2014 Toulon Tournament
The 2014 Toulon Tournament was the 42nd edition of the Toulon Tournament. The competition took place between 21 May and 1 June 2014 mostly in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of South Eastern France. Brazil successfully defended their title, beating France 5–2 in the final.


2014 Toulon Tournament, Results
In February 2014, the Football Association announced that the group draw had been made. The group stage takes place between May 21, 2014 and May 29, 2014. Matches were played in 40-minute halves, rather than the usual 45.


2014 Toulon Tournament Group A
Group A of the 2014 Toulon Tournament was one of two groups competing of nations at 2014 Toulon Tournament. The group's first round of matches were played on 21 May 2014, with the final round played on 29 May. All ten matches were played at venues in France, in Toulon, Hyères, Aubagne and Saint-Raphaël. The group consisted of four previous champions, including France, as well as Portugal, Chile and Mexico and China, the latter which reached the final in 2007.


2014 Toulon Tournament Group B
Group B of the 2014 Toulon Tournament is one of two groups competing of nations at 2014 Toulon Tournament.


2014 Toulon Tournament squads
Below are the squads for the 2014 Toulon Tournament. Each team had to submit a maximum of 22 players.


2014 Toulon Tournament squads
Players in boldface have been capped at full international level at some point in their career.


2014 Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche
The 2014  Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche was a women's cycle stage race held in France  from 2 September to 7 September, 2014. The tour has an UCI rating of 2.2.


2014 Tour Down Under
The 2014 Santos Tour Down Under was the 16th edition of the Tour Down Under stage race. It took place from 21 to 26 January in and around Adelaide, South Australia, and was the first race of the 2014 UCI World Tour.


2014 Tour Down Under
The race was won for a record third time by Australian national champion Simon Gerrans of the Orica–GreenEDGE team, after taking the lead on the penultimate stage of the race and held the race leader's ochre jersey to the finish, the next day, in Adelaide. Gerrans also won the opening stage of the race in Angaston. Gerrans' winning margin over runner-up Cadel Evans of the BMC Racing Team was one second, and Lampre–Merida's Diego Ulissi completed the podium, four seconds behind Evans and five seconds in arrears of Gerrans. Like Gerrans, Ulissi and Evans both won stages of the race, winning in Stirling and Campbelltown respectively, while Evans also held the race lead for two days. The other stages were won by Lotto–Belisol rider André Greipel (two wins) and Richie Porte, who won the queen stage at Willunga Hill.


2014 Tour Down Under
The race's other classifications were swept by Australian riders, as Gerrans' consistent finishes – five top-five stage finishes from six stages – across the week ensured that he won the blue jersey for the sprints classification, while Lotto–Belisol rider Adam Hansen was the winner of the mountains classification. UniSA-Australia's Jack Haig was the winner of the young rider classification, finishing seventeenth overall, while the teams classification was won by Gerrans' Orica–GreenEDGE outfit, also placing Daryl Impey inside the top ten overall.


2014 Tour Down Under, Participating teams
As the Tour Down Under is a UCI World Tour event, all 18 UCI ProTeams were invited automatically and obligated to send a squad. Australian team Drapac Professional Cycling received a wildcard invitation and together with a selection of Australian riders forming the UniSA-Australia squad, this formed the event's 20-team peloton.


2014 Tour Down Under, Classification leadership table
In the 2014 Tour Down Under, four different jerseys were awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, the leader received an ochre jersey. This classification was considered the most important of the 2014 Tour Down Under, and the winner of the classification was considered the winner of the race.


2014 Tour Down Under, Classification leadership table
Additionally, there was a sprints classification, which awarded a blue jersey. In the sprints classification, cyclists received points for finishing in the top 15 in a stage. For winning a stage, a rider earned 15 points, with one point fewer per place down to a single point for 15th place. Points towards the classification could also be accrued at intermediate sprint points during each stage; these intermediate sprints also offered bonus seconds towards the general classification. There was also a mountains classification, the leadership of which was marked by a white jersey. In the mountains classification, points were won by reaching the top of a climb before other cyclists, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs.


2014 Tour Down Under, Classification leadership table
The fourth jersey represented the young rider classification, marked by a grey, green and pink jersey. This was decided in the same way as the general classification, but only riders born after 1 January 1988 were eligible to be ranked in the classification. There was also a classification for teams, in which the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added together; the leading team at the end of the race was the team with the lowest total time, and each member of the winning team received a red jersey on the final podium. Additionally, a green jersey was awarded on the podium each day, for the most aggressive rider, or riders, of that day's stage.


2014 Tour Femenino de San Luis
The 2014 Tour Femenino de San Luis was a stage race held in the San Luis province in Argentina, with a UCI rating of 2.2, from 14 January to 18 January. It was the first race of the 2014 Women's Elite cycling calendar and mirrored the men's cycling event, the Tour de San Luis.


2014 Tour de Bretagne Féminin
The 2014 Tour de Bretagne Féminin was the 9th edition of the Tour de Bretagne Féminin, a women's cycling stage race in France. It was rated by the UCI as a category 2.2 race and was held between 16 and 20 July 2014.


2014 Tour de Corse
The 2014 Tour de Corse was the 11th and final round of the 2014 European Rally Championship season, held on the island of Corsica from 7–9 November 2014.


2014 Tour de Corse, Report
The title fight was meant to go down to the wire here at Corsica between Škoda team-mates Esapekka Lappi and Sepp Wiegand. But, a fire following a testing crash for Wiegand made Lappi the champion by default.


2014 Tour de Corse, Report
Lappi, pleased to have been crowned the newest European Rally Champion before the event had even begun, was hoping to add to his tally of wins. It was not to be, though, as the Finn crashed on Stage 6, ending his rally.


2014 Tour de Corse, Report
Ex-Formula 1 driver Stéphane Sarrazin led the majority of the rally, having won most of the stages to take a dominating win, ahead of his compatriot Bryan Bouffier. This was the second time this year a Formula One driver had won in the ERC as Robert Kubica had won the season-opening Internationale Jänner Rallye.


2014 Tour de Corse, Report
Vitaliy Pushkar was crowned ERC Production Cup champion after the withdrawals of his nearest rivals Keith Cronin and Martin Hudec. Andrea Crugnola won the Junior class but this wasn't enough to stop Stéphane Lefebvre from clinching the title, while Zoltán Bessenyey retained the 2WD title. Eric Camilli also received the McRae Flat Out Award for the first time.


2014 Tour de Feminin-O cenu Českého Švýcarska
The 2014 Tour de Feminin – O cenu Ceského Švýcarska   or 2014 Tour de Feminin — Krasna Lipa, is the 27th running of the Tour de Feminin - Krasna Lipa  rated by the UCI as 2.2. Tour de Feminin — Krasna Lipa is a stage race based in the Czech Republic, which forms part of the 2014 women's road cycling calendar and will be held over five stages starting in Krásná Lípa, in the Ústí nad Labem Region and concluding back in Krásná Lípa. The race will run over four stages and one individual time trial.


2014 Tour de France
The 2014 Tour de France was the 101st edition of the race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The 3,660.5-kilometre (2,274.5 mi) race included 21 stages, starting in Leeds, Yorkshire, United Kingdom, on 5 July and finishing on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 27 July. The race also visited Belgium for part of a stage. Vincenzo Nibali of the Astana team won the overall general classification by more than seven minutes, the biggest winning margin since 1997. Jean-Christophe Péraud (Ag2r–La Mondiale) placed second, with Thibaut Pinot (FDJ.fr) third.


2014 Tour de France
Marcel Kittel of Giant–Shimano was the first rider to wear the general classification leader's yellow jersey after winning stage one. He lost the following day to stage winner Nibali as the race reached the high mountains. Nibali held the race lead until the end of the ninth stage, when it was taken by Lotto–Belisol's Tony Gallopin. The yellow jersey returned to Nibali the following stage, and he held it until the conclusion of the race.


2014 Tour de France
The points classification was decided early in the race and was won by Cannondale's Peter Sagan. Rafał Majka of Tinkoff–Saxo, winner of two mountain stages, won the mountains classification. Pinot finished as the best young rider. The team classification was won by Ag2r–La Mondiale and Alessandro De Marchi (Cannondale) was given the award for the most combative rider. Kittel and Nibali won the most stages, with four each.


2014 Tour de France, Teams
Twenty-two teams participated in the 2014 edition of the Tour de France. The race was the 18th of the 29 events in the UCI World Tour, and all of its eighteen UCI ProTeams were automatically invited, and obliged, to attend the race. On 14 January 2015, the organiser of the Tour, Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), announced the four second-tier UCI Professional Continental teams given wildcard invitations: Cofidis, Bretagne–Séché Environnement, IAM Cycling and NetApp–Endura.


2014 Tour de France, Teams
The team presentation – where the members of each team's roster are introduced in front of the media and local dignitaries – took place at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, United Kingdom, on 3 July, two days before the opening stage held in the city. The riders arrived at the arena by a ceremonial ride from the University of Leeds. The event included performances from Embrace and Opera North, in front of an audience of 10,000.


2014 Tour de France, Teams
Each squad was allowed a maximum of nine riders, therefore the start list contained a total of 198 riders. Of these, 47 were riding the Tour de France for the first time. The riders came from 34 countries; France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, Australia and Belgium all had 10 or more riders in the race. Giant–Shimano's Ji Cheng was the first Chinese rider to participate in the Tour. Riders from eight countries won stages during the race; German riders won the largest number of stages, with seven.


2014 Tour de France, Teams
The average age of riders in the race was 29.88 years, ranging from the 20-year-old Danny van Poppel to the 42-year-old Jens Voigt, both Trek Factory Racing riders. Voigt, riding in his final year as a professional, equalled Stuart O'Grady's record for most appearances in the Tour with 17. Garmin–Sharp had the highest average age, while Trek Factory Racing had the lowest.


2014 Tour de France, Pre-race favourites
According to many observers before the race the top two favourites for the general classification were Chris Froome (Team Sky) and Alberto Contador (Tinkoff–Saxo). Their closest rivals were thought to have been Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team). A possible contender was the 2013 Tour runner-up, Nairo Quintana, who had chosen not to ride the Tour after his 2014 Giro d'Italia win that took place during May. Andy Schleck (Trek Factory Racing), who was retroactively awarded the 2010 Tour title, was selected by his team as a domestique, and was not considered a possible favourite. The other riders considered contenders for the general classification were Andrew Talansky (Garmin–Sharp), Rui Costa (Lampre–Merida), Thibaut Pinot (FDJ.fr), Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing Team), Jurgen Van den Broeck (Lotto–Belisol).


