Pogacar's Dominance: Solo Victory Secures Lead in Grueling Stage 14

Tadej Pogacar raced to a solo victory in Stage 14 of the Tour de France, covering 152 km from Pau to Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d'Adet with daunting Pyrenees climbs. After a decisive attack 4.5 km from the finish, Pogacar outpaced rivals Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel, further extending his lead in the general classification.

Tour de France race leader Tadej Pogacar rode solo to victory on stage 14 on Saturday, a 152 km ride from Pau to Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d'Adet including 4,000 metres of climbing in the Pyrenees.

The yellow jersey holder attacked 4.5 km from the finish after being led out by UAE Team Emirates teammate Adam Yates, leaving behind his closest rivals Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel, who finished second and third, respectively. Vingegaard finished 39 seconds behind the Slovenian, while Belgium's Evenepoel, who had been second in the general classification before Saturday's stage, finished 70 seconds behind, meaning he slips to third overall behind the Dane.

The stage involved a brutal climb to the summit at the iconic Col du Tourmalet. By the time the breakaway group finished the second climb up the Hourquette d'Ancizan, Pogacar's teammates had helped him close the gap to race leader Ben Healy.

Healy was out in front on his own and it was Yates who attacked with about seven kilometres left as the Briton looked to reel in the Irish rider. As Healy began to lose steam and Yates was looking over his shoulder for Pogacar, the Slovenian picked up the pace, with Vingegaard and Evenepoel hot on his heels.

But Pogacar proved to be in a class of his own as he pulled up to Yates, past Healy and away up the mountain, eventually crossing the line on his own to extend his lead comfortably. The 25-year-old now leads Vingegaard in the general classification by one minute and 57 seconds, while Evenepoel is two minutes and 22 seconds behind.

Earlier, INEOS Grenadiers' Tom Pidcock did not line up for the stage after experiencing COVID-19 symptoms but 2018 winner Geraint Thomas, who also tested positive for the coronavirus, opted to race. It quickly became clear during the stage, however, that Thomas was not up to the task and the 38-year-old Briton was soon dropped by the yellow jersey group.

(With inputs from agencies.)