The 2014 Tour de France was the 101st edition of the race, one of cycling's
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...
s. The race included 21
stages, starting in
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...
,
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
, United Kingdom, on 5 July and finishing on the
Champs-Élysées in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
on 27 July. The race also visited Belgium for part of a stage.
Vincenzo Nibali of the team won the overall
general classification by more than seven minutes, the biggest winning margin since
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
. By winning, he had acquired victories in all Grand Tours.
Jean-Christophe Péraud
Jean-Christophe Péraud (born 22 May 1977) is a retired French cyclist who rode for and during his professional career. He was a member of the French team at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.
Career
Péraud was European cross-country champ ...
() placed second, with
Thibaut Pinot () third.
Marcel Kittel of was the first rider to wear the general classification leader's yellow jersey after winning stage one. He lost the following day to stage winner Nibali as the race reached the mountains. Nibali held the race lead until the end of the ninth stage, when it was taken by 's
Tony Gallopin
Tony Gallopin (born 24 May 1988) is a French professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam .
Career
Born in Dourdan, Île-de-France, Gallopin currently resides in Angerville.
After two seasons with the squad, Gallop ...
. The yellow jersey returned to Nibali the following stage, and he held it until the conclusion of the race.
The
points classification was decided early in the race and was won by 's
Peter Sagan.
Rafał Majka
Rafał Majka (Polish pronunciation: ; born 12 September 1989) is a Polish professional Road bicycle racing, road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He is known as a strong climber, and rose to prominence at the 2013 Giro d'It ...
of , winner of two mountain stages, won the
mountains classification
The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing, Queen of the Mountains (QoM) is used.
While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest p ...
. Pinot finished as the best
young rider. The
team classification The team classification is one of the different rankings for which competitors can compete in a multiple stage cycling race. It differs from the other usual rankings (general classification, points, king of the mountain and best young rider competi ...
was won by and
Alessandro De Marchi () was given the award for the most
combative rider. Kittel and Nibali won the most stages, with four each.
Following criticism by the professional women's peloton and campaign groups like
Le Tour Entier regarding the lack of a women's Tour de France, a one day women's race -
La Course by Le Tour de France
La Course by Le Tour de France was an elite women's professional road bicycle race held in France. First held in 2014 as a one-day race on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, it has been part of the UCI Women's WorldTour since 2016 as a one or tw ...
- was held on the Champs-Élysées, prior to the last stage of the Tour.
Teams
Twenty-two
teams participated in the 2014 edition of the Tour de France.
The race was the 18th of the 29 events in the
UCI World Tour, and all of its eighteen
UCI ProTeams were automatically invited, and obliged, to attend the race. On 14 January 2015, the organiser of the Tour,
Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), announced the four second-tier
UCI Professional Continental teams given
wildcard invitations: , , and . The team presentation – where the members of each team's roster are introduced in front of the media and local dignitaries – took place at the
First Direct Arena
The First Direct Arena (also known as the Leeds Arena) is an entertainment-focused indoor arena located in the Arena Quarter of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is the first in the United Kingdom to have a fan-shaped orientation.
The arena of ...
in
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...
, United Kingdom, on 3 July, two days before the opening
stage held in the city. The riders arrived at the arena by a ceremonial ride from the
University of Leeds
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
. The event included performances from
Embrace and
Opera North, in front of an audience of 10,000.
Each squad was allowed a maximum of nine riders, therefore the start list contained a total of 198 riders.
Of these, 47 were riding the Tour de France for the first time. The riders came from 34 countries; France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, Australia and Belgium all had 10 or more riders in the race.
's
Ji Cheng was the first
Chinese rider to participate in the Tour. Riders from eight countries won stages during the race; German riders won the largest number of stages, with seven. The average age of riders in the race was 29.88 years,
ranging from the 20-year-old
Danny van Poppel to the 42-year-old
Jens Voigt, both riders. Voigt, riding in his final year as a professional, equalled
Stuart O'Grady's
record for most appearances in the Tour with 17. had the highest average age, while had the lowest.