2014 Tour de France, Pre-race favourites
Defending champion and runner-up in the 2012 Tour, Froome, had shown his form so far in the 2014 season by winning the general classification of two stage races, the Tour of Oman and the Tour de Romandie. Contador, winner of the 2007 and 2009 Tours, also won two stage races, the Tirreno–Adriatico and the Tour of the Basque Country in the lead-up to the Tour, placing second overall in the Volta ao Algarve, Volta a Catalunya and Critérium du Dauphiné. Nibali had missed the 2013 Tour as he had focused on the 2013 Giro, which he won.


2014 Tour de France, Pre-race favourites
His highest Tour result was third in 2012. His best results so far in the 2014 season were fifth in the Tour de Romandie and seventh in the Dauphiné. Valverde, who placed eighth in the 2013 Tour and won the 2009 Vuelta a España, had a number of wins in the 2014 season prior to the Tour, most notably, the Vuelta a Andalucía stage race and the La Flèche Wallonne one-day race.


2014 Tour de France, Pre-race favourites
The sprinters considered favourites for the points classification and wins on the flat or hilly bunch sprint finishes were Peter Sagan (Cannondale), Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma–Quick-Step), André Greipel (Lotto–Belisol), Alexander Kristoff (Team Katusha) and Giant–Shimano riders Marcel Kittel and John Degenkolb. Winner of the points classification in the two previous Tours, Sagan, had won the E3 Harelbeke one-day race and won the points classifications in three stage races, the Tirreno–Adriatico, the Tour of California and the Tour de Suisse, during the 2014 season up until the Tour.


2014 Tour de France, Pre-race favourites
Cavendish, who won the points classification in 2011, had nine wins so far in the season and had the full backing of his team. Greipel had amassed a total of twelve wins during the season prior to the Tour, but his team would have to share support for him and Van den Broeck. Kristoff had won the Milan–San Remo, and was considered a dark horse for the points classification. Kittel was seen as a top contender for the bunch sprints, as he won the most stages in the 2013 Tour, a total of four.


2014 Tour de France, Pre-race favourites
He had an amassed seven wins so far in the season, two of which were in the Giro. It was thought that Degenkolb would be used by Giant–Shimano for the more challenging sprints. His major results of the season were first place in Gent–Wevelgem and second place in Paris–Roubaix, both one-day races.


2014 Tour de France, Route and stages
On 14 December 2012, the ASO announced that the English historic county of Yorkshire would host the 2014 edition's early stages (known as the Grand Départ). Further details of the first three stages held in the United Kingdom were released on 17 January 2013. This was the fourth Tour to contain stages in the United Kingdom, after 1974, 1994 and 2007. The entire route was announced by the ASO on 23 October 2013 at the official presentation at the Palais des Congrès in Paris. At the event, Stephen Roche, winner of the 1987 Tour, described the route as "fairly soft". Notable features of the route were fifth stage's sections of sett paving, the five high altitude stage finishes and the lack time trialling, with only stage twenty's 54 km (34 mi) individual time trial.


2014 Tour de France, Route and stages
The first of the two stages held in Yorkshire started in Leeds and finished in Harrogate, with stage two held between York and Sheffield. After a transfer to the East Anglian city of Cambridge, the race went south to the finish in London. The Tour transferred across the English Channel to the start of stage four Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, with the finish in Lille. Stage five began in Ypres, Belgium, and finished back in France. The following three stages crossed the north-east to the Vosges Mountains for stages nine and ten.


2014 Tour de France, Route and stages
The eleventh stage took place between Besançon and Oyonnax through the Jura Mountains. Stage twelve headed west to Saint-Étienne, with the next stage moving back east into the Chartreuse Mountains, with the finish at the Apline ski resort of Chamrousse. The fourteenth stage ended in the town of Risoul. The following stage took the race south to Nîmes. After a transfer to Carcassonne, the route moved into the Pyrenees for the next two stages. The nineteenth stage took a northerly direction to the department of Dordogne and the location of stage twenty. A long transfer took the Tour back to the north-east to finish with the Champs-Élysées stage in Paris.


2014 Tour de France, Route and stages
There were 21 stages in the race, covering a total distance of 3,660.5 km (2,275 mi). The longest mass-start stage was the seventh at 234.5 km (146 mi), and stage 17 was the shortest at 124.5 km (77 mi). Nine stages were officially classified as flat, five as medium mountain and six as high mountain. Stage five, although classified as medium mountain, was flat with sett paving sections. There were five summit finishes: stage 10, to La Planche des Belles Filles; stage 13, to Chamrousse; stage 14, to Risoul; stage 17, to Saint-Lary Pla d’Adet; and stage 18, to Hautacam.


2014 Tour de France, Route and stages
The highest point of elevation in the race was the 2,360 m (7,740 ft)-high Col d'Izoard mountain pass on stage fourteen. It was among six hors catégorie (English: beyond category) rated climbs in the race. There were nine new stage start or finish locations. The rest days were after stage 10, in the Besançon, and after 15, in Carcassonne.


2014 Tour de France, Race overview, Opening week and Vosges
The first stage's bunch sprint finish was won by Marcel Kittel. A crash in the sprint caused Mark Cavendish, a favourite for the win, to fall; he did not start stage two. Kittel gained the race leader's yellow jersey and the green jersey as the leader of the points classification, with Jens Voigt taking the polka dot jersey as the leader of the mountains classification. In the following stage, likened to a "mini Liège-Bastogne-Liège", Vincenzo Nibali took the stage win and yellow jersey, attacking on Sheffield's hilly terrain with 2 km (1.2 mi) remaining.


2014 Tour de France, Race overview, Opening week and Vosges
Peter Sagan took the green jersey and Cyril Lemoine (Cofidis) took the polka dot jersey. Stages three and four, finishing in London and Lille respectively, ended in bunch sprints and were both won by Kittel. Crashes in stages four and five forced pre-race favourite Chris Froome to abandon the race; his injuries were later revealed to be fractures to his left wrist and right hand. The weather was wet throughout the fifth stage, with the sett paving causing many crashes (although not Froome's).


2014 Tour de France, Race overview, Opening week and Vosges
The fractured ending was won by an attack in the final 5 km (3.1 mi) by Lars Boom of Belkin Pro Cycling. Nibali, who placed third, extended his overall lead over his rivals, with Alberto Contador 2 min 37 s down. André Greipel won stage six's bunch sprint in Reims. Another bunch sprint took place at the end of the next stage, with the hilly finish decided by a photo finish between Sagan and the winner Matteo Trentin (Omega Pharma–Quick-Step).


2014 Tour de France, Race overview, Opening week and Vosges
Stage eight, the first at altitude, was taken by Ag2r–La Mondiale's Blel Kadri, who attacked from a breakaway group with 25 km (15.5 mi) to go; he managed to hold his lead over the chasing group of overall favourites, who came in over two minutes behind. His win put Kadri into the polka dot jersey. Another solo victory came the following day, when Tony Martin of Omega Pharma–Quick-Step dropped fellow breakaway rider Alessandro De Marchi (Cannondale) with 60 km (37.3 mi) remaining.


2014 Tour de France, Race overview, Opening week and Vosges
A large group that formed in pursuit of the duo finished 2 min 45 s behind, with the unconcerned general classification contenders coming together in at 7 min 46 s down. The yellow jersey went to a rider from the first group, Lotto–Belisol's Tony Gallopin. Martin now led the mountains classification. Stage ten was the Tour's first high mountain stage.


2014 Tour de France, Race overview, Opening week and Vosges
On the final climb to the finish at La Planche des Belles Filles, Nibali attacked from the group of overall contenders with 3 km (1.9 mi) remaining, passed two surviving riders from the day's early breakaway, and claimed his second stage win, which put him back in the yellow jersey. Joaquim Rodríguez (Team Katusha), one of the two breakaway riders, took the polka dot jersey. Contador crashed during the descent of the Petit Ballon, 95 km (59.0 mi) into the stage, forcing him to quit the race; it was later revealed that he had fractured his right tibia. The next day was the first rest day of the Tour.


2014 Tour de France, Race overview, Jura and Alps
Stage eleven's rolling terrain resulted in a final peloton that included mainly puncheurs; Gallopin won the stage after an attack 13 km (8.1 mi) from the finish in Oyonnax split the peloton and a second with 2.7 km (1.7 mi) remaining that successfully held off the chasers. The twelfth stage was won by Alexander Kristoff from a bunch sprint. Nibali took the stage win the following stage, making his move from the leading group in the final 3 km (1.9 mi) on the hors catégorie climb to Chamrousse.


2014 Tour de France, Race overview, Jura and Alps
He extended his lead over the second-placed overall rider Alejandro Valverde to 3 min 37 s. Richie Porte, who was second overall before the stage and the new leader of Team Sky, lost around nine minutes and dropped to sixteenth. Nibali took the lead of the mountains classification. In stage fourteen, Rafał Majka (Tinkoff–Saxo) attacked from a reduced breakaway on the climb to the finish in Risoul with 10 km (6.2 mi) remaining and managed to hold off chasing the group of overall favourites and soloed to victory. Nibali, second in the stage, extended his lead further by one minute as Valverde lost time and Rodríguez regained the polka dot jersey. Kristoff won the bunch sprint in the transitional stage fifteen.


2014 Tour de France, Race overview, Jura and Alps
In the first of the three stages in the Pyrenees, the sixteenth, a breakaway group of 21 riders formed 75 km (46.6 mi) in. The group reduced to five after the final climb, the hors catégorie Port de Balès with 21 km (13.0 mi) remaining, out of which came the winner, Michael Rogers of (Tinkoff–Saxo), who attacked 3 km (1.9 mi) from finish in Bagnères-de-Luchon. The group of general classification favourites came in over eight minutes down. Majka led the mountains classification.


2014 Tour de France, Race overview, Jura and Alps
The Tour's queen stage, the seventeenth, featured three first-category climbs and the hors catégorie climb to the finish at Saint-Lary Pla d’Adet. An early nine-strong breakaway was pulled back before the first climb by Team Katusha for their rider Rodríguez to take the mountains classification points and the temporary lead of the competition. This led to the formation of a large lead group which gradually split across the middle climbs. Rodriguez and Majka led the lead group race over the penultimate climb, with the former first.


2014 Tour de France, Race overview, Jura and Alps
On the final climb, a group of four that had escaped were caught by Majka, who had dropped Rodríguez, and he soloed to claim his second stage win and the large number of points for the summit finish. Nibali had split apart the group of chasing overall favourites and came in third. Second-placed overall Valverde lost a minute to Thibaut Pinot in third.


2014 Tour de France, Race overview, Pyrenees and finale
The Tour's final mountain stage, the eighteenth, saw Nibali take his fourth victory of the race at Hautacam; his stage winning move came 9 km (5.6 mi) from the finish, on the climb to Hautacam. He finished 1 min 10 s ahead of a group which were four of his nearest general classification rivals, with the exception of Valverde, who lost further time and dropped to fourth overall, displaced by Thibaut Pinot and Jean-Christophe Péraud, respectively. Majka finished third in the stage and secured the mountains classification.


