Michael Matthews rode away from Alberto Bettiol at the top of the steep climb to the airfield in Mende to win his first Tour de France stage in five years.
Stage 14 was another one to be contested from a breakaway and it was Australian Matthews who was the strongest in the searing heat, striking out first on the final three-kilometre climb, where gradients were consistently in double figures.
Bettiol put in an attack to come from a chasing group and briefly got in front of Matthews, but faded towards the summit, allowing Matthews to swing by and have time to celebrate on the runway.
Michael Matthews celebrates as he comes up to the line. Photograph: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images
Behind, Jonas Vingegaard marked an attack from Tadej Pogacar to retain the yellow jersey, but Geraint Thomas and Adam Yates both lost time on the final climb as the main contenders came in more than 12-and-a-half minutes behind.
Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates squad had managed to isolate Vingegaard coming on to the final climb, and the defending champion launched his attack around a third of a way up the climb.
Vingegaard immediately latched on to his wheel and sat there all the way to the line, but neither Thomas nor Yates could live with the pace, falling into the clutches of David Gaudu and Nairo Quintana behind, as Thomas lost 17 seconds and Yates 22.
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