The teams entering the race were:
Pre-race favourites
According to many observers before the race the top two favourites for the
general classification were
Chris Froome
Christopher Clive Froome ɹɪs fɹuːm (born 20 May 1985) is a Kenyan/British road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He has won seven Grand Tours: four editions of the Tour de France (in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017), one ...
() and
Alberto Contador
Alberto Contador Velasco (; born 6 December 1982) is a Spanish former professional cyclist. He is one of the most successful riders of his era, winning the Tour de France twice ( 2007, 2009), the Giro d'Italia twice (2008, 2015), and the V ...
().
Their closest rivals were thought to have been
Vincenzo Nibali () and
Alejandro Valverde ().
A possible contender was the
2013 Tour runner-up,
Nairo Quintana, who had chosen not to ride the Tour after his
2014 Giro d'Italia win that took place during May.
Andy Schleck (), who was retroactively awarded the
2010 Tour title, was selected by his team as a
domestique, and was not considered a possible favourite. The other riders considered contenders for the general classification were
Andrew Talansky
Andrew Talansky (born November 23, 1988) is an American triathlete. Between 2011 and 2017, he competed for on the UCI World Tour, cycling's highest road racing category. Born in Manhattan, New York City, New York, Talansky was raised in Key Bis ...
(),
Rui Costa
Rui Manuel César Costa (; born 29 March 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who is the 34th president of sports club S.L. Benfica. He also succeeded Luís Filipe Vieira as president of the club's SAD board of directors.
...
(),
Thibaut Pinot (),
Tejay van Garderen
Tejay van Garderen (born August 12, 1988) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2008 and 2021 for the , , and . Following his retirement as a cyclist, van Garderen became a directeur sportif for ...
(),
Jurgen Van den Broeck
Jurgen Van den Broeck (born 1 February 1983) is a Belgian former road bicycle racer, who competed professionally between 2004 and 2017 for the , , and squads. Van den Broeck specialised in the time trial discipline, having been Junior World Ch ...
().
Defending champion and runner-up in the
2012 Tour, Froome, had shown his form so far in the 2014 season by winning the general classification of two
stage races, the
Tour of Oman and the
Tour de Romandie.
Contador, winner of the
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...
and
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...
Tours, also won two stage races, the
Tirreno–Adriatico and the
Tour of the Basque Country in the lead-up to the Tour, placing second overall in the
Volta ao Algarve
The Volta ao Algarve (Portuguese; en, Tour of the Algarve) is a road bicycle racing stage race held annually in the Algarve, Portugal. Since 2017, it has been organised as a 2.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race became part of the new UCI P ...
,
Volta a Catalunya
The Volta a Catalunya (; en, Tour of Catalonia, es, Vuelta a Cataluña, link=no) is a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain.
It is one of three World Tour stage races in Spain, together with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of ...
and
Critérium du Dauphiné
The Critérium du Dauphiné, before 2010 known as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, is an annual cycling road race in the Dauphiné region in the southeast of France. The race is run over eight days during the first half of June. It is par ...
.
Nibali had missed the 2013 Tour as he had focused on the
2013 Giro, which he won. His highest Tour result was third in 2012.
His best results so far in the 2014 season were fifth in the Tour de Romandie and seventh in the Dauphiné.
Valverde, who placed eighth in the 2013 Tour and won the
2009 Vuelta a España, had a number of wins in the 2014 season prior to the Tour, most notably, the
Vuelta a Andalucía
The Vuelta a Andalucía (Tour of Andalusia) or Ruta del Sol (Route of the Sun) is a regional Spanish road bicycle race first held in 1925. Since 2005, it has been a 2.1 category race on the UCI Europe Tour. The race became a part of the new UCI ...
stage race and the
La Flèche Wallonne one-day race.
The
sprinters considered favourites for the
points classification and wins on the flat or hilly
bunch sprint
This is a glossary of terms and jargon used in cycling, mountain biking, and cycle sport.
