AX-3 DOMAINES, France — With the Pyrenees all too ready to punish riders, overall leader Andy Schleck and defending champion Alberto Contador sized each other up, matching wits and pedal strokes in a high-altitude waiting game at the Tour de France.
Sunday’s victory belonged to Christophe Rib-lon, a relatively unknown Frenchman who won a stage in cycling’s showcase race for the first time.
Riblon, who rides for AG2R, was spurred by a French crowd that has little to celebrate at the Tour in recent years.
“If you’d asked me about today, I wouldn’t have bet one euro on me,” he said. “What I have done today is very important, for me and my team.”
Schleck leads Contador, his closest rival, by 31 seconds. Both arrived with the same time, more than a minute behind Riblon. They lost a few seconds to the next closest contenders, Samuel Sanchez of Spain and Denis Menchov of Russia, but were not unhappy.
“I couldn’t pass him; I had to stay in his wheel,” Schleck said. “I have often enough made the mistake where he attacked and dropped me because I passed him. I learn from my mistakes. But it will be a totally different scenario tomorrow.”
At a glance
A brief look at Sunday’s 14th stage of the Tour de France:
Stage: Riders went on a 114.7-mile trek from Revel to the ski resort of Ax-3 Domaines that included a major climb and an uphill finish.
Winner: Christophe Riblon of France took a solo victory after dropping all the members of his breakaway group. He finished in 4 hours, 52 minutes, 42 seconds — 54 seconds ahead of Denis Menchov of Russia and Samuel Sanchez of Spain.
Yellow jersey: Andy Schleck of Luxembourg kept the overall lead.
Next stage: A 116.5-mile ride from Pamiers to Bagneres-de-Luchon.
How Lance Armstrong did: He finished 70th and fell to 38th overall in the standings.
How Garmin-Transitions did: Boulder-based team had one rider in the top 50. Ryder Hesjedal, who finished 12th, is 13th overall, 7:17 behind the leader. David Zabriskie was 87th.
