For Tadej and his competitors, it was probably the most challenging day of the 112th Tour so far. In the 14th stage, they had to conquer four Pyrenean climbs and a total of 4,950 meters of elevation, a task made even more difficult by the weather conditions. Due to rain and fog, this challenge, during which the third-placed in the overall standings, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick Step), withdrew, was even more stressful.
An extraordinary victory, his first on the Tour, was claimed by the strongest among the escapees, Thymen Arensman (Ineos). Tadej, who had previously won the 12th and 13th stages, did not chase him on the final climb to Superbagnères, where his teammates from the UAE Team Emirates – XRG once again did an exceptional job. He waited for the moves of his rivals, and four kilometers before the end, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma Lease a Bike) attacked.
Tadej followed him, and in the finish, he also beat the Danish competitor in a sprint for 2nd place. With this, he increased his lead in the yellow jersey to 4:13 ahead of Vingegaard. »In the end, it was a brutal stage, also because of the weather. At one point, I was scared on the bike, on the descent from Tourmalet, I only saw the back of Pavel Sivakov. Nothing was visible, it was foggy, cold, wet, slippery. Some moments were scary. The stage was hard because of the climbs and the conditions. At the beginning, we were flying again, it was a very tough day, but we managed well. Chapeau to Arensman too, his ride was exceptional, his win was deserved. I’m happy for him and also for myself because I’m still in the yellow jersey,« said Tadej.
The victory of the 25-year-old Dutchman did not surprise him. »We know each other from the Tour de l’Avenir race in 2018. In the last stage, I flew off the road, then I caught him or he caught me, I don’t remember anymore, but then we chased the others together on the last climb. Since then, I know he’s a great cyclist who can have exceptional days. He confirmed that today,« Tadej said about Arensman.
And what about Vingegaard’s attack? »Jonas tried, he’s very good, I expected him to do it earlier. He attacked four kilometers before the finish, I responded, but I didn’t have the firepower to launch a counterattack and push all the way to the finish. So I focused on controlling the stage until the last 200, 250 meters and sprinted for 2nd place. Everything was good, everything was under control, and I stayed in yellow. So far, there haven’t been many hills in the race, Hautacam and the time trial. I think Jonas was the strongest of these three days this time. He won’t give up, he will attack in the Alps and on Mont Ventoux, next week we have a big battle ahead,« added Tadej.
The second week of the Tour will end tomorrow with the hilly 15th stage from Muret to Carcassonne.