Racewatch: Tour stage 14

Stage 14: Lodeve to Mont Ventoux - 221km.

Stage 14 guide

Overall standings

Photo Gallery: Pictures from stage 14

All the action as Richard Virenque rides to victory on the toughest climb of the Tour de France - Mont Ventoux.

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1610: Beloki comes across the line 4m05s after Virenque and has lost a lot of time to Armstrong as a result.

1608: Botcharov comes over in second place two minutes down. Armstrong finishes 2m18s behind the stage winner. And he will stretch his overall lead still further now.

1606: And Virenque takes victory on stage 14 of the Tour de France.

1605: A grin comes onto Virenque's face in the final stages and he starts to lap up the cheers from the crowd.

1604: This is breathtaking stuff by Virenque. He will be greeted by thousands of fans on the mountain top.

1603: Virenque is looking in pain now and is slowing. He is still 1m50s ahead of Botcharov, 2m25s ahead of Serpellini and three minutes in front of Arrmstrong.

1602: Virenque can see the summit of Mont Ventoux in the distance now. But Joseba Beloki looks in trouble now.

1600: Virenque has passed the 2km to go barrier. Armstrong follows 3m20s further down the mountain.

1558: This really is a superb display of climbing by Virenque.

1556: Basso and Mancebo have caught Beloki and are riding with him now to limit their losses. Meanwhile Virenque is 3m40s ahead of Armstrong.

1553: Virenque is riding out of the saddle now while Armstrong looks calmer and more calculated in the saddle. The Frenchman should have enough to hold on for the stage victory but the worst part of the climb still remains.

1549: Armstrong is riding to rapturous applause which is only exceeded by the adulation for race leader Virenque.

  Stage positions at 1549

Leader: Virenque

Botcharov (+0:25)

Armstrong (+4:13)

Beloki (+4:23)

1546: Beloki has attacked but Armstrong matches him and then promptly storms past him. He is looking ominously strong.

1543: Virenque is looking in good shape for the stage win. There are just 7.5km remaining and his lead is at 25 seconds to Botcharov and a further four minutes to the likes of Beloki and Armstrong.

1539: Santiago Botero is among those to have cracked. He looks seriously pained now.

1537: Armstrong is stranded in his group. Heras appears to have cracked and the Texan is now sandwiched between two ONCE riders. Virenque is in electric form and pulls a sudden 25-second gap between him and Botcharov with 9km left.

1532: Armstrong's group are lifting the pace and are just five minutes behind. There are a string of riders between them and the leaders.

  Stage positions at 1532

Leaders: Virenque, Botcharov

Armstrong, Beloki, Heras, Botero, Rumsas, Rubiera, Mancebo, Basso (+5:22)

1528: Botcharov and Virenque are the sole leaders on the road as the duo up their pace with 12km left. They drop both Serpellini and Pradera.

1524: Baranowski has been dropped by the leaders. Virenque is leading the pacesetting. Tyler Hamilton is another big name slumping and is left by Armstrong and his US Postal team-mates.

1519: Moreni has fallen out of the leading group of six with 15km remaining. Dario Frigo, Christophe Moreau, David Millar and George Hincapie are among the big names struggling on the road. They have slipped out of the group containing Armstrong.

Millar achieves Tour goal

1515: The five leaders' advantage is falling all the time and is down to seven minutes. That has split the main peloton with Lance Armstrong among 40 riders looking strong.

1512: Moreni breaks away and takes Virenque, Serpellini, Pradera, Baranowski and Hushovd with him.

1504: The final climb has started. The 11-man breakaway, led by Richard Virenque, is eight minutes clear. Morin has not rejoined them.

  Stage positions at 1504

Leaders: Pradera, Hushovd, Virenque, Velo, Baranowski, Serpellini, Botcharov, Moreni, Auge, Edaleine

Armstrong and peloton (+7:50)

1456: Ventoux is looming large now. The racers have just five kilometres before it starts. Morin has another toilet break and drops off the breakaway.

1445: There are just 10km to go before the bottom of Mont Ventoux and the leaders' gap has dropped to under nine minutes.

1435: The CSC-Tiscali riders have swamped the front of the chasing pack on behalf of their team leaders - Laurent Jalabert, Carlos Sastre and Tyler Hamilton.

1424: Morin, one of the stage leaders, has stepped off his bike for a toilet break. But he returns to his saddle in no time.

1417: The 11-man breakaway is reunited, leaving Virenque fuming at Botcharov and Hushovd for not helping.

1415: Virenque, Botcharov and Hushovd have bolted away from their fellow attackers.

1410: Thor Hushovd wins the next intermediate sprint. He is swiftly followed by Stephane Auge and Cristian Moreni in second and third respectively. The 11-man break is still going strong 10 minutes ahead.

1400: Nicolas Vogondy has punctured but a quick tyre change sees him back in the thick of the action in no time at all.

1350: Brad McGee could find it tough on the climb. He is slipping off the peloton, still feeling the effects of a bad accident on an earlier stage.

1347: Pradera, Hushovd, Morin, Virenque, Velo, Baranowski, Serpellini, Botcharov, Moreni, Auge and Edaleine will have a clear lead when Ventoux arrives in 50km. But their lead has finally gone below the 11-minute mark.

1335: CSC-Tiscali are now working on behalf of Laurent Jalabert. Jalabert has a massive lead in the King of the Mountains competition but Virenque is a major threat to that.

  Stage positions at 1335

Leaders: Pradera, Hushovd, Morin, Virenque, Velo, Baranowski, Serpellini, Botcharov, Moreni, Auge, Edaleine

Armstrong and peloton (+11:18)

1331: Richard Virenque will not be allowed to keep his massive advantage on the road over the Tour leaders. He is 15m44s off Armstrong's overall lead.

1310: The organisers are taking special precautions for Mont Ventoux. There are seven cars with doctors and medical equipment on hand throughout the day.

1306: The chase from the peloton has finally stepped up a notch with US Postal joined at the front by ONCE and Rabobank.

1257: Virenque, one of the leaders on the road, has cracked Ventoux before. When the Tour passed over it two years ago he finished seventh, a minute behind stage winner Marco Pantani.

Richard Virenque profile

1245: There are still another 117km remaining of Sunday's stage. Richard Virenque and the rest of the 11-man breakaway are working well up front but their lead has been cut marginally.

1234: Lance Armstrong and his US Postal team-mates have taken up their customary position at the front of the peloton but they are not particularly concerned with taking up the chase.

Armstrong remains in yellow

1202: Anthony Morin wins the intermediate sprint after 71.5km, Christophe Edaleine is second and Thor Hushovd passes the line in third.

1151: Casar and Pineau have given up trying to reel in the leaders and are drifting back to the main field.

1134: The peloton will pass the spot later today where Tom Simpson died during the 1967 Tour. There is a memorial to the British cyclist at the point where he collapsed.

1112: The 11-man breakaway is 1m08s seconds ahead of a chasing duo of Jerome Pineau and Sandy Casar and 2m15s clear of the peloton.

1100: There is a lot of battling for position already and after a string of breaks Botcharov, Moreni, Pradera, Velo, Hushovd, Morin, Virenque, Baranowski, Serpellini, Auge and Edaleine lead by 11 seconds.