For ''parts of a bicycle'', see List of bicycle parts.
0–9
; 27.5 Mountain bike: A mountain bike with wheels that are approximately in diameter and a ...
finishes were
Peter Sagan (),
Mark Cavendish
Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Manx professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . As a track cyclist he specialises in the madison, points race, and scratch race disciplines; as a road racer he is a ...
(),
André Greipel (),
Alexander Kristoff () and riders
Marcel Kittel and
John Degenkolb.
Winner of the points classification in the two previous Tours, Sagan, had won the
E3 Harelbeke one-day race and won the points classifications in three stage races, the Tirreno–Adriatico, the
Tour of California and the
Tour de Suisse, during the 2014 season up until the Tour.
Cavendish, who won the points classification in 2011, had nine wins so far in the season and had the full backing of his team.
Greipel had amassed a total of twelve wins during the season prior to the Tour, but his team would have to share support for him and Van den Broeck.
Kristoff had won the
Milan–San Remo
Milan–San Remo (in Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it ...
, and was considered a
dark horse
A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might.
Origin
Th ...
for the points classification.
Kittel was seen as a top contender for the bunch sprints, as he won the most stages in the 2013 Tour,
a total of four. He had an amassed seven wins so far in the season, two of which were in the Giro.
It was thought that Degenkolb would be used by for the more challenging sprints. His major results of the season were first place in
Gent–Wevelgem and second place in
Paris–Roubaix, both one-day races.
Route and stages
On 14 December 2012, the ASO announced that the English historic county of
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
would host the 2014 edition's early stages (known as the
''Grand Départ''). Further details of the first three stages held in the United Kingdom were released on 17 January 2013. This was the fourth Tour to contain stages in the United Kingdom, after
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
,
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...
and
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...
. The entire route was announced by the ASO on 23 October 2013 at the official presentation at the
Palais des Congrès in Paris. At the event,
Stephen Roche, winner of the
1987 Tour, described the route as "fairly soft". Notable features of the route were the fifth stage's sections of
sett paving, the five high altitude stage finishes and the lack time trialling, with only stage twenty's
individual time trial
An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' " stopwatch stage"). There are also track ...
.
The first of the two stages held in Yorkshire started in Leeds and finished in
Harrogate
Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa ...
, with stage two held between
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
and
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...
. After a transfer to the
East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
n city of
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, the race went south to the finish in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. The Tour transferred across the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...
to the start of stage four
Le Touquet-Paris-Plage
Le Touquet-Paris-Plage (; pcd, Ech Toutchet-Paris-Plache; vls, 't Oekske, older nl, Het Hoekske), commonly referred to as Le Touquet (), is a commune near Étaples, in the Pas-de-Calais department, northern France. It has a population of ...
, with the finish in
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the No ...
. Stage five began in
Ypres
Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though
the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality ...
, Belgium, and finished back in France. The following three stages crossed the north-east to the
Vosges
The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a singl ...
Mountains for stages nine and ten. The eleventh stage took place between
Besançon
Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzer ...
and
Oyonnax through the
Jura Mountains
The Jura Mountains ( , , , ; french: Massif du Jura; german: Juragebirge; it, Massiccio del Giura, rm, Montagnas da Jura) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the Fre ...
. Stage twelve headed west to
Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
Saint-Étienne is the ...
, with the next stage moving back east into the
Chartreuse Mountains
The Chartreuse Mountains (french: massif de la Chartreuse ) are a mountain range in southeastern France, stretching from the city of Grenoble in the south to the Lac du Bourget in the north. They are part of the French Prealps, which continu ...
, with the finish at the
Alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National P ...
ski resort of
Chamrousse. The fourteenth stage ended in the town of
Risoul. The following stage took the race south to
Nîmes
Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of ...
. After a transfer to
Carcassonne
Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department.
Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the Aud ...
