Hello and welcome to stage 14 of the Tour de France!
We’re in the Vosges today, for what will be one of the biggest climbing tests at this Tour so far, culminating in the category one climb of Le Markstein. They’ve had a quiet few days, but the GC riders all come to the forefront today.
There are four mountains today, including three with a rating of category one, all amounting to a total elevation gain of 3,800m. Whereas yesterday’s stage was a mostly flat day ending with one tough climb at the finish, today is a sustained test of climbing, and will therefore suit both the GC riders and the climbing specialists.
The riders have just started the neutralised zone. It’s a long one today, lasting 12.5km, so plenty of time to warm up.
They will need warming up, too. Although the first climb does not come until over 10km into the stage, this is a day where many will want to get into the break, and so the action will likely be hectic right from the flag.
Who will take inspiration from Mauro Schmid and Jayco-AlUla’s success yesterday? They demonstrated the effectiveness of having multiple riders in the breakaway, as they worked together to help Schmid come out on top. There will be multiple teams and raiders hoping for a repeat of that and doing everything they can to get their men in the day’s break.
There is one DNS to report today – Alpecin’s Ramses Debruyne, who became ill last night.
Unfortunately, Ramses Debruyne will not start today’s stage of the Tour de France.Ramses developed a sore throat and a fever overnight. The fever makes it impossible for him to continue the race.Our youngster leaves the Tour after an impressive debut, with some strong stage… pic.twitter.com/cF7RPYnQ5YJuly 18, 2026
The riders at the start. We’re preparing for yet another instalment of the rivalry between Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard. Can the latter at last manage to land a blow, having been gotten the better of for such a long time?
It’s a very uncomfortable start for the riders, who are currently being subjected to hailstones! As much as they must have been longing for an easement to the heat at this year’s Tour, this goes beyond refreshing and looks nasty. Just 1.5km until the start, and the riders can warm themselves up by starting to race.
OFFICIAL START
And they’re off! But there are no attacks just yet. It could be that they’re holding fire until after the day’s intermediate sprint, which comes just 12km into the stage.
Mercifully for the riders, the rain has stopped and they’re greeted by sunshine again.
Alpecin-Premier Tech are leading the peloton, controlling it for the upcoming intermediate sprint. They still have designs on the green jersey with Jasper Philipsen; here are the current rankings in that classification.
1 Pedersen 377
2 Philipsen 336
3 Girmay 333
4 Merlier 307
5 Kanter 239
Still Alpecin control the peloton, with no attacks being attempted from the peloton. They’re all waiting for after the intermediate sprint, which is coming up in just 3km.
INTERMEDIATE SPRINT
Philipsen takes the sprint, ahead of Pedersen, Kanter and Girmay. Girmay had a lead-out man control the sprint, but Girmay looked very tired and lost ground in the finale. Here’s what the rankings look like now:
1 Pedersen 397
2 Philipsen 361
3 Girmay 347
4 Merlier 307
5 Kanter 255
The riders are on the first climb of the day, the category one Grand Ballon. It’s a very long one, going on for 21.6km, and though it’s steeper than its average gradient of 4.8% suggests – that number is skewed by a brief downhill halfway up.
EF are riding the climb with intent, first Healy and then Carapaz upping the pace at the front.
A large breakaway group has a gap on the peloton, where UAE are riding tempo. Armirail, Rubio, Carapaz and Paret-Peintre are right towards the front of the group, and among the riders trying to thin it out.
15km from the top of the climb, and this large group of about 25 riders is one minute ahead of the peloton. It’s full out quality climbers who will have designs on either the stage win, the king of the mountains, or both – Carapaz, Bernal, Arensman, Tiberi, Simmons, Hirschi, Healy, Van Eetvelt, Cattaneo, Rubio, Tobias Halland Johannessen and Jorgenson, Valentin Paret-Peintre.
More significantly of all though, Tom Pidcock is here! There’s no way the GC teams can allow him up the road again now he’s as high as fourth overall.
There’s been talk throughout this Tour of whether Pidcock should ride smartly for GC, or more aggressively and target stage wins. In these past few days, he seems to have found a way to do both simultaneously!
Despite identifying him as a danger after his leap up the GC rankings yesterday, UAE aren’t panicking at his presence in the break, and continue setting a steady tempo to keep his group at 1:15.
Healy and Castrillo have clipped off the front of the breakaway group, as they take on the brief downhill halfway up the Grand Ballon. They’re 10 seconds ahead of the Pidcock group, which includes over 30 riders, while the peloton continue not to panic at 1:30.
