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Froome hoping to play it safe on 14th tour stage

Saturday's 14th stage of the Tour de France, the last before the much anticipated ride to the legendary Mont Ventoux, sees the race return to Lyon for the first time in a decade.

Froome hoping to play it safe on 14th tour stage
Photo: Pascal Guyot/AFP

After a week that was tailor-made for the sprinters and time-triallists, the 191-kilometre ride from the small town of Saint-Pourcain-sur-Sioule — welcoming the Tour for the first time — features a whole host of climbs that should open up the stage to a 'puncheur'.

There will be seven ascents altogether, two of them category three climbs, including the 6.3km long Col du Pilon.

In addition, the category four climb of the Croix-Rousse, in Lyon itself, comes just 10km from the finish.

It could be a day for the hosts to break their duck and record a first stage win in this year's race, particularly if Thomas Voeckler is in the mood, although it may also prove an opportunity for Peter Sagan to reinforce his lead in the race for the green jersey after Mark Cavendish won Friday's stage 13.

Meanwhile, overall race leader Chris Froome will be hoping for a trouble-free day after losing 1min 9sec on Bauke Mollema and Alberto Contador in the general classification on Friday.

When the Tour last visited Lyon, on the banks of the River Rhone, in 2003, Italy's Alessandro Petacchi triumphed in a sprint finish.

France's third-largest city has hosted the Tour 16 times before, including the finish to the first ever stage in 1903, when Maurice Garin triumphed on his way to becoming the first overall Tour victor.

Saturday's stage begins at 10.40 and is due to finish just before 3.30pm.

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CYCLING

Swiss rider dies after fall into ravine on Tour of Switzerland

Swiss rider Gino Maeder has died from the injuries he sustained when he plunged into a ravine during a stage of the Tour of Switzerland, his team Bahrain-Victorious said on Friday.

Swiss rider dies after fall into ravine on Tour of Switzerland

Maeder, 26, fell during a high-speed descent on the fifth stage between Fiesch and La Punt on Thursday, after an exhausting day marked by three ascents over 2,000 metres altitude.

He had been found “lifeless in the water” of a ravine below the road, “immediately resuscitated then transported to the hospital in Chur by air”, organisers said.

But the next day, “Gino lost his battle to recover from the serious injuries he sustained,” Bahrain-Victorious said in a statement.

“It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we must announce the passing of Gino Mäder,” his team wrote in a statement.

“On Friday June 16th, following a very serious fall during the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse, Gino lost his fight to recover from the serious injuries he had suffered. Our entire team is devastated by this tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayers are with Gino’s family and loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.”

“Despite the best efforts of the phenomenal staff at Chur hospital, Gino couldn’t make it through this, his final and biggest challenge, and at 11:30am we said goodbye to one of the shining lights of our team,” the team said in a statement.

Maeder had enjoyed a strong start to the season, finishing fifth in the Paris-Nice race.

American rider Magnus Sheffield also fell on the same descent from Albula, during the most difficult stage of the race with multiple climbs. The Ineos-Grenadiers rider was hospitalised with “bruises and concussion,” organisers said.

On Thursday, world champion Remco Evenepoel criticised the decision to compete on such a dangerous road.

“While a summit finish would have been perfectly possible, it wasn’t a good decision to let us finish down this dangerous descent,” the Belgian wrote on Twitter.

“As riders, we should also think about the risks we take going down a mountain.”

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