2014 Tour de France, Race overview, Pyrenees and finale
In stage nineteen, Ramūnas Navardauskas of Garmin–Sharp attacked a peloton fractured by rain 13 km (8.1 mi) from the finish to win the stage. Martin claimed his second stage of the Tour in the penultimate stage's individual time trial. His time of 1h 6 min 21 s over the 54 km (33.6 mi) course was 1 min 39 s faster than second-placed Tom Dumoulin (Giant–Shimano). Nibali finished fourth, increasing his advantage.


2014 Tour de France, Race overview, Pyrenees and finale
In the final stage, Kittel secured a second successive victory on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, his fourth stage win of the race. Nibali finished the race to win the general classification by a margin of 7 min 39 s, the largest winning margin since Jan Ullrich in the 1997 Tour. Second and third respectively were Péraud and Pinot, with the latter 8 min 15 s down on Nibali. The points classification was won by Sagan with 431 points; Kristoff came second with 282 points. Majka finished with 181 points in the mountains classification, 13 ahead of second-placed Nibali. Pinot was the best young rider, with Romain Bardet (Ag2r–La Mondiale) second. The team classification was won by Ag2r–La Mondiale, 34 min 46 s ahead of second-placed Belkin Pro Cycling. Of the 198 starters, 164 reached the finish of the last stage in Paris.


2014 Tour de France, Classification leadership and minor prizes
There were four main individual classifications contested in the 2014 Tour de France, as well as a team competition. The most important was the general classification, which was calculated by adding each rider's finishing times on each stage. There were no time bonuses given at the end of stages for this edition of the Tour. If a crash had happened within the final 3 km (1.9 mi) of a stage, not including the time trial and summit finishes, the riders involved would have received the same time as the group they were in when the crash occurred. The rider with the lowest cumulative time was the winner of the general classification and was considered the overall winner of the Tour. The rider leading the classification wore a yellow jersey.


2014 Tour de France, Classification leadership and minor prizes
The second classification was the points classification. Riders received points for finishing among the highest placed in a stage finish, or in intermediate sprints during the stage. The points available for each stage finish were determined by the stage's type. The leader was identified by a green jersey.


2014 Tour de France, Classification leadership and minor prizes
The third classification was the mountains classification. Points were awarded to the riders that reached the summit of the most difficult climbs first. The climbs were categorised as fourth-, third-, second-, first-category and hors catégorie, with the more difficult climbs rated lower. Double points were awarded on the summit finishes on stages 10, 13, 14, 17 and 18. The leader wore a white jersey with red polka dots.


2014 Tour de France, Classification leadership and minor prizes
The final individual classification was the young rider classification. This was calculated the same way as the general classification, but the classification was restricted to riders who were born on or after 1 January 1989. The leader wore a white jersey.


2014 Tour de France, Classification leadership and minor prizes
The final classification was a team classification. This was calculated using the finishing times of the best three riders per team on each stage; the leading team was the team with the lowest cumulative time. The number of stage victories and placings per team determined the outcome of a tie. The riders in the team that lead this classification were identified with yellow number bibs on the back of their jerseys and yellow helmets.


2014 Tour de France, Classification leadership and minor prizes
In addition, there was a combativity award given after each stage to the rider considered, by a jury, to have "made the greatest effort and who has demonstrated the best qualities of sportsmanship". No combativity awards were given for the time trial and the final stage. The winner wore a red number bib the following stage. At the conclusion of the Tour, Alessandro De Marchi won the overall super-combativity award, again, decided by a jury.


2014 Tour de France, Classification leadership and minor prizes
A total of €2,035,000 was awarded in cash prizes in the race. The overall winner of the general classification received €450,000, with the second and third placed riders got €200,000 and €100,000 respectively. All finishers of the race were awarded with money. The holders of the classifications benefited on each stage they led; the final winners of the points and mountains were given €25,000, while the best young rider and most combative rider got €20,000. The winners of the team classification received €50,000.


2014 Tour de France, Classification leadership and minor prizes
There were also two special awards each with a prize of €5000, the Souvenir Henri Desgrange, given to first rider to pass the summit of the highest climb in the Tour, the Col d'Izoard in stage fourteen, and the Souvenir Jacques Goddet, given to the first rider to pass Goddet's memorial at the summit of the Col du Tourmalet in stage eighteen. Joaquim Rodríguez won the Henri Desgrange and Blel Kadri won the Jacques Goddet.


