2014 Tour de France
The 2014 Tour de France was the 101st edition of the race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The 3,660.5-kilometre (2,274.5 mi) race included 21 stages, starting in Leeds, Yorkshire, United Kingdom, on 5 July and finishing on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 27 July. The race also visited Belgium for part of a stage. Vincenzo Nibali of the Astana team won the overall general classification by more than seven minutes, the biggest winning margin since 1997. By winning, he had acquired victories in all Grand Tours. Jean-Christophe Péraud (Ag2r–La Mondiale) placed second, with Thibaut Pinot (FDJ.fr) third.
| 2014 UCI World Tour, race 18 of 29 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Route of the 2014 Tour de France | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | 5–27 July 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 3,660.5 km (2,275 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 89h 59' 06" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Marcel Kittel of Giant–Shimano was the first rider to wear the general classification leader's yellow jersey after winning stage one. He lost the following day to stage winner Nibali as the race reached the mountains. Nibali held the race lead until the end of the ninth stage, when it was taken by Lotto–Belisol's Tony Gallopin. The yellow jersey returned to Nibali the following stage, and he held it until the conclusion of the race.
The points classification was decided early in the race and was won by Cannondale's Peter Sagan. Rafał Majka of Tinkoff–Saxo, winner of two mountain stages, won the mountains classification. Pinot finished as the best young rider. The team classification was won by Ag2r–La Mondiale and Alessandro De Marchi (Cannondale) was given the award for the most combative rider. Kittel and Nibali won the most stages, with four each.
Following criticism by the professional women's peloton and campaign groups like Le Tour Entier regarding the lack of a women's Tour de France, a one day women's race - La Course by Le Tour de France - was held on the Champs-Élysées, prior to the last stage of the Tour.