiale), Thibaut Pinot and Jérémy Roy (FDJ), Jonathan Castroviejo (Movistar), Greg van Avermaet (BMC), Koen de Kort (Giant-Alpecin), Simon Yate (Orica-GreenEdge), Michal Golas (Etixx-Quick Step), Cyril Gautier (Europcar), Kristjian Koren (Cannondale-Garmin), Pierre-Luc Périchon (Bretagne-Séché Environnement) and Stephen Cummings (MTN-Qhubeka).
Luis Angel Maté is having a very lonely day of it at the moment. The Spaniard who rides for Cofidis is five minutes behind the leaders but he's 2:45 ahead of the peloton.
Up front, the two leading groups have come together but Ruben Plaza has decided to have a go on his own. He finished second in the intermediate sprint and seems to have just carried on. He's got 15 seconds on the 19-man group behind.
Plaza has been caught by the other escapees so we have a 20-rider group out front. Behind, Maté is closing in on the leaders but he's still got 4 minutes to make up.
88km remaining from 178km
Ian Stannard is doing the work on the front of the bunch at the moment. As the action seems to have calmed down a touch, why not take the time to listen to the latest episode of our Tour de France podcast.
It's meals on wheels as the peloton pass through the feed zone. It is here that Maté has also given up his chase of the 20 leaders and gone back to the peloton.
78km remaining from 178km
With questions being asked of Froome again, even more so since the surfacing of supposed data from his Mont Ventoux ride in 2013, the team Sky rider said that he would submit himself to independent testing. Cyclingnews editor Daniel Benson spoke to a number of experts to see how independent testing could work for Froome and what the challenges where. You can read the very interesting feature here.
65km remaining from 178km
It's not just Sky that will be keen to make sure that this break doesn't stay away for the whole day. Joaquim Rodríguez could be on for his third stage win today if they can bring the escapees back. Alejandro Valverde is another contender for the victory.
Vincenzo Nibali has had a very challenging Tour de France defense. He's still clinging onto a top 10 position though and he says that he will continue to fight on through the remainder of the Tour.
Confirmation has come through that Steve Morabito has suffered a broken collarbone as a result of the earlier crash. Another rider that abandoned today is Ramon Sinkledam, due to illness.
With almost three minutes separating first and second place in the overall classification, many are saying that the fight for the victory is over. Former rider Robert Millar says not though and you can read his thoughts in his latest blog for Cyclingnews.
46km remaining from 178km
Speaking ahead of the stage Alberto Contador spoke to the media. Here is what he had to say.
42km remaining from 178km
In the breakaway it is FDJ setting the pace, will we see Pinot try and go for a solo attack? We hope that Marc Madiot's heart can hold out if he does.
The leaders are onto the Cote de Sauveterre and the group will begin whittling down. There are plenty of strong riders in this group. We mentioned Pinot but there's Bardet, Pantano, Uran and Simon Yates also up there.
The French president Francois Hollande has made an appearance. Christian Prudhomme's car stops and the president gets in. Will the French be able to deliver him a stage win?
As predicted, Stannard peels off the front as the peloton hits the climb. Richie Porte takes up the pace setting. The gap is still 6:05. It's looking ever more likely for the escapees but anything can happen at the Tour.
There are riders losing touch with the peloton. Greipel and Farrar have been distanced. Greipel was involved in the crash in the opening five kilometres.
36km remaining from 178km
There's plenty of climbing in this finale but even more so next week. We took a look at some of the best climbers' bikes out there in the peloton, including a BMC, a Pinarello and a Canyon. See which bikes made the list here.
33km remaining from 178km
Bakelants is also climbing very well in this leading group. He's just behind Ladagnous and Pinot and could be key for Bardet when it comes to the crunch.
Sagan sitting on the back of the leading group. The finishing ramp may be a bit too difficult for him but he's ensured a few more days in the green jersey by winning the intermediate sprint.
The escape group have passed through the KOM marker on this climb. They've got a few little ups and downs before they reach the descent proper though. Will someone be brave enough to go there. Surely it's too early.
It's a hot day and the riders are drinking a lot. Things nearly go awry for a Europcar rider when he tries to take a bidon from a member of his team and he veers across the road.
26km remaining from 178km
There are 13 seconds between Golas and the second group on the road, while the peloton are still 5:28 behind.
In the peloton it is now Luke Rowe who is taking the peloton down this descent. This is Rowe's debut at the Tour.
22km remaining from 178km
So far we haven't seen any of the expected rain. It's still hot out there, as it has been for the past week. The heat is really taking its toll on the riders with many unable to sleep properly. It was already going to be a hard night for Jean Christophe Peraud but to add insult to injury he had no air conditioning in his hotel last night. He's still in this peloton though, fighting on.
Kristijan Koren tries to chase down Golas on his own. He's brought back by Pinot and Bakelants and the injection in pace splits up the group.
17km remaining from 178km
There are still two climbs to negotiate before the finish in Mende so it will be hard for Golas to hold the chasers off.
Between the break and the peloton the gap is 5:46 with Sky still on the front of the bunch. Aside from some early work from IAM Cycling, Team Sky have been on the front from near enough the start.
14km remaining from 178km
Koren can see Golas up the road. Can he catch him?