Healy and Castrillo still lead by 10 seconds, as they come to within 5km from the top. It will be interesting to see who goes for the KOM points at the top – there are points available for each of the first five riders over the top, and with no single rider having stamped their authority on that classification yet, there’s a chance for someone to do so today. Here are the current rankings:
1 Pogačar 42
2 Vingegaard 27
3 Carapaz 19
4 Pidcock 18
5 Valentin Paret-Peintre 18
Healy and Castrillo are back in the Pidcock group, which is now being pulled by Steinhauser, his 3 EF teammates, Healy, Carapaz and Baudin, all on his wheel. Just 3km more to climb until they finally reach the summit.
120KM TO GO
Steinhauser continues to lead the break, as they come to within 1.5km from the top. The peloton is 1:15 behind, with UAE setting tempo. The group remains all together – who will sprint for the KOM points?
KOM – GRAND BALLON
EF attempted to lead out Carapaz for the KOM points at the top with first Steinhauser and then Healy, but Paret-Peintre stole a march on him and beat him in the sprint. That pair have now pressed on down this descent and lead by a few seconds.
Here’s what the KOM rankings look like now:
1 Pogačar 42
2 Paret-Peintre 28
3 Carapaz 27
4 Vingegaard 27
5 Pidcock 18
Carapaz and Paret-Peintre have been joined by Healy and the Johnannessen brothers on the descent, and have pulled out a lead of 25 seconds over the Pidcock group. Meanwhile the peloton is at 1:25.
The leading five are pulling away from the rest on the descent. A chase group of three containing Arensman, Rubio and Castrillo are 30 seconds behind, but the Pidcock group is now at 1:15, and not working well together.
100KM TO GO
The impetus has gone out of the Pidcock group. It’s now 1:15 down on the leaders, and only 40 or so seconds ahead of the peloton.
Visma-Lease a Bike are in a bit of a dilemma here. They’ve succeeded in getting a few of their riders (Jorgenson, Armirail and Campenaerts) up the road and in the break. But should they work at the front, given that they also have GC rival Pidcock in the group with them? The more attacking move would be to ride on and put UAE under pressure, but at present he is having to fight more to fend off those behind on GC than the one man ahead of him.
The riders are climbing again, up the category two Col du Page. Still UAE lead the peloton, and they’re keeping the Pidcock group very much in check, at just 40 seconds. The leading quintet is working well together though, and have grown their lead over the peloton to two minutes.
90KM TO GO
Arensman has had to stop for a mechanical. The Dutch rider is therefore having to go hard to try to chase back up to Rubio, who has struck out alone with his teammate Castrillo having run out of gas. His work was enough to get Rubio to within 25 seconds of the leading quintet.
Visma have decided to press on in the breakaway group, despite the presence of Pidcock in it. Campenaerts has dropped back into the peloton, but Jorgenson and Armirail are working at the front of the group and have built the advantage over the peloton up to 50 seconds.
Rubio has joined the five leaders at the front, but Arensman is further behind still chasing, at 20 seconds. They’re now only 1km away from the summit – Carapaz and Paret-Peintre will surely sprint for the points, but will anyone else?
KOM – COL DU PAGE
It’s a repeat of the last climb, with Paret-Peintre again out-sprinting Carapaz after Healy led them out. They crest the climb 40 seconds ahead of Arensman, while the Pidcock group is at 1:50 and the peloton (which is still being led by Politt) at 3:05. Here’s what the KOM rankings look like now; this pair are closing in on Pogačar’s lead
1 Pogačar 42
2 Paret-Peintre 33
3 Carapaz 30
4 Vingegaard 27
5 Pidcock 18
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The weather has taken another turn for the worse, and it’s started pouring down. Bad timing, too, as the heavens have opened as the riders are descending, making these roads especially sketchy. They’re all taking it easily, and thankfully will be at the bottom quite soon, after which they’ll take on the third climb of the day – Ballon d’Alsace, which was also tackled yesterday.
“Heavy rain on the descent! Keep your focus!”
Visma-Lease a Bike DS
Today’s stage is the second of three back-to-back tough climbing stages, which could prove decisive in the race for GC. Be sure to have a read of our more in-depth look at them.
Problem for the EF riders in the break! Healy and Carapaz go wrong on the turn onto the Ballon d’Alsace, and are held up. They’ve managed to bridge back up to the other four in the break, but given how this might go down to the wire in terms of survival for the stage win, they can’t afford mishaps like that. As things stand, they remain one minute up on Arensman, two minutes up on the Pidcock group, and 3:15 up on the peloton.
It’s been a relatively straightforward day in the peloton so far for Tadej Pogačar, who remains safely in the peloton. He’s under some pressure with Pidcock up the road, but his team have things firmly in control, keeping his group at a minute.
Yesterday, he had a go at bottle fetching, and was full of praise for his teammates at the menial jobs like that which they do for him each day.
