Tour de France: Michael Matthews wins stage 14 with impressive breakaway performance in steep summit finish
Cycling
Michael Matthews has pulled off a masterpiece, winning stage 14 of the Tour de France in it's hilly course, with a brutal effort up the Côte de la Croix Neuve which has earned him a win from the breakaway for Team BikeExchange - Jayco.
The start of the day was fast and furious, with both Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard involved in an exchange of blows in the early hilltops, as Jumbo-Visma found themselves in a vulnerable situation and the Slovenian tried to take advantage of it. The opening hour of racing was violent with several groups dropped right from the early kilometers, and a lot of difficulty to establish a breakaway.
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Eventually, as Jumbo-Visma saw the group had no threat to the GC, a bunch of 23 riders went up the road, with many of the day's contenders in the front. The win was in the group as the peloton allowed the gap to grow exponentially. The collaboration was relatively smooth until the expected attacks, which came in the last 55 kilometers.
Eventually four riders managed to go clear, being ichael Matthews, Luis León Sánchez, Andreas Kron and Felix Grossschartner. Behind, in the penultimate climb the group managed to cut the 45-second gap to 25, with some attacks however with BORA - hansgrohe controlling every move and not allowing anyone to have freedom.
Three riders - as Kron punctured in the descent - reached the final climb with 30 seconds of lead. Matthews quickly went solo, later being caught by Alberto Bettiol who came from behind. The Italian seemed to have the win in the pocket as he dropped Matthews, however the Australian flew in the final 500 meters of the climb and went solo off the front.
This was one of Matthews' most impressive victories as a pro rider, with Alberto Bettiol and Thibaut Pinot arriving in the following positions.
In the peloton Jumbo-Visma took it easy all day long, until the penultimate climb where they accelerated and drained the peloton of most riders. However it was all to play for in the final climb, with UAE Team Emirates pushing the pace from the base and Tadej Pogacar launching an attack early on.
However, Vingegaard stuck to the Slovenian's wheel and managed to resist the surges once again. The duo rode into the finish together, with the remaining GC candidates arriving afterwards separated by few seconds.
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
- the time for a GC rider to retire is when they cannot win stages, or have a significant level drop like from winner/podium into top 5/10 consistently. Roglic is still competitive and Froome raced even though he became pack fodder.abstractengineer10-11-2026
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🏆 🇦🇺 @blingmatthews wins in Mende!! 🏆 🇦🇺 @blingmatthews s'impose à Mende !!! #TDF2022 | #StageWinner | @Continental_fr
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