Two-time champion Tadej Pogacar surged ahead on the last climb to win the mountainous 14th stage of the Tour de France and extend his overall lead to nearly two minutes on Saturday.
The elite climbers’ duel between Pogacar and two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard finally came when Pogacar peeled away with about five kilometers (three miles) left.
Pogacar caught up with and overtook his UAE Emirates teammate Adam Yates, while Vingegaard was initially dropped but showed good composure to limit the damage.
The Dane crossed the line 39 seconds behind the Slovenian Pogacar, who completed the 152-kilometer (99-mile) trek in just over four hours. Remco Evenepoel of Belgium was third and dropped to third overall behind Vingegaard.
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After about two hours, riders reached the first of the day’s two big “hors catégorie” (beyond category) climbs — a 19-kilometer (12-mile) grind up the Col du Tourmalet, one of the race’s most famed Pyrenean climbs.
The second HC climb to the finish at Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d’Adet was shorter, at 10.6 kilometers (seven miles), but with a steeper gradient.
Irishman Ben Healy attacked first but was caught by Yates, who set up Pogacar for his 13th stage win of his Tour career.
Time bonuses for the victory added four valuable seconds and extended Pogacar’s lead over Vingegaard to 1 minute, 57 seconds. Evenepoel was 2:22 behind Pogacar heading into another big mountain stage on Sunday.
