The 10th stage of the Tour de France 2014 took place on July 14, 2014 and led from Mulhouse over 161.5 km to the Planche des Belles Filles . In the course of the stage there was an intermediate sprint after 39.5 km as well as four mountain ratings in the first category, two ratings in the second and one rating in the third category. This meant that the stage counted as a high mountain stage, with 183 riders at the start.
Race course
Rodríguez won five of the seven mountain classifications on the stage.
There was an attack right at the start of the race. Lieuwe Westra (AST), the first attacker, was able to gather a group of six drivers (Voeckler, Gérard, Irízar, Visconti, Moinard and Riblon) around him. Immediately afterwards, Sagan, Rodríguez, and Bárta started the persecution. However, it took the whole flat section before the trio could catch up. While the rain set in on the Col du Firstplan and the leading group set the pace, the teams IAM and Cofidis took over the pace in the field and reduced the lead of the outliers from around 4:30 to around three minutes. The mountain classification in the second category was won by Thomas Voeckler (EUC), who just beat Joaquim Rodríguez (KAT) in the sprint .
In the technically demanding descent, which was made worse by the rain, Peter Sagan (CAN) was able to break away from his companions by a few meters and maintain his small lead over the sprint classification, which he won ahead of Westra and Christophe Riblon (ALM). The IAM drivers Marcel Wyss and Reto Hollenstein separated from the main field during this descent with Rein Taaramäe (COF) and the Omega Pharma Quick Step drivers Tony Martin and Michał Kwiatkowski . On the descent alone, the group around the white jersey was able to drive out for a minute. On the Petit Ballon, an increase in the first category, the gap between the main field grew to 4:30 minutes. Meanwhile, Tony Martin reduced the gap to half a minute on the suspended runaways Sagan and Markel Irízar (TFR), and Arnaud Gérard (BSE) was also left behind . Rodríguez secured ten points in the battle for the mountain classification ahead of Voeckler and Amaël Moinard (BMC). The time trial world champion, together with the chasing group in the descent, made up the remaining 30 seconds behind and ensured that the two groups merged 97 kilometers from the finish. On the second descent of the day, Tiago Machado (TNE) crashed while the new (enlarged) leading group increased their lead to five minutes.
At the foot of the Col du Platzerwasel , the last former Tour de France winner Alberto Contador (TCS) who was still in the race fell . After he was taken care of by the tour doctor at the scene of the accident, he got back on his bike. The escape group had to cover another 92.5 kilometers to their destination. The peloton, which was led by Astana , was 4:34 minutes behind the leading group, but 3:46 minutes ahead of Contador's group. The development of the distances remained more or less constant at the Col du Platzerwasel. The mountain classification was won by Rodríguez ahead of Voeckler and Martin - who set the pace throughout the climb - and Kwiatkowski. Shortly after the mountain classification, Contador had to give up the race, the tour favorite Vincenzo Nibali had one less competitor for the tour victory.
With 70 kilometers to go, the lead was 4:15 minutes. While the picture at the top of the groups hardly changed in the following ten kilometers, the lead remained constant. However, in the meantime several drivers fell back from the escape group, so that only nine drivers remained in the lead, these were Martin, Kwiatkowski, Visconti, Moinard, Wyss, Voeckler, Rodríguez, Taaramäe and Riblon. While Martin set the pace at the Col d'Oderen, Rodríguez again secured the points ahead of Voeckler, Martin and Kwiatkowski. In the mountain classification, the peloton, in which Adam Hansen (LTB) occasionally took the lead for Tony Gallopin's team , was 4:34 minutes behind.
In the subsequent downhill section for the mountain classification of the third category, the Movistar team sporadically harnessed drivers to the pacemakers from Astana and Lotto-Belisol. In this way, the lead could be reduced significantly in a short time. While the lead was 43.5 kilometers from the finish line 3:51 minutes, it was 36.2 kilometers (Col des Croix) to the finish line only 2:41 minutes. This reduction in the lead is also due to the fact that in the escape group only Tony Martin set the pace, with the exception of the meters before the mountain classifications, in which Rodríguez and Voeckler sprinted over him.
In the 15 kilometers after the mountain classification on the Col des Croix, the escape group only lost 17 seconds on the peloton. Michał Kwiatkowski attacked 20.7 kilometers from the finish and quickly left Taaramäe, Wyss and Riblon. Moinard and Voeckler could not hold the back wheel of Poland for long either. 19.5 kilometers from the finish was only Rodríguez with Kwiatkowski, who also took part in the leadership work. At the same time, Tony Gallopin, Pierre Rolland (EUC) and Andrew Talansky (GRS), who drove in yellow, were left behind by the group around Nibali, whose teammates now set the pace. 19 kilometers from the finish Kwiatkowski was left behind by Rodríguez. Shortly before the mountain classification at Col des Chevrères, Kwiatkowski was overtaken by Visconti and only seconds later dropped. Rodríguez won the mountain classification ahead of Visconti, Kwiatkowski and Moinard, who reached the summit just one second after Kwiatkowski.
On the last descent, the leading group rolled together first, but Visconti was left behind from his companions and Moinard was ordered back to BMC team captain Tejay van Garderen , so that there were only two front runners. Meanwhile, Michele Scarponi (AST) kept the peloton at a constant pace, but the peloton fell spectacularly in a left turn and rolled over. Nonetheless, he got back on his bike and only meters later led the group of his team captain Nibali again. 5.3 kilometers from the finish, Rodríguez Kwiatkowski got rid of again and at this point had a lead of 1:30 minutes on the group of favorites. At the three-kilometer mark - Rodríguez was still one minute ahead - Scarponi could no longer do any leading work and gave Nibali the opportunity to leave the group. First he drove past Kwiatkowski and caught up with Rodríguez 1.2 kilometers from the finish. So his way towards a stage win was free from competitors. The first chase group, consisting of Romain Bardet , Jean-Christophe Péraud (ALM), Richie Porte (SKY), Alejandro Valverde (MOV), van Garderen and Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) could no longer effectively contain the Italian's lead. All other contenders for a good final placement like Jurgen Van Den Broeck (LTB), Rui Costa (LAM) or Fränk Schleck (TFR) lost a lot of time on Nibali. Tony Gallopin tried everything on the final climb to keep the yellow jersey, but failed because of the overpowering favorites. So Vincenzo Nibali took over the overall lead again - after only a one day break.
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