, the route moved into the
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...
for the next two stages. The nineteenth stage took a northerly direction to the department of
Dordogne
Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is named ...
and the location of stage twenty. A long transfer took the Tour back to the north-east to finish with the
Champs-Élysées stage in Paris.
There were 21 stages in the race, covering a total distance of . The longest
mass-start stage was the seventh at , and stage 17 was the shortest at .
Nine stages were officially classified as flat, five as medium mountain and six as high mountain.
Stage five, although classified as medium mountain, was flat with sett paving sections.
There were five summit finishes: stage 10, to
La Planche des Belles Filles
La Planche des Belles Filles () is a ski station in the Vosges Mountains, in France. It is located in the Haute-Saône département. Since 2012, the climb to the summit has been used several times during the Tour de France cycle race.
Etymolog ...
; stage 13, to Chamrousse; stage 14, to Risoul; stage 17, to
Saint-Lary Pla d’Adet; and stage 18, to
Hautacam
Hautacam is a ski resort in the Pyrenees. It is situated in the Hautes-Pyrénées department, in the Midi-Pyrénées region. In road bicycle racing, the ascent to Hautacam is known as a tough climb, which is used occasionally in the Tour de Fran ...
.
The
highest point of elevation in the race was the -high
Col d'Izoard
Col d'Izoard () is a mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Hautes-Alpes in France.
It is accessible in summer via the D902 road, connecting Briançon on the north and the valley of the Guil in Queyras, which ends at Guillestre in the ...
mountain pass on stage fourteen.
It was among six ''
hors catégorie'' (English: beyond category) rated climbs in the race.
There were nine new stage start or finish locations.
The rest days were after stage 10, in the Besançon, and after 15, in Carcassonne.
Race overview
Opening week and Vosges
The first stage's bunch sprint finish was won by Marcel Kittel. A crash in the sprint caused Mark Cavendish, a favourite for the win, to fall; he did not start stage two. Kittel gained the race leader's yellow
jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the ...
and the green jersey as the leader of the points classification, with Jens Voigt taking the
polka dot jersey as the leader of the
mountains classification
The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing, Queen of the Mountains (QoM) is used.
While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest p ...
. In the following stage, likened to a "mini
Liège-Bastogne-Liège", Vincenzo Nibali took the stage win and yellow jersey, attacking on Sheffield's hilly terrain with remaining. Peter Sagan took the green jersey and
Cyril Lemoine
Cyril Lemoine (born 3 March 1983) is a French professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam .
Career
Born in Tours, Lemoine joined for the 2014 season, after his previous team – – folded at the end of the 20 ...
() took the polka dot jersey. Stages three and four, finishing in London and Lille respectively, ended in bunch sprints and were both won by Kittel. Crashes in stages four and five forced pre-race favourite Chris Froome to abandon the race; his injuries were later revealed to be fractures to his left wrist and right hand. The weather was wet throughout the fifth stage, with the sett paving causing many crashes (although not Froome's). The fractured ending was won by an attack in the final by
Lars Boom
Lars Anthonius Johannes Boom (born 30 December 1985) is a professional cyclo-cross and mountain bike racing cyclist from the Netherlands. He has also competed professionally in road racing, between 2004 and 2019.
Born in Vlijmen, Netherlands, B ...
of . Nibali, who placed third, extended his overall lead over his rivals, with Alberto Contador 2 min 37 s down. André Greipel won stage six's bunch sprint in
Reims
Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne.
Founded b ...
. Another bunch sprint took place at the end of the next stage, with the hilly finish decided by a
photo finish between Sagan and the winner
Matteo Trentin
Matteo Trentin (born 2 August 1989) is an Italian professional road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam .
Career Professional career
In 2014, Trentin took a prestigious victory on Stage 7 of the Tour de France, where he won the spri ...
().
