DThe 14th stage of the Tour de France, the first stage of the Pyrenees, is a case of Bauke Mollema. The Dutchman from the Trek-Segafredo team won the 183.7 km stage from Carcassonne to Quillan as a soloist. At 42 kilometers from the finish line, he mustered up the courage to bid farewell to the 14 leaders with a firm starting point. After another ten kilometers, he led by more than a minute. This is a time buffer for him to successfully defend to the finish line with his tenacious energy and drooping tongue.
The surprise of the day was provided by Guillaume Martin, a philosopher in the large army. After jumping into the decisive breakthrough group and reaching the finish line with a score of more than four minutes ahead of fellow drivers, he rose from ninth to second in the overall standings.He is now only 4:04 minutes behind Tadje Pogkar. But for Slovenians, this is nothing to worry about. For him, Martin is not a real opponent in the upcoming high mountain stage.
Patrick Konrad from the German team Bora-hansgrohe performed well. The Austrian champion narrowly won the second place against Colombian Sergio Iguita (EF Education-Nippo). “I am not satisfied with this position,” he said. “But if I can sprint first, I will be happier.” If Conrad doesn’t have to keep a low profile in the escape team, it might be possible. The reason is Guillaume Martin, he should not help him get more time from Bora captain Wilco Kelderman in the overall standings.
Starting to return to the mountains on Saturday, the drivers in the Pyrenees had a good understanding of what they were preparing in the next few days. After the start of Carcassonne, the stage led five mountains, two of which were third-class mountains and three were second-class mountains. The vertical meter totals 2,900, which is not a terrible trip for professionals, nor is it a drive. The rhythm was high from the beginning. Therefore, it took an unusually long time for the field to let a group of people leave. Approximately eighty kilometers have been covered.
But when the time came, the escape team was allowed to leave and stay on the back field. All ambitious drivers included themselves in the overall ranking. Almost everyone: Martin jumped up. 60 kilometers from the finish line, I finally found a stable leadership group: 14 drivers, including Pierre Rowland, Michael Woods, Water Bol, Mollema, Esteban Chavez, Patrick Conrad, Sergio Iguita and Guillaume Martin, many outstanding climbers.
Canadian Woods dropped but was able to continue and catch up with his colleagues again. His reward at the finish line: He took the lead in the mountain classification from Nairo Quintana. 43 kilometers before the end of the month, Morema decisively attacked. “This is a smart move for him,” said Patrick Conrad, who, like his colleagues, was left behind in this situation. Mollema got up and left, no longer in danger of being overtaken again.
Saturday’s ascent and descent are followed by four more difficult Pyrenees phases. The first phase of this Sunday will be from Serre to the Principality of Andorra. There are three peaks of the first category and one peak of the second category. With a total height of 4,500 meters, this is the order of magnitude of the spectacular stage on Mont Ventoux last Wednesday. Even if Bogaka is still invulnerable, this stage can bring about a huge change in the place behind him. In the overall standings, the difference between second place Guillaume Martin and ninth place Enrique Mars is only 3:07 minutes.
