Tour de France 2021 – Michael Woods and Wout Poels promise a polka dot battle to savour

The polka dot jersey’s stock has fallen somewhat since the days of Richard Virenque’s dominance, the Tour’s climbing competition proving to be very much the FA Cup to the Champions League of the fabled maillot jaune.

A trio of French wins from Warren Barguil, Julian Alaphilippe and Romain Bardet has given the home crowds something to shout about in their continued absence of a viable yellow jersey candidate – and, to be fair, both Barguil and Alaphilippe won twice in those years – but Tadej Pogacar’s default seizure of the polka dots last year seemed more circumstantial than anything truly sought.

But that may change this year with two climbing talents unencumbered by GC aspirations emerging as serious challengers in the climbers’ classification. With Nairo Quintana holding the jersey since blowing up magnificently on the final ascent to Tignes last Sunday, the Colombian’s stuttering form gave Michael Woods and Wout Poels hope of taking the initiative as the race entered the Pyrenees on Saturday.

Stage 14 saw the peloton hurtle along full-gas for 100km before a genuine break formed off the front – and when Poels went up the road with Mattia Cattaneo on the Cat.2 Col de Montsegur it didn’t take long before Woods bridged over to join the polka dot party.

The Israel Start-Up Nation rider didn’t exactly conceal his intentions, attacking as he did almost instantly after making the connection. Riled by such temerity, Poels countered and then beat his rival to the line. As a result, both riders moved above Wout van Aert (43pts) in the virtual standings but still trailed Quintana (50pts) with Woods up to 45pts and Poels just one behind.

Woods struck back straight away, taking the maximum 5pts on the Cat.2 Col de la Croix des Morts which saw him draw level with Quintana at the top, with Poels now three digits behind. All this, mind, while there was a place in the breakaway for Frenchman Pierre Rolland – a rider whose sartorial inelegance did so much in soiling the image of the polka dot jersey not so long ago…

With the Colombian having bagged more higher category climbs, Woods needed at least one point to become only the second Canadian to don the red spots – with a maximum 7pts still left on the table. In the event, he got the point he needed on the Cote de Galinagues – but it was Poels who won the battle after he fought back following his rival’s early acceleration, pipping Woods on the line to come within one point of Quintana, but still two down on Woods.

The sprint was proof that it was here, on the front of the race, where the action was happening - not five minutes down the road as Pogacar rode in the wheels of his UAE teammates with none of his rivals willing to stike.

Bauke Mollema’s subsequent attack before the final climb may have decided the stage but there were still the remaining points up for grabs going over the Col de Saint-Louis – and it didn’t look good for the man they call Rusty.

Indeed, Woods’ descending skills seemed just that – rusty – when he skidded in melted tarmac and hit the deck on a descent. Perhaps mindful of the threat Poels posed up ahead, Woods panicked in his efforts to chase back on, almost coming a cropper on another corner. And once he did rejoin the leaders, with a bloodied elbow and a bruised ego, Mollema had just gone up the road – never to be seen again until the finish at Quillan.

The chase group fragmented on the final climb and, despite his crash, Woods got into a rhythm while Poels looked to be paying for his earlier efforts. This allowed the Israel Start-Up Nation rider to take 3pts for second place over the summit, which saw him move four clear of Quintana (and five clear of Poels) on 54pts.

Of course, by crossing the summit in pole position, Mollema himself moved up to within 14 points of Woods – introducing the mouth-watering possibility that we could (if Quintana shakes off the cobwebs) have a four-way battle for polka dots on our hands as we enter the high mountains. Five if you include Van Aert.

And with Poels around 40 minutes down on GC, and Woods even further back at 55’, neither rider will exactly be a marked man on Sunday as the race enters Andorra ahead of the highest climb in this year’s Tour. As such, they will be targeting the jersey not as a consolation prize or a sideline – but making it their top priority.

A total of 35 points will be up for grabs during Stage 15 so the polka dot picture could look very different going into Monday’s rest day. But as things stand, seeing the main contenders separated by a few points is a far more appealing prospect in the entertainment stakes than a GC battle that seems to be all but over.

It was ironic then, perhaps, that during the same stage which saw claims on the polka dot jersey intensify, the man in yellow saw his overall lead reduced by over a minute after Frenchman Guillaume Martin bounded up the classification after battling into the break.

So close to yellow – at least numerically, if not temporally – Martin may find it hard to withstand the urge of switching his focus to GC and what could be a breakthrough place on the podium in Paris. Deep down, though, you expect he regrets that he cannot be part of the polka dot duel that could prove a thrilling subplot during the four remaining days in the Pyrenees.

- - -

You can watch the Tour de France live and ad-free on the Eurosport app and Eurosport.co.uk. Download the Eurosport app for iOS and Android now. You can also watch the most comprehensive live & ad-free racing on GCN+. Go deeper and get interactive with live polls & quizzes, plus rider profiles, race updates, results & more – plus stream exclusive cycling documentaries.