Stage eight, the first at altitude, was taken by 's
Blel Kadri, who attacked from a
breakaway group with to go; he managed to hold his lead over the chasing group of overall favourites, who came in over two minutes behind. His win put Kadri into the polka dot jersey. Another solo victory came the following day, when
Tony Martin of
dropped fellow breakaway rider
Alessandro De Marchi () with remaining. A large group that formed in pursuit of the duo finished 2 min 45 s behind, with the unconcerned general classification contenders coming together in at 7 min 46 s down. The yellow jersey went to a rider from the first group, 's
Tony Gallopin
Tony Gallopin (born 24 May 1988) is a French professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam .
Career
Born in Dourdan, Île-de-France, Gallopin currently resides in Angerville.
After two seasons with the squad, Gallop ...
. Martin now led the mountains classification. Stage ten was the Tour's first high mountain stage. On the final climb to the finish at La Planche des Belles Filles, Nibali attacked from the group of overall contenders with remaining, passed two surviving riders from the day's early breakaway, and claimed his second stage win, which put him back in the yellow jersey.
Joaquim Rodríguez
Joaquim Rodríguez Oliver (born 12 May 1979) is a former Spanish professional road racing cyclist, who competed between 2001 and 2016 for the , , and teams.
Rodríguez recorded notable results included fourteen Grand Tour stage victories, ...
(), one of the two breakaway riders, took the polka dot jersey. Contador crashed during the descent of the
Petit Ballon, into the stage, forcing him to quit the race; it was later revealed that he had fractured his right
tibia
The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it conn ...
. The next day was the first rest day of the Tour.
Jura and Alps
Stage eleven's rolling terrain resulted in a final peloton that included mainly
puncheur
A puncheur or puncher is a road bicycle racer who specialises in rolling terrain with short but steep climbs.
The ideal races for this type of rider are one-day spring classics, which are characterized by multiple hills with a 10–20% gradient a ...
s; Gallopin won the stage after an attack from the finish in Oyonnax split the peloton and a second with remaining that successfully held off the chasers. The twelfth stage was won by Alexander Kristoff from a bunch sprint. Nibali took the stage win the following stage, making his move from the leading group in the final on the ''hors catégorie'' climb to Chamrousse. He extended his lead over the second-placed overall rider Alejandro Valverde to 3 min 37 s.
Richie Porte
Richard Julian Porte (born 30 January 1985) is an Australian professional road bicycle racer who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . His successes include wins at 8 World Tour stage races: Paris–Nice in 2013 and 2015, the Volta a Catalunya ...
, who was second overall before the stage and the new leader of , lost around nine minutes and dropped to sixteenth. Nibali took the lead of the mountains classification. In stage fourteen,
Rafał Majka
Rafał Majka (Polish pronunciation: ; born 12 September 1989) is a Polish professional Road bicycle racing, road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He is known as a strong climber, and rose to prominence at the 2013 Giro d'It ...
() attacked from a reduced breakaway on the climb to the finish in Risoul with remaining and managed to hold off chasing the group of overall favourites and soloed to victory. Nibali, second in the stage, extended his lead further by one minute as Valverde lost time and Rodríguez regained the polka dot jersey. Kristoff won the bunch sprint in the transitional stage fifteen.
In the first of the three stages in the Pyrenees, the sixteenth, a breakaway group of 21 riders formed in. The group reduced to five after the final climb, the ''hors catégorie''
Port de Balès with remaining, out of which came the winner,
Michael Rogers of (), who attacked from finish in
Bagnères-de-Luchon. The group of general classification favourites came in over eight minutes down. Majka led the mountains classification. The Tour's
queen stage
This is a glossary of terms and jargon used in cycling, mountain biking, and cycle sport.
For ''parts of a bicycle'', see List of bicycle parts.
0–9
; 27.5 Mountain bike: A mountain bike with wheels that are approximately in diameter and ...
