Stephen Cummings wins Tour de France 14th stage, Chris Froome still leads

Updated 18/07/2015 at 17:10 GMT

Briton Stephen Cummings of the MTN-Qhubeka team won the 14th stage of the Tour de France, a 178.5-km ride from Rodez on Saturday.

Great Britain's Stephen Cummings celebrates as he crosses the finish line at the end of the 178,5 km fourteenth stage of the 102nd edition of the Tour de France cycling race on July 18, 2015, between Rodez and Mende, southern France

Image credit: AFP

Briton Stephen Cummings of the MTN-Qhubeka team claimed a first ever stage win at the 14th stage of the Tour de France, a 178.5-km ride from Rodez on Saturday.

France's Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) and Romain Bardet (AG2r-La Mondiale) finished second and third respectively.

Briton Chris Froome of Team Sky retained the overall leader's yellow jersey.

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MTN-Qhubeka, the first African trade team to participate in the Tour, marked the celebration of Mandela Day with their first tour success.

French participants Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet had looked in control of the race as French president Francois Hollande looked on but they were left shell-shocked as Cummings, 34, came out of nowhere on the home straight to seal first place.

French President Francois Hollande is pictured in an official car as he attends the 178,5 km fourteenth stage of the 102nd edition of the Tour de France cycling race on July 18, 2015, between Rodez and Mende, southern France

Image credit: AFP

It marked an eventful day for Pinot who was involved in a crash just 5km into the race with team-mate Steve Morabito who was forced to abandon the race after breaking a collarbone.

Peter Sagan - who has finished as runner-up in four stages of this year’s tour - retained the green jersey and secured a fifth overall place on the day.

Pierre-Luc Périchon (Bretagne-Séché) was awarded the most combative rider of the day.

HIGHLIGHTS

1. CUMMINGS WINS

Stephen Cummings came out of nowhere to clinch a first-ever stage victory during an eventful Stage 14. Cummings, of wildcard team MTN-Quebeka, was clearly emotional at the finishing line with tears streaming down his face. The 34-year-old had been part of the day’s 20-man escape group and powered past Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) and Romain Bardet (Ag2r-La Mondiale) at the finishing straight.

2. GREEN JERSEY FOR SAGAN

Peter Sagan retained the green jersey following a comfortable victory in the intermediate sprint under the Millau viaduct (km 78) without a great challenge. The Tinkoff-Saxo rider now has 305 points, with Andre Greipel of Loto, his closest contender on 261 points.

Great Britain's Christopher Froome (L), wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, speaks with Slovakia's Peter Sagan, wearing the best sprinter's green jersey, prior to the start of the 178,5 km fourteenth stage of the 102nd edition of the Tour de Franc

Image credit: AFP

3. GOLAS AND KOREN GO FOR BROKE

Michael Golas took the initiative of leading the breakaway group with 27km to go and he was closely followed by Kristjian Koren - who claimed the category 4 Cote de Chabrits KOM - 11km before the finish. However, FDJ worked hard to bring Thibaut Pinot into contention and Romain Bardet caught them with 3.8km to go but it was Steve Cummings who was to top the lot in dramatic fashion.

MAN OF THE DAY

Who else, other than Stephen Cummings? He powered past Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet to claim a dramatic first-ever stage victory and he showed how much it meant to him, shedding tears at the finishing line. The riders of MTN-Quebeka wore orange helmets to mark Nelson Mandela Day and what a day for the team to achieve their first Tour de France success.

Stage winner Great Britain's Stephen Cummings celebrates on the podium after winning the 178,5 km fourteenth stage of the 102nd edition of the Tour de France cycling race on July 18, 2015, between Rodez and Mende, southern France

Image credit: AFP

BIGGEST LOSER

Poor Steve Morabito (FDJ) was involved in a crash just 5km into the race with team mate Thibaut Pinot and Robert Gesink (LottoNL-Jumo) who were able to complete the race. Morabito - who will undergo an operation tomorrow – is the 24th rider to drop out of this year’s Tour due to injury.

COMING UP

Stage 15 - a 183km course from Mende to Valence – is suited to sprinters with the exception of category two climb Col de l’Escrinet around two thirds of the way through the stage.

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