Arensman is back in the Pidcock group (pictured), that is still being pulled along by Visma-Lease a Bike. They remain a long way down from the 6 leaders at 1:45, but are still holding off the peloton, which are at 40 seconds.
The sextet at the front is just 1km from the top of the climb. If Paret-Peintre can once again win the sprint for the KOM points, he’ll take over from Tadej Pogačar at the top of the virtual classification.
KOM – BALLON D’ALSACE
Paret-Peintre does indeed win the sprint, taking it from the front this time, and Carapaz made no real effort to come around him, settling for 2nd place. Here’s the updated rankings:
1 Paret-Peintre 43
2 Pogačar 42
3 Carapaz 38
4 Vingegaard 27
5 Pidcock 18
UAE Team Emirates XRG went hard on the Ballon d’Alsace, and have the Pidcock group within their sights, the catch about to be made.
Their work is also dimming the break’s chance of survival – they’re now only two minutes ahead.
50KM TO GO
The Pidcock group has been caught, so these 6 riders are the only riders remaining in front of the peloton. They’ve still got a reasonable lead of two minutes, but you sense they will need more if they’re to hold off the inevitable Tadej Pogačar charge on the final climb.
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Some riders have been dropped out of the peloton on the descent – including Lenny Martine, who is 10th on GC. His Bahrain team are leading the group to try to bring them back.
It was a tough day yesterday for Bahrain too, who worked for much of the day to try to neutralise Pidcock, but still saw their leader lose many minutes to him. If he can’t bridge up to this gap, he stands to lose yet more time.
Assisted by Netcompany Ineos, whose leader Bernal was also caught out in the split, Bahrain have helped bring Lenny Martinez back into the peloton. Panic over.
It’s just as well they did, as UAE are still going at a fair lick at the front of the peloton. They’ve bought the 6 leaders to 1:50, as they’re about to start an unclassified climb.
There’s a feeling of inevitability about a Pogačar attack on the final climb, but what of the race for the podium? It’s extremely close on GC at the moment, with only 1:02 between Evenepoel in third and Del Toro in eighth, while even Vingegaard a slender 30seconds ahead in second.
Paul Seixas is one of those riders in that cluster. He’s ridden a smart race so far, mature beyond his years – given the nature of the final climb, which really suits his strengths, today might be when he becomes more visible, and really starts to get the French excited.
Juan Ayuso is another of those riders in contention for the podium spots, who have so far looked pretty evenly-matched. His teammate Gee-West spoke to Cyclingnews about his prospects earlier.
30KM TO GO
Healy’s shift is over, and he’s been dropped out of the lead group. Uno-X Mobility take over with Anders Halland Johannessen working for his brother, but they’re being closed down by the peloton, which are now just 1:30 behind. About 10km away from the foot of the final climb, that’s very unlikely to be enough.
Having failed to win from the breakaway yesterday, UAE are reverting to their usual tactics today, controlling the break and setting Tadej Pogačar up for an assault on the stage.
If he can pull it off, it’ll be his fourth and the team’s fifth victory at this Tour de France.
20KM TO GO
The breakaway five are nearing the foot of Col du Haag, but with a lead of only 1:30. This is a proper climb, rising at 7.2% for 11.2km – enough for time gaps between the GC riders. Brace yourself for some action!
The break have started the Col du Haag. Anders Halland Johannessen is done, leaving just the four remaining riders in the break, with a lead of 1:20.
Decathlon have taken over from UAE at the front of the peloton on the lower slopes of the climb. The peloton is being thinned out already, and UAE’s McNulty, who had been leading the peloton, is one of the men to be dropped. And Ayuso appears to be struggling towards the back…
At the front, Carapaz is on the attack in a last-ditch attempt to win the stage.
Benoot is finished for Decathlon, and another teammate takes over.
Pidcock is among the riders dropped! He stands to fall down the GC. Yates has also been dropped, so only Del Toro remains for Pog.
Carapaz has managed to go clear of Johannessen. He’s still a minute ahead of the peloton, which is now being led by Visma-Lease a Bike’s Kuss, who has taken over fro Decathlon’s Prodhomme.
There are only 11 riders left in the peloton – Kuss, Vingegaard, Pog, Del Toro, Evenepoel, Lipowitz, Seixas, Ayuso, Skjelmose, Martinez and Voisard.
We have a first attack from the group of favourites – and it comes from Lipowitz! Seixas has gone with him, and they built a small gap, but Kuss has dragged the rest of the group back to them.
10KM TO GO
Vingegaard has taken over the pace-setting, and has just 6 left with him – Seixas, Lipowitz, Evenepoel, Ayuso, Del Toro and, of course, Pogacar. They’re now only 35 seconds behind Carapaz.
