After the breakaway held off the peloton on Friday, there could be more attacking from the off as the Tour de France heads to Mende on Saturday.
Stage 14 is a 192.5km route from Friday's finish town of Saint-Etienne to Mende airfield.
Denmark's strong Tour continued on stage 13 as Mads Pedersen took the sprint ahead of Britain's Fred Wright, while Jonas Vingegaard still leads Tadaj Pogacar by two minutes and 22 seconds in the overall classification.
Despite being a different profile, Saturday looks another day for the breakaway, with the undulating route providing countless scope for attacks.
With this stage also sandwiched between two relatively easy days, there will be a further temptation for those looking to salvage their Tour's, so expect fireworks from the off.
What | Stage 14, the Tour de France |
| Where | Saint-Etienne to Mende |
| When | 11:15 UK Time |
How to watch | Live on ITV4, Eurosport, Discovery+ & GCN+ |
| Odds | Lennard Kamna 12/1, Matej Mahoric 33/1, Michael Matthews 150/1 |
Stage 14 route details
The peloton reunites in Saint-Etienne for a 192.5km route to Mende airfield.
There are four category three climbs along the route before the category two Cote de la Croix Neuve, which features stretches of around 10 per cent and summits with 1.7km to go. On an altogether awkward day, this could break the breakaway.
Sprint points are available in the town of Yssingeaux after 50km and the intermediate dash may feature some of the big names. Therefore, a rider like Michael Matthews may get himself in the break and look to gain some ground in the points competition.
However, the lumpy route is likely to be too much for the real sprinters, while the general classification riders are expected to mark each other before a potential late duel in the final kilometres.
Three to follow
Lennard Kamna @ 12/1
Kamna was unlucky not to win at La Planche des Belles Filles and he didn't take his chance on Tuesday to Megeve, a finish line where he has triumphed before.
Aleksandr Vlasov may be back pushing for the top-10 but this isn't a day where Bora-Hansgrohe should need to protect him and their stage-hunting riders should be given their head.
Teammate Max Schachmann is amongst those and is sure to animate the race but the General Classification tells us that Kamna is the stronger of the pair and his performances at the Tour and his stage win on the way to finishing 19th at the Giro d'Italia demonstrated the form is there.
The 25-year-old will be a marked man in the break if he gets away but looks strong enough to emulate his stage win at the 2020 Tour.
Matej Mohoric @ 33/1
Bahrain Victorious have endured an underwhelming Tour, with Wright's second on Friday arguably the highlight. Luis Leon Sanchez is their highest placed rider on the general classification but at 38, lacks the reliability of his younger years and it feels like it could be Mohoric's turn to have a go.
The Slovenian knows how to succeed over lumpy routes - see his Milan-San Remo victory in March - and has done little of note on this year's Tour, hinting that he is saving himself for specific stages.
Mohoric won a similar stage in 2021 and with the general classification contenders aiming to take time in the real high mountains, riders like himself have a chance to go out early and be left to go for it.
Michael Matthews @ 150/1
Team BikeExchange-Jayco rode hard on Friday in an unsuccessful bid to guide Dylan Groenewegen to a second stage win but Saturday isn't a day for the Dutchman.
Instead, it could be Matthews' turn and he has shown up well at times during this Tour, finishing second to Tadej Pogacar on stage six to Longwy.
The climb to the Megeve airfield is akin to that finish and if he can get over that, he suits this type of effort.
Matthews' last Tour stage wins came in 2017, when he also took the Green Jersey. 'Bling' has developed as a rider since then and his all-around ability suggests he will surely have too much for any potential rivals in a sprint.
