Defending champion Tadej Pogacar has won the gruelling Vosges stage of the Tour de France and consolidated his lead in the Yellow Jersey. The Slovenian world champion won the 14th stage, covering 155.3 kilometres from Mulhouse to Le Markstein, riding solo with a lead of more than half a minute over his second-placed team-mate Isaac del Toro from Mexico and the young French star Paul Seixas.
Germany’s hope, Florian Lipowitz, showed himself to be in good form on the gruelling mountain stage, which featured 3,800 metres of climbing and three Category 1 climbs. Last year’s third-place finisher finished seventh and moved up to sixth in the overall standings.
Lots of German fans lining the track
For Lipowitz, it was a bit of a home race. Numerous German fans had made their way to France, just across the border. As early as Friday, there were plenty of German flags to be seen along the stage to Belfort.
The next gruelling climb is coming up on Sunday, when the race heads for the Plateau de Solaisan on Stage 15. The final climb in particular – stretching over 11.3 kilometres with an average gradient of 9 per cent – is a real challenge.
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