Spaniard Fraile claims his maiden Tour de France win on stage 14

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Spaniard Omar Fraile ended Belgian hopes of a Tour de France victory with a gutsy, maiden win on the 14th stage race on Saturday.

Britain's Geraint Thomas, of Team Sky, retained the race leader's yellow jersey after crossing the line with teammate Chris Froome and Dutch rival Tom Dumoulin just over 18 minutes in arrears.

Froome, the four-time champion, remains one min 39 sec behind with Dumoulin, arguably Team Sky's biggest threat over the final stages, at 1:50.

"I felt good today. Obviously, it was tough, but it was pretty good," said Thomas. "I think we can be satisfied with our run."

With four days of climbing in the Pyrenees yet to decide the outcome of the yellow jersey, the main peloton and all the race favorites were happy to allow an early breakaway escape in the opening kilometers.

"It was one of the stages I had marked, and when I saw the breakaway go, I told myself that I had to get in it," said Astana rider Fraile, who claimed his maiden Giro d'Italia stage last year following a long breakaway.

"It's a dream. Soloing over the finish line was incredible. I think when a cyclist wins on the Tour de France it's fabulous. It's the most important race in the world."

Belgian Jasper Stuyven was part of a great escape on stage 14 but failed to take his later solo effort all the way.

When Stuyven capitalized on a mid-race spat between Gilbert and Fraile to break away on his own with over 30km to race, it looked like Belgium would have reason to celebrate.

But Stuyven, a one-day classics specialist who finished in the top ten of Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders earlier this season, fell victim to his lack of climbing prowess.

He held a 1-minute 40 second lead on a group of chasers with 10km to race, with the main peloton and Thomas at over 20 minutes in arrears.

But on the final, 3km climb leading to the flat finish at Mende Fraile launched an audacious counter-attack.

"Afterwards you can always say it was too early, this and that, but it was a big group with some strong climbers, and I had to go before and not wait until they ripped it apart," said Stuyven.

"I played, I went all-in, and I lost."

The 15th stage on Sunday is a 181.5 km trek from Millau, site of the world-famous Millau viaduct, to the medieval town of Carcassonne.

It includes three categorized climbs, including the 12.3 km-long Pic de Nore, whose summit is 40 km from the downhill finish line.

Source(s): AFP