2014 Tour de France, UCI World Tour rankings
Riders from the ProTeams competing individually, as well as for their teams and nations, for points that contributed towards the World Tour rankings. Points were awarded to the top twenty finishers in the general classification and to the top five finishers in each stage. The 200 points accrued by Vincenzo Nibali moved him from fortieth position to second in the individual ranking. Movistar Team retained their lead of the team ranking, ahead of second-placed Ag2r–La Mondiale. Spain remained as leaders of the nation ranking, with Italy second.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11
The 2014 Tour de France was the 101st edition of the race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It featured 22 cycling teams. The Tour started in Yorkshire, England on 5 July and finished on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 27 July. The first two stages, in Yorkshire, were informally nicknamed Le Tour de Yorkshire; its success led to the formation of the Tour de Yorkshire stage race the following May.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 1
The first stage began on The Headrow, outside the Victorian Town Hall in Leeds. The tour headed eastwards through the city centre towards Quarry Hill, navigating the Sheepscar Interchange onto the A61 and heading northwards through the city districts of Scott Hall, Moortown and Alwoodley towards Harewood House where a ceremonial start took place. Following the departure from Harewood, the tour went along the Wharfe Valley passing through Otley, Burley in Wharfedale and the home of the Cow and Calf Rocks, Ilkley Moor.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 1
The race then headed north via the A65 to the market town of Skipton, before passing into the Yorkshire Dales National Park. After passing northwards through part of Wharfedale, into Wensleydale and through Hawes, the route continued over the Buttertubs Pass and down through Swaledale to Reeth. The race then headed south-east to cross the last categorised climb of the day at Grinton Moor before passing through Leyburn, the brewery town of Masham and the cathedral city of Ripon. Finally, travelling southwards, on the A61, through Killinghall and finishing at West Park in Harrogate.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 1
A 50 km (31 mi) break saw Jens Voigt secure the King of the Mountains jersey for the day, before returning to the peloton. The finale of the stage saw Mark Cavendish crash during the sprint, following a collision with Simon Gerrans. Cavendish suffered a separated right shoulder injury. The sprint was won by Marcel Kittel, thus repeating his opening stage victory from the previous year.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 2
The second stage of the tour started at the racecourse in York heading to the city centre where it then travelled into West Yorkshire through the towns of Knaresborough, Harrogate, Silsden, Addingham, Keighley, Haworth, Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Elland, Huddersfield, Honley and Holmfirth. The tour then climbed over the Category 2 Côte de Holme Moss at 524 m (1,719 ft), and descended into the valley of the Woodhead pass. Passing into Derbyshire on the northern tip of the Peak District under the shadow of the Bleaklow plateau it then climbed over the Langsett Moors. Traversing across the moor the route crossed the Ewden valley and headed towards the village of Bradfield. From here the route descended towards the city of Sheffield where stage two finished.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 2
During the stage, Sacha Modolo withdrew from the tour due to illness. Cyril Lemoine took the lead for the King of the Mountains jersey, from Jens Voigt, having scored the most points during the day. Blel Kadri and Thomas Voeckler were the first two riders over the Category 2 climb of Holme Moss, both riders later returning to the peloton. Towards the finish, Alberto Contador and Chris Froome each took the opportunity to test the opposition, reducing the peloton to a leading group of 21 riders up the short, but steep, Category 4 climb of Jenkin Road Hill. Vincenzo Nibali took the lead with 2 km (1 mi) remaining, and held this short lead to the finish line.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 3
This short 155 km stage began at Parker's Piece in the university city of Cambridge and started by heading in a generally southern direction towards Saffron Walden. From Saffron Walden the route travelled east, and then south, to the western outskirts of Braintree, Essex, before following the road west to Felsted. The route turned south to Chelmsford, and then west to an intermediate sprint at Epping Forest. From here, the race continued south into the British capital, which hosted the Grand Départ during the 2007 Tour de France. This was a prestigious stage which took the peloton through the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and travelled past some of London's most famous landmarks, before finishing near to Buckingham Palace, with the finish line on The Mall.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 3
Jean-Marc Bideau and Jan Bárta spent 147 km (91 mi) out in front of the peloton, which was the greater part of the stage. Both riders each taking part in their first Tour de France, Bideau was the first to succumb to the gradual acceleration of the peloton, with 8 km (5 mi) remaining, on the outskirts of central London. Meanwhile, Bárta managed to stay in front for a further 2 km (1 mi). The peloton was then together for a bunch sprint on The Mall. Marcel Kittel succeeded in securing his sixth stage win at the Tour de France, and his second stage win of the 2014 Tour.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 4
The first stage in France departed from the seaside resort of Le Touquet, with racing officially starting just east of Cucq. The first climb of the day was the Category 4 climb of the Côte de Campagnette, 34 km (21 mi) into the stage, just north of Bimont. At 159 m (522 ft), this was the highest point of a relatively fast and flat stage, which travelled through the undulating lowlands of Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The route passed through Saint-Omer, with an intermediate sprint at Cassel. The race then travelled through Steenvoorde, over the Category 4 climb of Mont Noir, and followed the road south-east from Bailleul and Armentières to Lille. The stage finished just east of the centre of Lille, at Villeneuve-d'Ascq.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 4
Andy Schleck retired from the tour, before the departure from Le Touquet. A few kilometres into the stage, Chris Froome fell in an accident which also involved Bauke Mollema and Ion Izagirre. Froome was able to rejoin the peloton. By the time the race had reached the top of Mont Noir, Thomas Voeckler was in front of the peloton along with Luis Ángel Maté.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 4
Greg Henderson was forced to retire, following a crash towards the end of the race, whilst Voeckler was caught by the peloton with 16 km (10 mi) remaining, with Maté also returning to the bunch around this time. The peloton was ready, once again, for a sprint finish. Marcel Kittel won his third stage out of four, but admitted that the stage had been fast and very nervous.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 5
This flat stage departed from Ypres in Belgium. Eddy Merckx and King Philippe were both present to see the riders depart. Racing officially started between Ypres and Zonnebeke. The race then headed north-east towards Roeselare, before turning due south to Menen and then on to Wevelgem. The stage continued south, re-entering France just before arriving in Roubaix. From here, onwards, the stage featured nine sections of difficult cobble-set pavement, using some of the same roads as the Paris–Roubaix cycle race. The intermediate sprint took place a further 32.5 km (20 mi) along the route south from Roubaix at Templeuve-en-Pévèle.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 5
The race then took a circuitous route west to Pont-à-Marcq, south to Bersée, and then east to Orchies. The culmination of the stage had the riders pass through several small villages in quick succession; Beuvry-la-Forêt, Tilloy-lez-Marchiennes, Warlaing, Wandignies-Hamage, Hornaing and Hélesmes. Finally, the stage finished just east of Wallers at the southern end of the Arenberg Trench, adjacent to the Arenberg Mine.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 5
Inclement weather prompted tour organizers to remove two cobble segments from the stage route for safety reasons, leaving seven cobble segments for the riders to navigate.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 5
Wet roads contributed to a multitude of crashes before the riders encountered the cobbles. Reigning champion Chris Froome was involved in two crashes at the 35 km (22 mi) point and the 83 km (52 mi) point. These crashes, combined with a crash the previous day and the lingering effects of a serious crash in the Critérium du Dauphiné several weeks prior, forced his abandonment from the race.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 5
Upon encountering the cobbles, the peloton splintered, with yellow jersey-wearer Vincenzo Nibali's team Astana leading the pack. Nibali's group opened up a lead of nearly two minutes prior to encountering the seventh and last cobble segment, upon which Astana's Lieuwe Westra accelerated, leaving behind all but Nibali, teammate Jakob Fuglsang, and Belkin Pro Cycling's Lars Boom. Boom attacked the Astana riders on the last cobble segment and held his lead through the final kilometers to take his first victory of the 2014 season, as well as his first career stage win in the Tour de France. This came nine years to the day after the previous Dutch stage victory in the Tour. Nibali finished 19 seconds behind Boom, in so doing putting two minutes into GC contenders Andrew Talansky, Tejay van Garderen, and Alejandro Valverde, and nearly two-and-a-half minutes into Tour favorite Alberto Contador.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 6
This relatively fast and flat stage travelled from the department of Pas de Calais, through the departments of Somme, Aisne, and Marne. The stage started by heading south through Bapaume, Péronne, Ham, Tergnier and Chauny. The route then began to head east, over the Category 4 climb of Côte de Coucy-le-Château-Auffrique, with an intermediate sprint 12 km (7 mi) later at Pinon. This was followed by the Category 4 climb of the Côte de Roucy, and the road east to Bourgogne. Finally, the race headed south into Reims.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 6
Arnaud Gérard, Tom Leezer, Luis Maté and Jérôme Pineau took part in an early escape, ahead of the peloton. Crashes occurred during a day of sidewinds, along with a second day of rain, forcing the retirement of Xabier Zandio and Jesús Hernández, amongst others. The early escapees were each brought back to the peloton from 20 km (12 mi) remaining, with Maté managing to stay in front for a further 8 km (5 mi). Marcel Kittel had a mechanical problem in the final 2 km (1 mi), and Michał Kwiatkowski attacked with 1 km (1 mi) remaining. However, the sprint was won by André Greipel who, along with other sprinters, caught Kwiatkowski before the finish.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 7
This long and undulating stage travelled through the departments of Marne, Meuse and Meurthe-et-Moselle. The stage departed from Épernay, with the race officially starting at Oiry. The route first headed east through Châlons-en-Champagne, Sainte-Menehould and Clermont-en-Argonne and continued on this course to Charny-sur-Meuse. The route then turned south-east just before travelling through Douaumont and then continued in this direction through Moulainville and Fresnes-en-Woëvre. An intermediate sprint took place at Hannonville-sous-les-Côtes and the south-easterly route continued through Bernécourt. The route turned east from Dommartin-lès-Toul and two Category 4 climbs came towards the end of the stage, these were the Côte de Maron and the Côte de Boufflers. The stage then finished in Nancy.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 8
The stage travelled through the departments of Meurthe-et-Moselle and Vosges. The stage had most of the route as undulating, with a mild climb. Towards the end, the stage entered low mountains.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 8
This stage headed east out of the Tomblaine district of Nancy, and through Lunéville, before the route turned south towards Baccarat. The route continued south-west through Rambervillers to Épinal, followed by an intermediate sprint at Dinozé as the route turned east, once again, and followed the Moselle to Remiremont, Saint-Amé and Vagney. From Vagney, the race then went into the Vosges mountains with two Category 2 climbs, these being the Col de la Croix des Moinats, through La Bresse and over the Col de Grosse Pierre. The race then headed north into Gérardmer and up to the ski station of La Mauselaine.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 8
Five riders were in the breakaway for the day. Sylvain Chavanel was the best climber in the breakaway. However, on the final climb Blel Kadri launched an attack which nobody was able to follow. Behind in the peloton Tinkoff–Saxo started chasing so that Alberto Contador could possibly win the stage. With 2 kilometres to go Blel Kadri had a 4-minute advantage over the peloton which would be enough for him to become the first French rider to win a stage of that Tour de France.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 8
As the peloton reached the final kilometre Contador made a number of attacks to try to gain time on Vincenzo Nibali and Richie Porte. He could only gain 3 seconds on Nibali and 7 on Porte. Critérium du Dauphiné winner Andrew Talansky of Garmin–Sharp crashed and finished 35th. He was over 4 and half minutes down in the overall standings in 16th place. Blel Kadri won the stage by over 2 minutes and also took charge of the King of the Mountains classification.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 9
This low mountain stage travelled from the department of Vosges, into Haut-Rhin. The stage departed from Gérardmer with racing officially starting between Gérardmer and Xonrupt-Longemer. The race headed east to the Category 2 Col de la Schlucht at 1,140 m (3,740 ft), and descended north-east into the valley floor, then south-east, towards the outskirts of Orbey. The route then began to climb the Category 3 Col du Wettstein at 880 m (2,887 ft) before a long 21 km (13 mi) descent east to the outskirts of Turckheim.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 9
From here, the route headed south and, once again, the road quickly rose to the Category 3 Côte des Cinq Châteaux at 560 m (1,837 ft), and was quickly followed by the Category 2 Côte de Gueberschwihr at 559 m (1,834 ft) before heading south-west. An intermediate sprint took place at Linthal, before heading west for the biggest climb of the day. The Category 1 Le Markstein at 1,183 m (3,881 ft) gave a 15 km (9 mi) ascent to the ski station, with the ascent continuing south-east into the Category 3 Le Grand Ballon at 1,336 m (4,383 ft). The route then took a fast 22 km (14 mi) descent continuing south-east into Cernay and Wittelsheim, through Pfastatt and finally finishing in Mulhouse.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 10
This mountainous stage set off from the department of Haut-Rhin, headed back into Vosges and finished in the department of Haute-Saône. The stage started at Mulhouse, with racing officially starting just north of Wittenheim. The route turned north-west at Ensisheim and zig-zagged from Raedersheim, through Gundolsheim to Soultzmatt. The race then began the ascent of the Category 2 Col du Firstplan at 722 m (2,369 ft) before descending to a sprint at Muhlele (Gunsbach). The race began to head west just before the sprint. This was rapidly followed by the race travelling through Munster.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 10
The route then turned to the south-west and traversed two Category 1 climbs. The first climb was the Petit Ballon at 1,163 m (3,816 ft) and then the Col du Platzerwasel at 1,193 m (3,914 ft). This was followed by a 21 km (13 mi) descent to Kruth. The route then continued over the Category 2 Col d'Oderen at 884 m (2,900 ft), the Category 3 Col des Croix at 678 m (2,224 ft) and the Category 1 Col des Chevrères at 914 m (2,999 ft). The race descended into Plancher-les-Mines before immediately beginning the Category 1 ascent to the finish at La Planche des Belles Filles, which was at 1,035 m (3,396 ft).


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 11
After the rest day in Besançon, this low mountain stage began in the department of Doubs, headed into Jura and finished in Ain. The stage departed from Besançon and had its racing officially starting just south-west of Avanne-Aveney. The route headed south-west to Arc-et-Senans and then turned south through Chamblay, Arbois, Montrond and Pont-du-Navoy to an intermediate sprint at Charcier. The southerly route then continued through Les Crozets and Chassal before entering the Jura Mountains.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 11
The first climb of the day was the Category 3 climb of the Côte de Rogna at 766 m (2,513 ft), and then into the Category 3 climb of the Côte de Choux at 834 m (2,736 ft), which followed immediately into the Category 4 climb of the Côte de Désertin. There was then an approximate 10 km (6 mi) descent before the climb of the Côte d'Échallon at 969 m (3,179 ft). The stage finished with a 19 km (12 mi) descent to Oyonnax.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21
The 2014 Tour de France was the 101st edition of the race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It featured 22 cycling teams. The Tour started in Yorkshire, England on 5 July and finished on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 27 July.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 12
This was a hilly stage which travelled from the department of Ain, into Rhône, with a brief incursion into Saône-et-Loire, and finished in Loire. The stage departed from Bourg-en-Bresse, heading west. The race officially started, on the outskirt of Bourg-en-Bresse, at Saint-Denis-lès-Bourg.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 12
The race headed through Neuville-les-Dames and Saint-Didier-sur-Chalaronne, before travelling over the River Rhône to an intermediate sprint at Romanèche-Thorins. The race then turned south and headed into Villié-Morgon before passing through Régnié-Durette, over the Category 4 Col de Brouilly and through Odenas. The route continued south through Saint-Étienne-des-Oullières, Blacé, Saint-Julien and Cogny. Here, the route turned west to begin the climb of the Category 3 Côte du Saule d'Oingt at 551 m (1,808 ft) and then descended south into Oingt, itself. This was followed by Le Bois-d'Oingt and Le Breuil, before heading south-east through Chessy and Châtillon to Lozanne.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 12
The route turned, and continued south, through Lentilly and Pollionnay to Vaugneray. Then, the race again headed west to the Category 3 Col des Brosses at 867 m (2,844 ft), and descended south-west into Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise. The route turned south, once again, headed over the Category 4 Côte de Grammond at 778 m (2,552 ft), and descended through Fontanès and Sorbiers into La Talaudière, before 8.5 km (5 mi) of relatively flat finish into Saint-Étienne.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 13
This was a high mountain stage which travelled from the department of Loire into Isère. The stage departed from Saint-Étienne, heading east. Racing officially started between Saint-Jean-Bonnefonds and Saint-Chamond.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 13
The race passed through Saint-Paul-en-Jarez, before the early climb of the Category 3 Col de la Croix de Montvieux at 812 m (2,664 ft). The race continued east, passing through Cheyssieu, Cour-et-Buis, La Côte-Saint-André to La Frette. The route turned south-east to Rives, south to Tullins and then east to Voreppe, as the race travelled alongside the River Isère into Saint-Égrève. From Saint-Égrève, the climb began to the summit of the Category 1 Col de Palaquit at 1,154 m (3,786 ft), with a 13.5 km (8 mi) descent south into Grenoble. Grenoble was quickly followed by an intermediate sprint at Saint-Martin-d'Hères before a short climb to Uriage-les-Bains. The first Hors catégorie climb of the tour then began, with a 20.5 km (13 mi) ascent to the finish at the ski resort of Chamrousse, at a height of 1,730 m (5,676 ft).