, the seventeenth, featured three first-category climbs and the ''hors catégorie'' climb to the finish at Saint-Lary Pla d’Adet. An early nine-strong breakaway was pulled back before the first climb by for their rider Rodríguez to take the mountains classification points and the temporary lead of the competition. This led to the formation of a large lead group which gradually split across the middle climbs. Rodriguez and Majka led the lead group race over the penultimate climb, with the former first. On the final climb, a group of four that had escaped were caught by Majka, who had dropped Rodríguez, and he soloed to claim his second stage win and the large number of points for the summit finish. Nibali had split apart the group of chasing overall favourites and came in third. Second-placed overall Valverde lost a minute to Thibaut Pinot in third.
Pyrenees and finale
The Tour's final mountain stage, the eighteenth, saw Nibali take his fourth victory of the race at Hautacam; his stage winning move came from the finish, on the climb to Hautacam. He finished 1 min 10 s ahead of a group which were four of his nearest general classification rivals, with the exception of Valverde, who lost further time and dropped to fourth overall, displaced by Thibaut Pinot and Jean-Christophe Péraud, respectively. Majka finished third in the stage and secured the mountains classification. In stage nineteen,
Ramūnas Navardauskas
Ramūnas Navardauskas (born 30 January 1988) is a Lithuanian professional road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Continental team . He has also competed professionally for the , and teams.
Career
After four years in the amateur ranks, Navard ...
of attacked a peloton fractured by rain from the finish to win the stage. Martin claimed his second stage of the Tour in the penultimate stage's individual time trial. His time of 1h 6 min 21 s over the course was 1 min 39 s faster than second-placed
Tom Dumoulin
Tom Dumoulin (; born 11 November 1990) is a retired Dutch professional road bicycle racer who last rode for UCI WorldTeam . He has won nine stages across the three Grand Tours, five medals in three different World Championships and two Olympic s ...
(). Nibali finished fourth, increasing his advantage.
In the final stage, Kittel secured a second successive victory on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, his fourth stage win of the race. Nibali finished the race to win the general classification by a margin of 7 min 39 s, the largest winning margin since
Jan Ullrich
Jan Ullrich (; born 2 December 1973) is a German former professional road bicycle racer. Ullrich won gold and silver medals in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He won the 1999 Vuelta a España and the HEW Cyclassics in front of a home c ...
in the
1997 Tour. Second and third respectively were Péraud and Pinot, with the latter 8 min 15 s down on Nibali. The points classification was won by Sagan with 431 points; Kristoff came second with 282 points. Majka finished with 181 points in the mountains classification, 13 ahead of second-placed Nibali. Pinot was the best
young rider, with
Romain Bardet
Romain Bardet (born 9 November 1990) is a French professional racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Bardet is known for his climbing and descending abilities, which make him one of the top general classification contenders in Gra ...
() second. The
team classification The team classification is one of the different rankings for which competitors can compete in a multiple stage cycling race. It differs from the other usual rankings (general classification, points, king of the mountain and best young rider competi ...
was won by , 34 min 46 s ahead of second-placed . Of the 198 starters, 164 reached the finish of the last stage in Paris.
Classification leadership and minor prizes
There were four main individual classifications contested in the 2014 Tour de France, as well as a team competition. The most important was the general classification, which was calculated by adding each rider's finishing times on each stage. There were no time bonuses given at the end of stages for this edition of the Tour. If a crash had happened within the final of a stage, not including the time trial and summit finishes, the riders involved would have received the same time as the group they were in when the crash occurred. The rider with the lowest cumulative time was the winner of the general classification and was considered the overall winner of the Tour. The rider leading the classification wore a yellow jersey.
The second classification was the points classification. Riders received points for finishing among the highest placed in a stage finish, or in
intermediate sprint
This is a glossary of terms and jargon used in cycling, mountain biking, and cycle sport.
For ''parts of a bicycle'', see List of bicycle parts.
0–9
; 27.5 Mountain bike: A mountain bike with wheels that are approximately in diameter and ...
s during the stage. The points available for each stage finish were determined by the stage's type. The leader was identified by a green jersey.
