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Soren Kragh Andersen took a surprise victory on stage 14 of the Tour de France to cap off a sublime tactical journey for Team Sunweb.
The Dane attacked three kilometers from the finish in a frenzied final and stayed away to claim his first stage victory.
Primoz Roglic maintained his 44-second lead in the yellow jersey.
Peter Sagan finished fourth at Lyon to trim Sam Bennett’s green jersey lead to 43 points after Sagan’s Bora-Hansgrohe team defeated the Irishman earlier.
Luka Mezgec finished second, with Simone Conssoni third, as the peloton finished 15 seconds behind Kragh Andersen.
“I’m very excited. I’ve dreamed of this, but it’s hard to say you’re good enough until you do. I’m in awe,” Kragh Andersen said.
“I had great legs all day, but you never know how good the other guys are. It took me a long time on the Tour to gain confidence in myself, but I knew that if I was suffering, they were suffering.”
With two short but strong climbs at the end of the 194km stage from Clermont-Ferrand, Sunweb played his cards to perfection to beat the favorites for victory.
Tiesj Benoot attacked over the top of the first climb, forcing Sagan’s teammate Lennard Kamna to chase after him before Kamna got a lead of his own but also staggered back.
Julian Alaphilippe tried to clear away in search of his second career victory but was tagged by Sunweb’s Marc Hirschi, who then attacked himself.
The kick from stage 12 winner Hirschi forced Sagan to do the chase and as soon as the group came back together Kragh Andersen was gone and could not be caught, with his teammates working to avoid counterattacks.
Sunweb initially sent two horsemen down the road to join Stefan Kung and Edward Theuns’ early escape, but realized that a group of four men would not keep their distance and adjusted his plans magnificently.
Bora-Hansgrohe also had a good race, with Sagan using the first climb of the day to escape and regain four points over Irishman Bennett in the intermediate sprint before his team managed to knock Bennett down on the second climb.
Bennett bravely tried to close the gap, but sat down with 115km to go and rolled nearly 20 minutes down.
Seven-time green jersey winner Sagan ultimately only won 23 points over Bennett and will have to continue to seize opportunities in mountainous terrain, with Bennett consistently quicker in the sprint.
It was a relatively uneventful day for the overall classification, save for a late attack by defending Ineos Grenadiers champion Egan Bernal, who lost 38 seconds to Roglic on stage 13, which was quickly closed.
Sunday’s 174.5km stage is crucial for overall contenders as it features three major climbs, including a summit finish to Grand Colombier.
Frenchman Romain Bardet did not start stage 14 after dropping out of the race on Friday night due to a concussion and said on Saturday that an MRI had revealed a small hemorrhage.
The AG2R La Mondiale rider crashed heavily on stage 13 and appeared to fall as he tried to get to his feet before resuming and struggling on the last two climbs as he went from fourth to eleventh overall.
Result of stage 14
1. Soren Kragh Andersen (Den / Team Sunweb) 4 hours 28 minutes 10 seconds
2. Luka Mezgec (Slo / Mitchelton-Scott) + 15 seconds
3. Simone Consonni (Ita / Cofidis) Same time
4. Peter Sagan (Svk / Bora-Hansgrohe)
Casper Pedersen (Den / Team Sunweb)
6. Jasper Stuyven (Bel / Trek-Segafredo)
7. Matteo Trentin (Ita / CCC Team)
8. Oliver Naesen (Bel / AG2R La Mondiale)
9. Sonny Colbrelli (Ita / Bahrain McLaren)
Marc Hirschi (Swi / Team Sunweb)
General classification after stage 14
1. Primoz Roglic (Slo / Jumbo-Visma) 61 hours 03 minutes 00 seconds
2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo / UAE Team Emirates) + 44 seconds
3. Egan Bernal (Col / Ineos Grenadiers) + 59 seconds
4. Rigoberto Uran (Col / EF Pro Cycling) + 1 min 10 s
5. Nairo Quintana (Col / Arkea-Samsic) + 1min 12secs
6. Miguel Angel Lopez (Col / Astana) + 1min 31secs
7. Adam Yates (GB / Mitchelton-Scott) + 1 minute 42 seconds
8. Mikel Landa (Spa / Bahrain McLaren) + 1min 55secs
9. Richie Porte (Aus / Trek-Segafredo) + 2 minutes 06 seconds
10. Enric Mas (Spa / Movistar) + 2min 54secs