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 13
Before the start there was a minute of silence in memorial for the airplane crash Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. Many Dutch people were killed in this crash. Dutch teams and riders wore black ribbons or black armbands throughout the stage.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 14
This was a high mountain stage which travelled from the department of Isère into Hautes-Alpes. The stage departed from Grenoble, heading south-east. Racing officially started after passing through Eybens.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 14
The race travelled through Vizille before turning east and gradually climbing to the intermediate sprint at La Paute in the valley just north of Le Bourg-d'Oisans. The route then climbed up to Le Freney-d'Oisans before beginning the ascent of the Category 1 Col du Lautaret at 2,058 m (6,752 ft). The route passed through La Grave, halfway up the climb. From the summit of the climb, the race descended south-east through Le Monêtier-les-Bains and La Salle-les-Alpes to the valley floor at Briançon.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 14
The route then turned east to Cervières and began the ascent of the Hors catégorie Col d'Izoard, south from Cervières, at 2,360 m (7,743 ft), the highest point reached in the 2014 Tour. From the summit, the race descended 29 km (18 mi) through Arvieux and along the valley south-east, south and then south-west to Guillestre and Risoul. The final climb of the day was the Category 1 hairpin ascent, to the ski station south of Risoul, at 1,855 m (6,086 ft).


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 15
This was an undulating stage which travelled from the department of Hautes-Alpes, through Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Vaucluse and Bouches-du-Rhône, to Gard. The stage departed from Tallard, heading south-west. Racing officially began on the outskirt of the town.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 15
The race headed south-west to Thèze and then south through Sisteron and Châteauneuf-Val-Saint-Donat. Here, the route turned west to Saint-Étienne-les-Orgues and then followed an indirect route west to Banon. The route descended from Banon, heading south and then west to Saint-Saturnin-lès-Apt. The westerly route continued through Cavaillon to an intermediate sprint at La Galine (Saint-Rémy-de-Provence). The race continued to Tarascon and across the River Rhône to Beaucaire. From Beaucaire, there was a further 28 km (17 mi) to ride, west to the finish at Nîmes.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 16
After the rest day in Carcassonne, this was a high mountain stage which travelled from the department of Aude, through Ariège, Haute-Garonne and Hautes-Pyrénées, before finishing back in Haute-Garonne. The stage departed west from Carcassonne, with racing officially starting as the route passed Carcassonne Airport.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 16
The route passed through Montréal and La Force before climbing the Category 4 Côte de Fanjeaux at 348 m (1,142 ft). The race then travelled through Belpech and Pamiers, before climbing the Category 4 Côte de Pamiers at 418 m (1,371 ft). The route continued west to Pailhes. The route then turned south-west through Sabarat, Le Mas-d'Azil, Clermont and Lescure to an intermediate sprint at Saint-Girons. From here, the race continued to Moulis and Audressein, before turning west to Argein, Orgibet and Saint-Lary.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 16
The route then headed over the climb of the Category 2 Col de Portet d'Aspet at 1,069 m (3,507 ft) before a descent north-west to the outskirts of Sengouagnet. The route continued west through Juzet-d'Izaut and Cazaunous to the Category 3 Col des Ares at 815 m (2,674 ft) and descended south-west through Antichan-de-Frontignes and Fronsac, then heading west to Saléchan, Siradan and on to Mauléon-Barousse. From here, the route turned south-west to ascend the Hors catégorie Port de Balès at 1,755 m (5,758 ft). The race turned south-east at the top of the climb, for the final 21.5 km (13 mi) descent into Bagnères-de-Luchon.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 17
This was a high mountain stage which travelled from the department of Haute-Garonne with a brief incursion into the Lleida province in Spain, back into Haute-Garonne and finished in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées. The stage departed south-west from Saint-Gaudens with racing officially starting just beyond the Valentine district of Saint-Gaudens, on the opposite side of the Garonne River.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 17
The race passed through Martres-de-Rivière before turning south-east on the outskirts of Gourdan-Polignan. The route followed the Garonne River from Loures-Barousse, through Barbazan, with an intermediate sprint at Saint-Béat. From here, the race headed to Fos before turning south and crossing the border into Spain. The route travelled through Les and Bossòst, then turning west and ascending the Category 1 Col du Portillon at 1,292 m (4,239 ft), before re-entering France at the summit. The race then descended west into  Bagnères-de-Luchon, before beginning the climb of the Category 1 Col de Peyresourde at 1,569 m (5,148 ft).


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 17
This was followed by a 9 km (6 mi) descent continuing west into Loudenvielle and Génos. The race then travelled up the hairpin climb of the Category 1 Col de Val Louron-Azet at 1,580 m (5,184 ft) followed by a 10 km (6 mi) descent into Saint-Lary-Soulan. The final climb of the day was the Hors catégorie 12 km (7 mi) ascent to the finish, at Pla d'Adet, at 1,654 m (5,427 ft).


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 18
This was a high mountain stage which travelled from the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques into the department of Hautes-Pyrénées. The stage departed south from Pau with racing officially starting south of the Gelos district of Pau, on the opposite side of the Gave de Pau.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 18
The route travelled south for a few kilometres, before turning east and heading to Pardies-Piétat and then south-east to Nay. The route travelled east through Bénéjacq and over the Category 3 Côte de Benejacq at 470 m (1,542 ft). The race continued east through Pontacq, to Ossun, and then around the southern side of the Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport. The route then continued south from Lanne, Bénac and Orincles. This was followed by the Category 3 Côte de Loucrup at 530 m (1,739 ft), and east to an intermediate sprint at Trébons, before heading south-east through Bagnères-de-Bigorre, Beaudéan and Campan.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 18
From Campan, the route headed south-east, south and then south-west, with a long 25.5 km (16 mi) climbing route to La Mongie, before heading west to the summit of the Hors catégorie Col du Tourmalet at 2,115 m (6,939 ft). The race descended west through Barèges, and turned north-west at Luz-Saint-Sauveur, before reaching the valley floor at Villelongue and north to Beaucens. The route then began to climb north into Ayros-Arbouix. From here, the race headed south-east into the final climb of the stage, which was the Hors catégorie 14 km (9 mi) ascending route up to Hautacam, at 1,520 m (4,987 ft).


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 19
This was an undulating stage which travelled from the department of Hautes-Pyrénées, through Gers and Lot-et-Garonne, into the department of Dordogne. The stage departed north-east from Maubourguet with racing officially starting between Maubourguet and Marciac.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 19
The race travelled north-east through Peyrusse-Grande and Vic-Fezensac, to Valence-sur-Baïse. The route then turned north to go through Condom, Nérac, Lavardac and Buzet-sur-Baïse, to an intermediate sprint at Tonneins. The route turned north-east, once again, to Tombebœuf, then north-west to Miramont-de-Guyenne and wound north to Eymet. The route continued north through Fonroque, to Mescoules, and on to Rouffignac-de-Sigoulès. From here, the route wound east to the Category 4 climb of the Côte de Monbazillac at 171 m (561 ft) and turned north to descend for about 10 km (6 mi). The race passed along the western side of the Bergerac Dordogne Périgord Airport, before the route finally turned east to cross the Dordogne River, into the finish in Bergerac.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 20
This short stage took place entirely in the department of Dordogne and was an individual time trial on an undulating road. The route headed north-west out of Bergerac, before turning north to the outskirts of Ginestet and Maurens, and on to the first time check at Beleymas. The road then bore north-east to Villamblard and north through Manzac-sur-Vern, before turning north-east again, heading to the second time check on the outskirts of Coursac. The route then zig-zagged north-east to the Côte de Coulounieix-Chamiers before crossing the River Isle and finishing in Périgueux.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 21
This was an undulating stage which travelled from the department of Essonne, through Hauts-de-Seine into Paris. The stage departed from Évry, with racing officially starting at Bondoufle.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 21
The riders travelled south and west around the Brétigny-sur-Orge Air Base to Arpajon. The route continued west to the Category 4 climb of Côte de Briis-sous-Forges at 172 m (564 ft) and headed north through Orsay and Vauhallan. The race then headed east through Massy, north to Châtenay-Malabry, and on through Clamart and Meudon to Issy-les-Moulineaux, before crossing the River Seine and the Île Saint-Germain. The race turned north-east and travelled along the Right Bank of the Seine to Pont Alexandre III, where the riders crossed the Seine, again, and turned left, passing Les Invalides.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 21
The race followed the river along to the Pont du Carrousel and crossed the river for a final time. The riders then turned left to travel along the Rue de Rivoli, through the Place de la Concorde and onto the Champs-Élysées. The race then began ten circuits around central Paris, heading up the Champs-Élysées and around the Arc de Triomphe on the Place de l'Étoile. The riders returned, back down the opposite side of the Champs-Élysées, and around the Jardin des Tuileries. Finally, back along the Rue de Rivoli, and through the Place de la Concorde, to the finish line on the Champs-Élysées.


2014 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 21
The La Course by Le Tour de France rode 13 laps of the traditional course on the Champs-Élysées a few hours before the men arrived.


2014 Tour de Langkawi
The 2014 Tour de Langkawi was the 19th edition of an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Malaysia since 1996. The race was run at the highest category (apart from those races which make up the UCI World Tour, and was rated by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) as a 2.HC (hors category) race as part of the UCI Asia Tour.


2014 Tour de Langkawi, Teams
21 teams accepted invitations to participate in the 2013 Tour de Langkawi. Six UCI ProTeams were invited to the race, along with five UCI Professional Continental and seven UCI Continental teams. The field was completed by three national selection teams.