Richie Porte doing bidon ferrying duty and he gets a little shove from Mark Cavendish to help him back into the peloton. Normally riders can't take on bidons inside 20km to go but with it being so hot they have disregarded the rules today.
11km remaining from 178km
Koren catches Golas but their advantage is slim. Ladagnous is on the front of the chasing pack with Roy and Pinot in his wheel.
Simon Yates lying in wait behind the FDJ train in the escape group. This is his second Tour after making his debut last year. He's got a good punchy finish, what can he do today?
Richie Porte pushes away an over-exuberant fan away. Porte told reporters yesterday that he was punched by a fan on one of the climbs.
Nicolas Edet attacks out of the peloton. It's a strange move from the Cofidis rider with a 5:53 gap between themselves and the escapees.
8km remaining from 178km
Jean Christophe Peraud is off the back with Svein Tuft. He's battling with some horrible injuries after a big crash yesterday.
Rodríguez has been distanced by the peloton. Has he cracked or is he just saving his legs for another day? He's well off the GC now so he doesn't have to worry about that.
4km remaining from 178km
3km remaining from 178km
Bardet is leading the second group on the road. Gautier tries to attack but he's no match for Bardet who looks in strong form. Only Yates can stay with him.
Pinot is leading the second group of chasers with Uran in his wheel. There's about 10 bike lengths between the two groups.
Bardet attacks with 3km to go
Yates can respond this time and he's about to get passed by Pinot. There's still two other riders out front though.
Sorry, Bardet is the first rider on the road. He's got 2.7km to go.
Uran and Pinot are doing the chasing with the Colombian on the front for now. Both had numerical advantage in the escape but they can't match Bardet for now.
Bardet is out of the saddle and he's driving home. We don't have a time gap for him just yet.
Quintana has attacked out of the peloton.
Nibali and Valverde go with the Colombian as Froome continues to set his own pace. He's got no teammates with him though.
Valverde is no longer with Quintana, the Colombian only has Nibali for company.
Pinot is closing on Bardet, he's dropped Uran. This is going to be close with just 2km to go.
Behind, Froome continues to grind away and he's bringing back Quintana and Nibali.
Pinot catches Bardet. It looks lie it's going to be a French win.
Pinot and Bardet riding together and they're about to go under the flamme rouge.
Cumming is chasing the pair down and he catches them with 1.3 to go as the road flattens out.
Nibali has been dropped by Quintana behind and Froome passes him also.
Cummings is drivcing for the line the two Frenchmen are trying to chase but they cant get him.
150 to go and Cummings still has a gap
Cummings wins for MTN-Qhubeka on Mandela day.
Pinot took second and Bardet claimed third. Wow what a finish.
Quintana attacks again and Froome is unable to react. Lots of riders have been distanced, including Valverde, Contador, van Garderen and Nibali.
A few words pass between Froome and Quintana. Will they work together?
Discussions also going on between Contador and Valverde, the Movistar rider then attacks Contador who is unable to respond.
Van Garderen is in a world of pain and he looks like he's losing second place int he GC.
Quintana and Froome riding to the line together with Froome on Quintana's wheel.
Quintana leads Froome to the line but the Sky rider gets the jump in the sprint.
We're not getting time checks for the contenders coming in but we'll bring you the gaps as soon as we have them.
Here is the top 10 on the stage however.
Froome now holds a 3:10 lead in the yellow jersey with Nairo Quintana moving into second. Tejay van Garderen moves down to third place.
Here is full confirmation of the GC top 10 after that exciting finish.
Few, I don't know about you but I need a lie down after watching that finish. It's a big day for MTN-Qhubeka, taking their first Grand Tour win on Mandela Day. It also proved to be a big day for the GC riders with Van Garderen, Contador and Nibali struggling again.
Stephen Cummings says he threw caution to the wind in that final. "I knew I wasn’t the strongest climber, I knew there were better climbers and that it was going to be difficult to win. I was always waiting in the last 10 kilometres for an opportunity but it was clear that FDJ were going to try and control it for Pinot so I took advantage of that I waited and waited. At the Tour de France there’s a lot of people and maybe people go bananas at the bottom of the climb. I kept my calm and UI just time trialled up it and on the downhill bit I managed to have a little carrot and chase them back. I saw Pinot was behind me. He’s cautious in the corners so I threw caution to the wind and I got a little gap. I’m pretty confident with those climbers that if I can get a little gap on the flat or down hill then it’s difficult to catch me."
As he has done in many races, Froome showing that every second counts as he sprinted to gain a few more on Nairo Quintana. You never know what can happen in the mountains so getting a big a buffer as possible is important.
Here is Stephen Cummings celebrating his victory today. The celebration a hint towards the Qhuebka charity and giving African's a hand up.
Thibaut Pinot came so very close to another stage win at the Tour but it wasn't to be. He was obviously frustrated and disappointed at the finish.
Froome spoke to the press after the stage and this is what he had to say about the urine incident.
A reminder of the GC after that stage.
As well as Froome, a number of other riders have reported abuse by some spectators. Luke Rowe says someone spat at him while Rohan Dennis took to twitter to say he'd been hit by someone. In 2013 Mark Cavendish was subjected to the same thing Froome endured today.
Here is the Froome story and you can also read our report on the day's action here.
That's all from us today come back tomorrow for coverage of stage 15.
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