MENDE, France - Sky teammates Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome remained 1-2 in the Tour de France after the hilly 14th stage as an anticipated shakeup in the overall standings didn’t come to fruition on Saturday.
Spanish rider Omar Fraile won the stage in the Massif Central by bursting from a group of breakaway riders on the finishing climb.
Fourth-placed Primoz Roglic was the only overall contender to gain time, finishing eight seconds ahead of Thomas, Froome, and third-placed Tom Dumoulin - with all four riders finishing more than 18 minutes behind Fraile, who remained far back in the standings.
Thomas leads four-time champion Froome by 1 minute, 39 seconds. Dumoulin is third, 1:50 behind, and Roglic is fourth, 2:38 back.
Fraile had time to celebrate before crossing the line, finishing six seconds ahead of Julian Alaphilippe, the Frenchman wearing the polka-dot jersey awarded to the Tour’s best climber.
Jasper Stuyven of Belgium finished third, also six seconds back, and three-time world champion Peter Sagan came fourth.
It was the first career victory at the Tour for Fraile, who rides for the Astana team.
The hilly 188-kilometer (117-mile) route from Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux to Mende in southern France passed through the Ardeche gorges, home to cave paintings dating back some 36,000 years.
Stage 15 on Sunday from Millau to Carcassonne is another hilly leg before the race’s second rest day on Monday. Then come the Pyrenees and a possibly decisive individual time trial in the penultimate stage before the traditional finish in Paris next weekend.