2014 Tour de Pologne
The 2014 Tour de Pologne was the 71st running of the Tour de Pologne cycling stage race. It started on 3 August in Gdańsk and ended on 9 August in Kraków, after seven stages. It was the twentieth race of the 2014 UCI World Tour season.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Participating teams
As the Tour de Pologne was a UCI World Tour event, all eighteen UCI ProTeams were invited automatically and obligated to send a squad. Along with Team Poland – the Polish national team – two other squads were given wildcard places into the race, and as such, formed the event's 21-team peloton.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 1
In line with the 25th anniversary of Poland moving from a communist to a democratic country and being freed from Soviet grasp, the 71st Tour de Pologne started in Gdańsk, a city famous for being the home of the Solidarność union, largely responsible for the political changes. The first stage was predominantly flat, featuring just one categorised climb, a third category ascent in Bydgoszcz, on the second of three 7.2-kilometre (4.5-mile) loops ending the stage. During the stage, there were also special sprints in Pruszcz Gdański and Malbork, as well as two intermediate sprints offering points for the intermediate sprints classification in Kwidzyn and Unisław. It was largely expected that this stage would be won by a sprinter, who would take the first yellow jersey.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 1
Immediately after the start, a breakaway was initiated by Matthias Krizek of Cannondale, and he was shortly joined by Jimmy Engoulvent of Team Europcar and Anton Vorobyev of Team Katusha, as well as two home riders – Maciej Paterski of CCC–Polsat–Polkowice and Kamil Gradek riding for a selective Polish national team. The five riders built up an advantage that reached 15 minutes over the peloton. The riders faced extreme temperatures at the start, the mercury reaching 35 °C (95 °F). Gradek took maximum points at the intermediate sprint in Kwidzyn, whilst Engoulvent won at the Unisław sprint. With both riders having four points on their tally, the battle for the first navy blue jersey in the intermediate sprints classification would continue until the line.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 1
Eventually, the peloton started to minimise the gap to the breakaway, but it was then that a torrential downpour hit the race, causing at least one tree to fall over and block part of the road and at least 4 crashes, including 1 in the breakaway. Paterski attacked on the streets of Bydgoszcz, trying to take the first fuchsia jersey. He succeeded, with only him, Engoulvent and Krizek remaining on the last lap. Paterski led the way to try and take the stage victory but was caught under the flamme rouge. A sprint finish was ensured, with Ag2r–La Mondiale's Yauheni Hutarovich taking the stage victory, and the yellow and white jerseys with it. As he came higher in the stage, Engoulvent beat Gradek to the navy blue jersey.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 2
Like the previous stage, this stage was suited towards the sprinters. Heading eastwards, there were no categorised climbs, ensuring that CCC–Polsat–Polkowice's Maciej Paterski would keep the fuchsia jersey. Also like the previous stage, there were two intermediate sprints, coming in Kampinos and in Stare Babice, ahead of a 4.8-kilometre (3.0-mile) loop in Warsaw, to be completed three times.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 2
Further like in the first stage, the breakaway was formed just after the start. Petr Vakoč of Omega Pharma–Quick-Step attacked first and was shortly joined by Bartłomiej Matysiak and Przemysław Kasperkiewicz. With Ag2r–La Mondiale pacing the leader, Yauheni Hutarovich, the lead of the breakaway topped four minutes in the early running. However, at the time of the intermediate sprints (both were located towards the end of the stage), the lead of the trio reached seven minutes and the peloton was in no rush to chase them.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 2
Vakoč attacked at the second sprint (taking full points at both, thus taking the intermediate sprints' navy blue jersey) and rode solo into Warsaw, whilst the peloton tried to quickly catch him, failing to do so. Vakoč took the victory with a 21" advantage over the peloton, brought home by Michael Matthews. Thanks to the victory, Vakoč became the leader of the race. Hutarovich finished fifth, thus keeping the white jersey and second place, with a 27" deficit to Vakoč because of time bonuses.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 3
Just like the previous two stages, this stage was aimed at the sprinters, although noticeably shorter. The parcours of 174 kilometres (108 miles) featured one intermediate sprint in Głogów Małopolski and one third category climb on the streets of Rzeszów. A 6-kilometre (3.7-mile) loop was also to be completed twice ahead of an expected sprint finish.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 3
Again, the breakaway was formed right after the start, and included Team Sky's Salvatore Puccio, Team Europcar's Björn Thurau, CCC–Polsat–Polkowice's Mateusz Taciak and Team Poland's Paweł Franczak. The four riders built up an advantage that reached 4 minutes over the peloton controlled by Omega Pharma–Quick-Step protecting the overall race leader, Petr Vakoč. Thurau took full points at the sprint in Głogów whilst Taciak took the mountain points available in Rzeszów. The breakaway was eventually caught with 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) to go and the leadouts began.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 3
Giant–Shimano had the best leadout for Luka Mezgec, who started his sprint with about 300 metres (980 ft) to go. Just when it looked like he would take the stage victory, Belkin Pro Cycling's Theo Bos let go of Mezgec's wheel, passed him and ultimately beat Mezgec by half a bike length. In the general classification, no changes were visible, as 152 of the 164 riders were given the same time as Bos, including 4 caught up in a crash with 1 kilometre (0.62 miles) to go.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 4
This stage was the longest stage of the 71st Tour de Pologne, and was almost identical to stage 4 the previous year. On the parcours of 236 kilometres (147 miles), there were three intermediate sprints in the towns of Jaworzno, Mysłowice and Siemanowice Śląskie, two special sprints in Szczurowa and Olkusz and two third-category climbs, both on the streets of Katowice, where the riders had to complete 4 laps of a 12.3-kilometre (7.6-mile) loop. There was some rolling terrain in the middle of the stage, yet none of the ascents were categorised. With the finish being on a downhill section of road by the Spodek arena, a sprint finish was expected to take place, with speeds reaching 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph).


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 4
Multiple groups attempted to breakaway from the peloton in the first part of the stage, but none were successful. It was not until over 2 hours into the race a group was allowed to break. The group consisted of Team Sky's Josh Edmondson, Cannondale's Matthias Krizek and CCC–Polsat–Polkowice's Mateusz Taciak. They built up an advantage over the peloton that topped four minutes.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 4
Krizek took full points at all three intermediate sprints which resulted in him taking over the navy blue jersey from the race leader Petr Vakoč, who was protected by his teammates from Omega Pharma–Quick-Step. Later, Taciak took full points on both climbs, which resulted in him taking over the fuchsia jersey from teammate Maciej Paterski.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 4
The trio were eventually caught with one lap to go, and a series of solo counterattacks took place to try and prevent a sprint finish. However, none of these were successful and the peloton prepared for a sprint finish. To the surprise of most people, it was Jonas van Genechten of Lotto–Belisol who won the sprint whilst travelling at 80.8 kilometres per hour (50.2 mph). Vakoč kept his race lead whilst Krizek moved into second place, thanks to bonus seconds earnt at the intermediate sprints.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 5
The first stage to enter the mountains was also the first time the Tour visited Slovakia. Only 20 kilometres (12 miles) of the 190 kilometres (120 miles) was held in Poland, the rest being held in the Slovakian High Tatras. On the parcours were 5 categorised climbs – a second category ascent in Huty, a third category ascent in Východná and three first category ascents in Štrbské Pleso, a climb 7.5-kilometre (4.7-mile) long averaging 5% and reaching a maximum of 5.9%. Two of the ascents were part of a 25.4-kilometre (15.8-mile) loop around Štrbské Pleso.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 5
On the last loop, the race deviated slightly for the last kilometre, climbing to an altitude of 1,313 metres (4,308 ft). There were also two intermediate sprints, located in Liptovský Mikuláš and Liptovský Hrádok, as well as a special sprint in Suchá Hora, just across the Slovakian border. This stage was expected to turn the general classification around as the sprinters were expected to lose time and be replaced in the top 10 by climbers.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 5
Unlike the previous stages, the break was formed just before reaching the Slovakian border, with eight riders making it into the breakaway. Team Poland's Paweł Bernas won the special sprint in Suchá Hora before the breakaway's lead topping four minutes. Later, Bernas also took both intermediate sprints, gaining six bonus seconds for the general classification.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 5
Former mountains classification leader Maciej Paterski of CCC–Polsat–Polkowice was in the breakaway, and he took full points at the climbs in Huty and Východná, as well as the first climb in Štrbské Pleso, in an attempt to regain the fuchsia jersey, in which he ultimately succeeded. Paterski and BMC Racing Team's Sebastian Lander attacked on the descent from the first category mountain, however they were soon caught by the rest of the breakaway which was extended to 16 riders. Christian Meier of Orica–GreenEDGE took full points at the second ascent of Štrbské Pleso before the group were caught.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 5
Multiple solo attacks were attempted on the final climb, however none of these were successful. Towards the end, leader Petr Vakoč fell out of the peloton and started to lose time. The reduced peloton was prepared for a sprint finish which, to the delight of the home fans, was won by Rafał Majka, fresh from his win in the mountains classification in the Tour de France. Due to time bonuses, Majka advanced to 2nd place, one second behind Vakoč. Beñat Intxausti finished 2nd, ahead of teammate Ion Izagirre; they also advanced to 3rd and 4th overall, 5 and 7 seconds behind Vakoč respectively.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 6
As was customary in the previous editions of the race, the queen stage of the 2014 Tour de Pologne was a circuit race around Bukowina Tatrzańska. To make up the parcours of 174 kilometres (108 miles), the peloton first completed a 5-kilometre (3.1-mile) ride to Zakopane, three 5.3-kilometre (3.3-mile) loops around Zakopane on which were two special sprints, a return 5-kilometre (3.1-mile) ride before entering a 38.4-kilometre (23.9-mile) loop to be completed four times. Each loop featured three climbs – a first category ascent to Ząb, with gradients reaching 11.5%, a first category ascent to Gliczarów Górny, with gradients reaching 21.5% and the final, uncategorised ascent to Bukowina Tatrzańska. In total, the riders completed nearly 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) of climbing during the stage.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 6
The day's breakaway was formed on the first ascent of Ząb and featured eight riders. Amongst them was Maciej Paterski of CCC–Polsat–Polkowice, who won five of the first six mountain climbs, in order to ensure a win in the fuchsia jersey. The eight riders built an advantage that reached a maximum of four minutes. However, because of the tempo set by Tinkoff–Saxo in the peloton, they were caught on the last climb of Gliczarów Górny, which offered double points for the mountains classification.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 6
Rafał Majka, who was second overall, attacked at the same time, and took a group of 10–15 riders with him. Leader Petr Vakoč fell back on the last climb to the finish, thus almost ensuring he would lose the yellow jersey. Majka attacked once again with 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) to go and ultimately won the stage, his second in a row, in order to take the yellow jersey from Vakoč. For the second day running, Beñat Intxausti finished 2nd, ahead of Ion Izagirre. The duo also rose to 2nd and 3rd in the general classification, 18 and 22 seconds behind Majka respectively, ahead of the final time trial.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 7
Like the previous year, the last stage was an intermediate time trial, starting and finishing in Kraków. For the first half of the race, the peloton headed south-east, before completing a U-turn in Wieliczka and heading north-west back to Kraków. It was expected that the general classification would be settled on this stage, however time trialists were expected to come first. As was customary of time trial stages, cyclists set off in reverse order from where they were ranked in the general classification at the end of the previous stage. Thus, Jack Bobridge of Belkin Pro Cycling, who, in 137th place, trailed overall leader Rafał Majka (Tinkoff–Saxo) by one hour, forty-four minutes and thirty-nine seconds, was the first rider to set off on the stage.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 7
Bobridge set a time of 31' 10", but that was soon to be beaten by Rick Flens, who was 12 seconds faster, before both were beaten by CCC–Polsat–Polkowice's Mateusz Taciak, with a time of 29' 57". Taciak held on for almost an hour and was beaten by Adriano Malori, who recorded 29' 21". However, it was the Belgian Time Trial National Champion Kristof Vandewalle who won the stage for Trek Factory Racing in a time of 29' 18". With the stage being decided, the focus for the stage shifted towards the battle for the general classification and the overall victory.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 7
Robert Gesink, sixth before the stage, dropped to eighth, being overtaken by Andrey Amador and Philip Deignan, who both recorded better times than Gesink. Lampre–Merida's Przemysław Niemiec, meanwhile, was 31st in the time-trial, good enough to move him to fifth – a climb from eighth. Fourth placed Christophe Riblon managed to defend his position with a time of 29' 56", the ninth-best time of the day. Out of the top three, Majka was judged to be the weakest time trialist but had a lead on 18 seconds over Beñat Intxausti and 22 seconds over Ion Izagirre.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 7
Izagirre went first and recorded a time of 29' 47", fourth on the stage and the best from any rider in the top five. Intxausti, meanwhile, only recorded 30' 05"  whilst leader Majka stopped the clock in 30' 01". Therefore, he gained four seconds over Intxausti but lost fourteen to Izagirre.


