Thibaut Pinot of France and Team Groupama-FDJ celebrates after winning the 14th stage of Tour de France, July 20, 2019. /VCG Photo
Defending champion Geraint Thomas admitted he felt "quite weak" as he lost further ground on race leader Julian Alaphilippe and other top contenders in the first big mountain test of the Tour de France on Saturday.
The Briton lost contact with the front-runners in the final kilometer of the ascent to the Col du Tourmalet, a 19km climb at an average gradient of 7.4 percent, ending 2,115 meters above sea level.
Surging from the mist, 29-year-old Thibaut Pinot jumped away from a small group 200 meters from the line to beat yellow jersey holder Alaphilippe and third-placed Steven Kruijswijk of the Netherlands by six seconds.
The peloton, with Deceuninck-Quick Step rider Julian Alaphilippe of France wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, in action during Tour de France stage 14, July 20, 2019. /VCG Photo
"It was a tough day out there. There's still a lot more to come and hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow," said Thomas.
His team Ineos remain winless on the Tour this year but Thomas refused to get frustrated.
"At the end I just knew I had to try to pace it. I didn't really attempt to follow when they kicked," he explained.
For his part, Pinot said, "I really wanted to win that stage, I had marked it down. There were delirious scenes of fans cheering us on, I had goosebumps and I needed the taste of victory."
Yellow jersey Julian Alaphilippe of France and Team Deceuninck-Quick-Step during the 14th stage of Tour de France, July 20, 2019. /VCG Photo
Meanwhile, several top guns failed that same test spectacularly, with Briton Adam Yates finishing 6:42 off the pace and Colombian Nairo Quintana, a two-time Tour runner-up, ending up 3:24 behind Pinot.
Sunday's 15th stage is a 185km ride from Limoux, ending with a grueling ascent up to Prat d'Albis.
(With input from AFP and Reuters)