The third classification was the mountains classification. Points were awarded to the riders that reached the summit of the most difficult climbs first. The climbs were categorised as fourth-, third-, second-, first-category and ''hors catégorie'', with the more difficult climbs rated lower. Double points were awarded on the summit finishes on stages 10, 13, 14, 17 and 18. The leader wore a white jersey with red polka dots.
The final individual classification was the young rider classification. This was calculated the same way as the general classification, but the classification was restricted to riders who were born on or after 1 January 1989. The leader wore a white jersey.
The final classification was a team classification. This was calculated using the finishing times of the best three riders per team on each stage; the leading team was the team with the lowest cumulative time. The number of stage victories and placings per team determined the outcome of a tie. The riders in the team that lead this classification were identified with yellow number bibs on the back of their jerseys and yellow
helmets.
In addition, there was a
combativity award
The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing
Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numb ...
given after each stage to the rider considered, by a jury, to have "made the greatest effort and who has demonstrated the best qualities of sportsmanship". No combativity awards were given for the time trial and the final stage. The winner wore a red number bib the following stage. At the conclusion of the Tour, Alessandro De Marchi won the overall super-combativity award,
again, decided by a jury.
A total of €2,035,000 was awarded in cash prizes in the race. The overall winner of the general classification received €450,000, with the second and third placed riders got €200,000 and €100,000 respectively. All finishers of the race were awarded with money. The holders of the classifications benefited on each stage they led; the final winners of the points and mountains were given €25,000, while the best young rider and most combative rider got €20,000. The winners of the team classification received €50,000. There were also two special awards each with a prize of €5000, the
Souvenir Henri Desgrange, given to first rider to pass the summit of the highest climb in the Tour, the Col d'Izoard in stage fourteen, and the
Souvenir Jacques Goddet, given to the first rider to pass
Goddet's memorial at the summit of the
Col du Tourmalet in stage eighteen. Joaquim Rodríguez won the Henri Desgrange and Blel Kadri won the Jacques Goddet.
* In stage two,
Bryan Coquard
Bryan Coquard (born 25 April 1992) is a French cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He was a silver medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Omnium.
Career
Youth and amateur career
Coquard began cycling in 1999 at the age of seve ...
, who was third in the points classification, wore the green jersey, because
Marcel Kittel (in first place) wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification and
Peter Sagan (in second place) wore the white jersey as leader of the young rider classification during that stage.
* In stages three–five,
Romain Bardet
Romain Bardet (born 9 November 1990) is a French professional racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Bardet is known for his climbing and descending abilities, which make him one of the top general classification contenders in Gra ...
, who was second in the young rider classification, wore the white jersey, because
Peter Sagan (in first place) wore the green jersey as leader of the points classification. Additionally, in stages six–seven,
Michał Kwiatkowski wore the white jersey for the same reason.
* In stage fourteen,
Joaquim Rodríguez
Joaquim Rodríguez Oliver (born 12 May 1979) is a former Spanish professional road racing cyclist, who competed between 2001 and 2016 for the , , and teams.
Rodríguez recorded notable results included fourteen Grand Tour stage victories, ...
, who was second in the mountains classification, wore the polka-dot jersey, because
Vincenzo Nibali (in first place) wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification.
Final standings
General classification
Points classification
Mountains classification
Young rider classification
Team classification
UCI World Tour rankings
Riders from the ProTeams competing individually, as well as for their teams and nations, for points that contributed towards the World Tour rankings. Points were awarded to the top twenty finishers in the general classification and to the top five finishers in each stage. The 200 points accrued by Vincenzo Nibali moved him from fortieth position to second in the individual ranking. retained their lead of the team ranking, ahead of second-placed . Spain remained as leaders of the nation ranking, with Italy second.
See also
*
2014 in men's road cycling
World Championships
The World Road Championships were held in Ponferrada, Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin) ...
*
2014 in sports
2014 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
Calendar by month
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Alpine skiing
Amateur boxing
American football
* Supe ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:2014 Tour de France
Tour de France by year
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
Cycle races in England
Cycling in Yorkshire