Refresh
The race is only 5km from the Côte de Châtaignier climb and so the race will stay aggressive.
Van Aert keeps chasing surges in the peloton to drag Vingegaard back up to safety.
The Roglic group is at 2:00.
There are only 50 or so riders in the front peloton.
The Roglic group is 1:50 back, with Ewan at 7:00.
The speed is so high that riders have little time to eat and drink.
165km to go
It will be hard for the Roglic group to close the gap because there are more attacks up front.
Juul Jensen tries again and Rigoberto Uran also tries, as do a dozen others.
The Roglic group is 1:40 behind.
Of Course the speed and attacks mean that Pogacar does not have any teammates either. But he does not too bothered about that.
Matej Mohoric is attacking from the front group after Powless and Juul Jensen were caught.
Several teammates of the yellow jersey are missing up front: They are Roglic, Benoot, Van Hooydonck, Kruijswijk.
That means Vingegaard has just Kuss, van Aert and Laporte with him.
The Roglic group is at 1:15.
Did he crash early? Or is he just suffering due to the fast start?
170km to go
The riders are on a rolling plateau for 50km or so and that will make it difficult for Ewan and any chasers.
The Australian sprinter is already 5:00 down.
The Roglic group is 1:00 down. If the attacks keep coming, he might not get back up front.
The Jumbo-Visma team seems to be scattered across different groups.
The attacks keep coming but Vingegaard is wisely sat on van Aert’s wheel.
Roglic is in a chase group that is 30-seconds down on the Vingegaard peloton.
Froome is also suffering, with Caleb Ewan already 3:00 behind. His race could be over.
The two have just a 12-second lead.
As the riders reach the top of the Côte de Saint-Just-Malmont, Neilson Powless (EF) and Chris Juul Jensen (BikeExchange-Jayco) are away but the peloton is chasing them.
Vingegaard has marked Pogacar and the other GC have come up to them.
Is that it from Pogacar? Or will there be more attacks?
Pogacar has dragged the strongest riders up to the break.
The race is on!
Pogacar attacks for a 3rd time!!
Van Aert is with Vingegaard after they chased Pogacar.
The group is reforming but Pogacar goes again!
Dani Martinez attacks ands crosses to the attack.
Well, Tadej Pogacar is on the move.
He is in a group of counter attackers, forcing Jumbo to work early in the stage.
The peloton is chasing, with Jumbo on the front to keep the pace high.
Why?
The Côte de Saint-Just-Malmont is 7.7km long at 3.9%. Perfect to make your rivals hurt and get away from the peloton.
This is the stage profile.
185km to go
The riders are still in the suburbs of Saint-Etienne but the Côte de Saint-Just-Malmont come very soon.
There 18 riders in the attack and they have a 30-second gap already.
Is this the move of the day?
Bauke Mollema is there and typical of the riders expected to go on the attack today.
190km to go
There are a dozen or so riders in the attack but more are coming.
The road descends for a moment and that adds speed to racing.
Attack!
The first to surge away is by B&B Hotels but more are joining the move.
Here we go!
The flag drops and the stage is underway.
2Km to the official start.
It’s interesting to see Caleb Ewan talking to the race judges after being fined for motor-pacing yesterday. He is giving his version of what happened.
Click below for the full story.
Ewan, Alpecin-Deceuninck fined for drafting after Tour de France crash
Everyone looks serious in the peloton. There’s tension and determination about getting in the break.
🚩 Stage 14 is a go!🚩 C’est parti pour la 14ème étape !#TDF2022 pic.twitter.com/reHELxskOPJuly 16, 2022
The Côte de Saint-Just-Malmont comes after just 14.2km is an ideal place for the attacks to go clear.
Indeed, the stage is up and down all day. There are only 8km of flat roads during the whole 192.5km stage.
There is a slight tailwind for much of the stage but the attacks will be the big driving force today.
We’re expecting attacks to get into the break of the day.
It is 25C at the start but expected to be much hotter along the route across central France.
C’est Parti.
The riders are on their way.
This is today’s stage.
5 years later, the peloton is back in Mende! The finish at the summit of the Côte de la Croix Neuve should guarentee spectacle!😍5 ans après, le peloton est de retour à Mende ! L’arrivée au sommet de la Côte de la Croix Neuve devrait nous garantir du spectacle !😍#TDF2022 pic.twitter.com/7BMSrqmZGHJuly 16, 2022
Now the jersey wearers take their place on the front row of the grid.
Jonas Vingegaard is in yellow, Wout van Aert in green, Simon Geschke in polka-dot and Tadej Pogacar in the best young rider’s white jersey.
Stage 13 winner Mads Pedersen also has a place up front.
The riders are lining up at the start line. They will soon roll out.
#TDF2022 Ready for another one 💪 pic.twitter.com/vzVthgvm0HJuly 16, 2022
Pogacar spoke briefly on the sign-on podium.
“It’s not a climb to gain a lot of time but I’ll give my best as always,” he said, perhaps hiding his intentions.
“The Pyrenees are the big target,” he added.
UAE Team Emirates is the latest team to sign-on, with Tadej Pogacar smiling and waving to the crowd.
Will he try an attack on the final steep climb to the finish above Mende?
In Saint-Etienne the sun is out and temperatures are high as riders sign-on before stage 14.
As always, we’ll have all the action from the stage.
Hello and welcome to Cyclingnews’ live coverage of stage 14 of the Tour de France.