Evenepoel has been dropped, but is riding at his own tempo, and not been too far distanced. There is a plateau after the summit of the climb, which could ba chance for him to make up ground again, as he has done previously at this Tour when he has been dropped.
Up ahead, Johannessen has had a second wind and re-joined Carapaz. But the pair of them are now only 20 seconds ahead of the yellow jersey group.
The catch has been made. Vingegaard has dragged the 6-man group of favourites up to the two leaders. The stage will go to one of the GC riders – but which one? The anticipated Pogačar attacks has not (yet) materialised…
POGACAR ATTACKS
Here’s the move, 1500m from the top! He has a gap, not as big as he usually opens, but its slowly getting bigger, ahead of the group in which Vingegaard continues to lead the pace.
Pog is growing his lead, he’s 10 seconds ahead of Vingegaard, who has dropped the rest. Seixas is third on the road, a little ahead of Del Toro, Lipowitz and Ayuso.
KOM – COL DU HAAG
A grimacing Pogačar crests the climb 23 seconds ahead of Vingegaard, who has been joined by Seixas. Can that pair work together to bring him back?
Del Toro is just a few seconds behind them, followed by Lipowitz, Ayuso and Evenepoel, who has paced the climb excellently to join them.
Vingegaard and Seixas aren’t making any inroads in Pogacar’s lead, which has grown to 30 seconds. They’ve also been joined by Del Toro, who can get a free ride, citing his teammate up the road.
1KM TO GO
37 seconds for Pog as he goes under the flamme rouge. Victory in the yellow jersey looks set to be his once again.
POGACAR WINS
Win number four at this Tour for the great Tadej Pogačar, and number 125 in his career!
38 seconds later, Del Toro wins the sprint for second ahead of Seixas and Vingegaard, while Evenepoel, Lipowitz and Ayuso arrive in a group just a handful of seconds later.
“Today was a big objective for us. On paper it was a nice stage. We controlled the beginning, it was a hard day, with the rain also and thunderstorms. But I think everyone did what we needed to do – and yeah, you saw the result!
“We’re working super-well as a unit, and on the bus and on the dinner table we’re having a good laugh. It’s hard work, but when you an win like this it’s enjoyable.”Adam Yates
Mads Pedersen defends the green jersey, Pogačar the yellow jersey and, despite giving it away to Paret-Peintre after the earlier climbs, Pogačar also defends the polka-dot jersey.
But there has been one change in the jerseys, as Paul Seixas takes the white jersey from Juan Ayuso. Far from tiring during what is his first ever Grand Tour, the teenager appears to be getting stronger, and managed to crest the final climb with Vingegaard before ultimately placing third on the stage. He also moves up to fourth overall – debut podium finish is turning into a very real prospect, a third place that would feel much more like a triumph than the one their going for later tonight at the football world cup.
“Today I must say thanks to all the fans who came to the side of the road. It was really something unforgettable to see all of the crowds on the hills and on the top of the mountain. I’ve never seen something like this. All the riders showed such respect towards each other, and we all put on a great show. It’s nice to see this kind of racing.
“I knew that Isaac [Del Toro] is not at 100%, so I was waiting until the last 2km to see if there was going to be movements. But actually Decathlon and then Jonas [Vingegaard] did a really hard pace, and there was one-by-one guys dropping. I felt good, and the last 2km I know very well, and there were so many crowds that it gives you an additional boost to go to the top. I gave it a go today, I had good feelings, so I grabbed and took the opportunity.
It was a really, really perfect day. We marked this stage since the beginning. I know this stage very well, it’s beautiful, it’s an incredible area for cycling. I have good memories from him, and today, as a team, we have another one.
Tomorrow is a bit more difficult. I don’t want to explain it too much, but tomorrow will be a hard day for us. But we will be ready to fight and see what happens. There are a lot of options.Tadej Pogačar
The biggest change on the GC sees Tom Pidcock slide back down, from fourth to ninth after he finished 3:34 down today. It was unclear how he would go after catapulting his way up yesterday, but today seems to confirm that he doesn’t have the legs to ride for the podium. A stage win remains on the cards though – look out for him to try and get into the break for a third successive stage tomorrow.
Thanks for joining us today, as Tadej Pogačar won his fourth stage of the 2026 Tour, and increased his lead in the overall classification.
Could he add a fifth tomorrow, bringing him just one short of his career-best tally from 2024? Quite possible given the nature of the final climb, which is an hors category averaging over 9%. But that would require his UAE team doing lots of work all day again, and, with defeating him mano y mano seemingly impossible, there will be many teams and riders desperate to get into the break, aware that’s their only chance of winning a stage. The race to try and win the stage promises to be an exciting one, so be sure to tune in again to our Live coverage!