2014 Tour de Pologne, Stages, Stage 7
Still, this was good enough for him to take his first victory in a UCI World Tour race, to the delght of the home fans – he won the mountains classification in the Tour de France a mere two weeks before and was 6th in the Giro d'Italia earlier in the season. Izagirre, meanwhile, overtook his countryman Intxausti to come second, with Intxausti completing the podium.


2014 Tour de Romandie
The 2014 Tour de Romandie was the 68th running of the Tour de Romandie cycling stage race. The race consisted of six stages, beginning with a prologue stage in Ascona on 29 April and concluding with another individual time trial, in Neuchâtel, on 4 May. It was the fourteenth race of the 2014 UCI World Tour season.


2014 Tour de Romandie
In exactly the same podium positions as the 2013 edition, Great Britain's Chris Froome of Team Sky won the race for a second successive year, after winning the final time trial stage in Neuchâtel. Having trailed Team Katusha rider Simon Špilak by a single second going into the stage, Froome turned the deficit into a 28-second race-winning margin over the 18.5 km (11.5 mi) stage. Špilak finished second, having won the race's third stage – the queen stage into Aigle – by beating Froome in a two-up sprint, after the pair had attacked towards the end of the stage. The podium was completed again by Rui Costa, now riding for Lampre–Merida, who finished third for the third year in a row. Costa finished 64 seconds behind Špilak, and one minute 32 seconds behind Froome.


2014 Tour de Romandie
In the race's other classifications, the Movistar Team's Jesús Herrada was the winner of the white jersey for the young rider classification as he was the highest placed rider born in 1989 or later, finishing in ninth place overall, 16 seconds ahead of nearest rival, FDJ.fr's Thibaut Pinot. Martin Kohler of the BMC Racing Team won the green jersey for the most points gained in intermediate sprints, while the pink jersey for the King of the Mountains classification went to Johann Tschopp of IAM Cycling. The teams classification was won by the Movistar Team, after the squad placed three riders – Beñat Intxausti (sixth), Jon Izagirre (eighth) and Herrada – inside the top ten overall.


2014 Tour de Romandie, Teams
As the Tour de Romandie was a UCI World Tour event, all 18 UCI ProTeams were invited automatically and obligated to send a squad. Only IAM Cycling were awarded a wildcard place into the race, thus completing the 19-team peloton. Pre -race favourites were Chris Froome, Tejay van Garderen, Michał Kwiatkowski, Simon Špilak, Vincenzo Nibali and Rui Costa.


2014 Tour de Romandie, Stages, Stage 1
The stage was originally scheduled to be held over 203 km (126.1 mi), but was significantly shortened due to snow.


2014 Tour de Romandie, Classification leadership table
In the 2014 Tour de Romandie, four different jerseys were awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, and allowing time bonuses in mass-start stages – on a basis of ten seconds to the stage winner, six seconds for second place and four seconds for third place – the leader received a yellow jersey. This classification was considered the most important of the 2014 Tour de Romandie, and the winner of the classification was considered the winner of the race.


2014 Tour de Romandie, Classification leadership table
Additionally, there was a young rider classification, which awarded a white jersey. This was decided in the same way as the general classification, but only riders born after 1 January 1989 were eligible to be ranked in the classification. There was also a mountains classification, the leadership of which was marked by a pink jersey. In the mountains classification, points were won by reaching the top of a climb before other cyclists, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs; there were fourteen categorised climbs in the race, split into three distinctive categories.


2014 Tour de Romandie, Classification leadership table
The fourth jersey represented the sprints classification, marked by a green jersey. In the sprints classification, cyclists received points for finishing in the top 3 at intermediate sprint points during each stage, with the exception of the individual time trial stages. There was also a classification for teams, in which the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added together; the leading team at the end of the race was the team with the lowest total time.


2014 Tour de Suisse
The 2014 Tour de Suisse was the 78th running of the Tour de Suisse cycling stage race. It began on 14 June with an individual time trial in Bellinzona and ended on 22 June in Saas-Fee; in total, the race consisted of nine stages. It was the seventeenth race of the 2014 UCI World Tour season. Rui Costa won the race for the third year in a row. Tony Martin led for almost all of the race, having gained an early advantage in the opening stage time trial. However, Costa was able to gain enough time on the climb at the end of the final stage to overhaul the deficit and in doing so set a record for the most consecutive victories in the race.


2014 Tour de Suisse, Teams
As the Tour de Suisse was a UCI World Tour event, all UCI ProTeams were invited automatically and obligated to send a squad. In addition four Professional Continental teams were given wildcard places


2014 Tour de Suisse, Classification leadership table
In the 2014 Tour de Suisse, three different jerseys were awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, and the leader received a yellow jersey. This classification was considered the most important of the Tour de Suisse, and the winner of the classification was considered the winner of the race. There was also a mountains classification, the leadership of which was marked by a red jersey. In the mountains classification, points were won by reaching the top of a climb before other cyclists, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs; there were twenty-one categorised climbs in the race, split into five distinctive categories.


2014 Tour de Suisse, Classification leadership table
The third jersey represented the points classification, marked by a white-and-red jersey. In the points classification, cyclists got points for finishing highly in a stage. For stages 4, 5, 6 and 8, the win earned 25 points, second place earned 20 points, third 16, fourth 13, fifth 11, and one point fewer per place down to a single point for 15th. For all other stages, the win earned 15 points, second place earned 12 points, third 10, and one point fewer per place down to a single point for 12th.


2014 Tour de Suisse, Classification leadership table
Points could also be earned at intermediate sprints for finishing in the top 3 at intermediate sprint points during each stage on a 6–3–1 scale. There was also a classification for teams, in which the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added together; the leading team at the end of the race was the team with the lowest total time.


2014 Tour de Wallonie
The 2014 Tour de Wallonie was the 41st edition of the Tour de Wallonie cycle race and was held on 26–30 July 2014. The race started in Frasnes-lez-Anvaing and finished in Ans. The race was won by Gianni Meersman.


2014 Tour de Wallonie, Teams
Seventeen teams competed in the 2014 Tour de Wallonie. These included eleven UCI ProTeams, four UCI Professional Continental and two UCI Continental teams.


2014 Tour du Haut Var
The 2014 Tour du Haut Var was the 46th edition of the Tour du Haut Var cycle race and was held on 22–23 February 2014. The race started in Le Cannet-des-Maures and finished in Draguignan. The race was won by Carlos Betancur.


2014 Tour of Adygeya
The 2014 Tour of Adygeya is a stage race held in Russia, with a UCI rating of 2.2. It was the twelfth stage race of the 2014 Women's Elite cycling calendar.


2014 Tour of Alberta
The 2014 Tour of Alberta was the second edition of the Tour of Alberta stage race, a 2.1 race included on the UCI America Tour. As such, the race was only open to teams on the UCI Pro Tour, UCI Professional Continental and UCI Continental circuits. The race took place between September 2–7, 2014, as a six-day, six-stage race, traversing the province of Alberta. The race commenced in Calgary and finished in Edmonton.


2014 Tour of Alberta, Stages, Prologue
September 2, 2014 — Calgary to Calgary, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi)


2014 Tour of Alberta, Stages, Stage 1
September 3, 2014 — Lethbridge to Lethbridge, 143 kilometres (89 mi)


2014 Tour of Alberta, Stages, Stage 2
September 4, 2014 — Innisfail to Red Deer, 145.3 kilometres (90.3 mi)


2014 Tour of Alberta, Stages, Stage 3
September 5, 2014 — Wetaskiwin to Edmonton, 157.9 kilometres (98.1 mi)


2014 Tour of Alberta, Stages, Stage 4
September 6, 2014 — Edmonton to Strathcona County, 163.5 kilometres (101.6 mi)


2014 Tour of Alberta, Stages, Stage 5
September 7, 2014 — Edmonton to Edmonton, 124.1 kilometres (77.1 mi)


2014 Tour of Austria
The 2014 Tour of Austria (German: 2014 Internationale Österreich Rundfahrt) was the 66th edition of the Tour of Austria, an annual bicycle race. Departing from Tulln on July 6, concluded in Vienna on July 13. The 1,216.5-kilometre (755.9-mile) long stage race is part of the 2014 UCI Europe Tour, and is rated as a 2.HC event.


2014 Tour of Austria, Teams
19 teams were invited to participate in the tour: 10 UCI ProTeams, 3 UCI Professional Continental Teams and 6 UCI Continental Teams.


2014 Tour of Austria, Stages, Stage 1
6 July 2014 – Tulln to Sonntagberg, 182 km (113 mi)


2014 Tour of Austria, Stages, Stage 2
7 July 2014 – Waidhofen an der Ybbs to Bad Ischl, 180.9 km (112.4 mi)


2014 Tour of Austria, Stages, Stage 3
8 July 2014 – Bad Ischl to Kitzbüheler Horn, 206 km (128 mi)


2014 Tour of Austria, Stages, Stage 4
9 July 2014 – Kitzbühel to Matrei in Osttirol, 171.9 km (106.8 mi)


2014 Tour of Austria, Stages, Stage 5
10 July 2014 – Matrei in Osttirol to Sankt Johann im Pongau, 146.4 km (91.0 mi)


2014 Tour of Austria, Stages, Stage 6
11 July 2014 – Sankt Johann im Pongau to Villach, 182.4 km (113.3 mi)


2014 Tour of Austria, Stages, Stage 7
12 July 2014 – Podersdorf am See to Podersdorf am See, 24.1 km (15.0 mi), individual time trial (ITT)


2014 Tour of Austria, Stages, Stage 8
13 July 2014 – Podersdorf am See to Vienna, 122.8 km (76.3 mi)


2014 Tour of Beijing
The 2014 Tour of Beijing was the fourth and final running of the Tour of Beijing stage race. It started on 10 October in Hebei's Chongli County and ended on 14 October at the Bird’s Nest Piazza after five stages. It was the 29th and final race of the 2014 UCI World Tour season.


