Netherland’s Bauke Mollema crosses the finish line to win the fourteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 183.7 kilometers (114.1 miles) with start in Carcassonne and finish in Quillan, France, Saturday, July 10, 2021.
Netherland’s Bauke Mollema crosses the finish line to win the fourteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 183.7 kilometers (114.1 miles) with start in Carcassonne and finish in Quillan, France, Saturday, July 10, 2021.
Netherland’s Bauke Mollema crosses the finish line to win the fourteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 183.7 kilometers (114.1 miles) with start in Carcassonne and finish in Quillan, France, Saturday, July 10, 2021.
Michael Woods of Canada, wearing the best climber’s dotted jersey, celebrates on the podium after the fourteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 183.7 kilometers (114.1 miles) with start in Carcassonne and finish in Quillan, France, Saturday, July 10, 2021.
France’s Julian Alaphillippe, right, avoid crashing into Spain’s Peio Bilbao, center, and Spain’s Ion Izaguirre Insausti, left, during the fourteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 183.7 kilometers (114.1 miles) with start in Carcassonne and finish in Quillan, France, Saturday, July 10, 2021.
Netherland’s Bauke Mollema celebrates winning the fourteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 183.7 kilometers (114.1 miles) with start in Carcassonne and finish in Quillan, France,Saturday, July 10, 2021.
QUILLAN, France (AP) — Tadej Pogacar will head into the final week of the Tour de France with a commanding advantage to retain cycling’s elite title after he was unchallenged on the 14th stage won by Bauke Mollema on Saturday.
Pogacar’s remaining rivals — all well behind in the standings — held off from attacking the defending champion during the hilly stage that sets up more serious tests in the Pyrenees.
Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates stayed comfortable at or near the front of the peloton through the 184-kilometer (114-mile) trek from Carcassonne to Quillan in southern France, content to let the breakaway group dispute the stage victory.
The Slovenian holds a four-minute lead over Guillaume Martin. The French rider, who was in the breakaway group, moved from ninth overall to second. Rigoberto Uran, Jonas Vingegaard and Richard Carapaz are all more than five minutes off Pogacar’s pace.
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 has had little trouble protecting his advantage in the general classification over the past week.
Mollema, a rider for Trek, claimed his second career stage victory at the Tour when he broke away on the way down from the fourth of the day’s five climbs. Mollema’s other Tour stage win was in 2017.