2014 Tour of Beijing
At the 2014 UCI Road World Championships in September, cycling's governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), decided that its race-organising subsidiary, Global Cycling Promotion, would not continue to organise the Tour of Beijing; the 2014 edition would be the final edition. UCI President Brian Cookson had criticised the subsidiary body during his election campaign, and the Tour of Beijing was not seen as being well-liked by cyclists.


2014 Tour of Beijing
According to Cycling Weekly, "Dull routes and an absence of roadside spectators meant the race failed to exhibit much of an atmosphere, and its position at the very end of the calendar made it even less appealing – a long flight eastwards after a whole season’s racing is a very tough sell to exhausted cyclists dreaming of the winter off."


2014 Tour of Beijing
Some issues presented themselves before and during the race. On September 10 it emerged that Valentin Iglinsky of Astana Pro Team had returned a positive test for EPO at the Eneco Tour. He confessed to doping to the team and was immediately sacked, three weeks later Valentin's brother, Maxim Iglinsky was provisionally suspended by the UCI for an EPO positive on August 1.


2014 Tour of Beijing
It was later announced that Astana withdrew themselves from the Tour of Beijing in line with the Mouvement pour un cyclisme crédible rules, which state that a team with two positives in a short period of time must not participate in the next World Tour event. There was also the prospect of two Grand Tour winners - Alberto Contador and Alejandro Valverde attending the race with serious winning intentions - with Contador bidding to overhaul his fellow Spaniard Valverde's lead at the top of the overall points standings of the World Tour.


2014 Tour of Beijing
However, the combination of Valverde's success and Contador's injury at the Giro di Lombardia, the previous race on the calendar, meant that in the end neither cyclist attended the Tour of Beijing. During the race, Beijing was hit with particularly strong pollution problems, and after complaints from cyclists, stage 2 of the Tour was shortened.


2014 Tour of Beijing, Participating teams
As the Tour of Beijing is a UCI World Tour event, all eighteen UCI ProTeams were invited automatically and obligated to send a squad. Because of Astana's self-suspension (see above), only seventeen teams were able to attend. With Astana's absence, Vacansoleil-DCM folding at the end of the previous season, and no wild-card team invited, this represented a big decrease from the 20 teams of the 2013 Tour of Beijing.


2014 Tour of Belgium
The 2014 Tour of Belgium was the 84th edition of the Tour of Belgium cycling stage race. It took place from 28 May to 1 June 2014 in Belgium, and was a part of the 2014 UCI Europe Tour.


2014 Tour of Belgium, Teams
20 teams were invited to the 2014 Tour of Belgium: 6 UCI ProTeams, 7 UCI Professional Continental Teams and 7 UCI Continental Teams.


2014 Tour of Britain
The 2014 Friends Life Tour of Britain was an eight-stage men's professional road cycling race. It was the eleventh running of the 2004 incarnation of the Tour of Britain and the 75th British tour in total. The race started on 7 September in Liverpool, finishing on 14 September in London. The race was part of the 2014 UCI Europe Tour, and was categorised by the UCI as a 2.HC race, for the first time.


2014 Tour of Britain, Teams
The twenty teams invited to participate in the Tour of Britain were:


2014 Tour of Britain, Stages
There were 8 stages in the 2014 race. Notable stages were Stage 3, which featured a summit finish, and Stage 5, a hilly stage to Exeter.


2014 Tour of Britain, Stages, Stage 1
7 September 2014 — Liverpool to Liverpool, 104.8 kilometres (65.1 mi)


2014 Tour of Britain, Stages, Stage 2
8 September 2014 — Knowsley to Llandudno, 200.8 kilometres (124.8 mi)


2014 Tour of Britain, Stages, Stage 3
9 September 2014 — Newtown to The Tumble, 179.9 kilometres (111.8 mi)


2014 Tour of Britain, Stages, Stage 4
10 September 2014 — Worcester to Bristol, 184.6 kilometres (114.7 mi)


2014 Tour of Britain, Stages, Stage 5
11 September 2014 — Exmouth to Exeter, 177.3 kilometres (110.2 mi)


2014 Tour of Britain, Stages, Stage 6
12 September 2014 — Bath to Hemel Hempstead, 205.6 kilometres (127.8 mi)


2014 Tour of Britain, Stages, Stage 7
13 September 2014 — Camberley to Brighton, 225.1 kilometres (139.9 mi)


2014 Tour of Britain, Stages, Stage 8a
14 September 2014 — London to London, 8.8 kilometres (5.5 mi)


2014 Tour of Britain, Stages, Stage 8b
14 September 2014 — London to London, 88.8 kilometres (55.2 mi)


2014 Tour of California
The 2014 Amgen Tour of California was the ninth running of the Tour of California cycling stage race. It was held from May 11–18, and rated as a 2.HC event on the UCI America Tour. It began in Sacramento and finished in Thousand Oaks.


2014 Tour of California, Participating teams
Sixteen teams participated in the 2014 Tour of California, including nine UCI World Tour teams, three UCI Professional Continental teams, and four UCI Continental teams. They are:


2014 Tour of California, Participating teams
The winner of the 2013 race, Tejay van Garderen, did not participate in this edition as he was preparing to ride the Tour de France. The main favorite for the overall classification is Bradley Wiggins. Other riders competing in the race are Taylor Phinney, Thor Hushovd, Janier Acevedo, Tom Boonen, Mark Cavendish, Jens Voigt, Adam Yates and Peter Sagan.


2014 Tour of California, Classification leadership table
In the 2014 Tour of California, 5 jerseys are awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding the finishing times of the stages per cyclist, the leader receives a yellow jersey. This classification is considered the most important of the Tour of California, and the winner of the general classification will be considered the winner of the Tour of California.


2014 Tour of California, Classification leadership table
Additionally, there is also a sprints classification, akin to what is called the points classification in other races, which awards a green jersey. In the sprints classification, cyclists receive points for finishing in the top 15 in a stage. In addition, some points can be won in intermediate sprints.


2014 Tour of California, Classification leadership table
There is also a mountains classification, which awards a Polka dots jersey. In the mountains classifications, points are won by reaching the top of a mountain before other cyclists. Each climb is categorized, either first, second, third, or fourth category, with more points available for the harder climbs.


2014 Tour of California, Classification leadership table
There is also a youth classification. This classification is calculated the same way as the general classification, but only young cyclists (under 23) are included. The leader of the young rider classification receives a white and green jersey.


2014 Tour of California, Classification leadership table
The last jersey is awarded to the most combative rider of a stage for him to wear on the next stage. It is generally awarded to a rider who attacks constantly or spends a lot of time in the breakaways. This jersey is blue, white and yellow.


2014 Tour of California, Classification leadership table
There is also a classification for teams. In this classification, the times of the best three cyclists per stage are added, and the team with the lowest time is the leader.


2014 Tour of Chongming Island
The 2014 Tour of Chongming Island is a stage race held in China, with a UCI rating of 2.1. It was the tenth stage race of the 2014 Women's Elite cycling calendar.


2014 Tour of Chongming Island World Cup
The 2014 Tour of Chongming Island World Cup was a women's bicycle race in China. It was the fifth race of the 2014 UCI Women's Road World Cup season and was held on 18 May 2014 over a distance of 130 kilometres (80.8 miles), starting and finishing in Chongming.


2014 Tour of Chongming Island World Cup, World Cup standings
Standings after 5 of 9 2014 UCI Women's Road World Cup races.


2014 Tour of Flanders
The 2014 Tour of Flanders was the 98th edition of the Tour of Flanders single-day Monument classics. It was held on 6 April 2014 over a distance of 259 kilometres (160.9 miles) from Bruges to Oudenaarde. In a four-rider sprint finish, Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara won the race for a record-equalling third time – and for the second year in succession – ahead of Belgian trio Greg Van Avermaet, Sep Vanmarcke and Stijn Vandenbergh.


2014 Tour of Flanders, Route
First lap of the circuit (red) and transition to the second lap (green).


2014 Tour of Flanders, Teams
As the Tour of Flanders was a UCI World Tour event, all 18 UCI ProTeams were invited automatically and obligated to send a squad. Seven other squads were given wildcard places, thus completing the 25-team peloton.


2014 Tour of Flanders for Women
The 2014 Tour of Flanders for Women was the 11th running of the women's Tour of Flanders for Women, a women's bicycle race in Belgium. It was the third race of the 2014 UCI Women's Road World Cup season and was held on 6 April 2014 over a distance of 139 kilometres (86.4 miles), starting and finishing in Oudenaarde.


2014 Tour of Flanders for Women
With about 27 km to go Ellen van Dijk attacked on the Kruisberg and built an advantage of more than a minute by the time she finished. A number of riders tried to catch her, including Tiffany Cromwell (Specialized-Lululemon) and compatriot Lucinda Brand (Rabo Liv). Behind Van Dijk her Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team mate Lizzie Armitstead won the sprint of the chasing group ahead of Emma Johansson.


2014 Tour of Flanders for Women, Race report
Although there were a number of attacks during the 139.6 km race, the women's field stayed largely together, at least at the front of the race. The first hour saw numerous crashes, sending riders such as Amanda Spratt (Orica-AIS) and Rikke Lønne of Team Rytger to the hospital as rain and nerves made the racing dangerous. Gracie Elvin (Orica-AIS) and Valentina Carretta (Alé-Cipollini) had a go, but could not gain even half a minute on the field, and while Carretta tried again with Lucinda Brand (Rabo-Liv), as the race hit the critical final kilometers the peloton was still intact.


2014 Tour of Flanders for Women, Race report
The decisive moment came when Ellen van Dijk attacked with 27 kilometres to go, just before Kruisberg. She used her time trialling skills to keep the chasers at bay. Specialized-Lululemon's Tiffany Cromwell tried to go across, but was caught by the chase on the Oude Kwaremont. With only one climb to go, the Paterberg, Van Dijk's lead grew to 38 seconds. As Van Dijk continued to build her lead, Emma Johansson, Elisa Longo Borghini and Van Dijk's teammate Lizzie Armitstead, left the field behind but were never able to close on the powerful Dutch rider.