Steve Cummings, 34, got the first stage win of his career and first of the 2015 Tour de France for MTN-Qhubeka with a powerful move past Frenchmen Romain Bardet and Thibaut Pinot on the one-kilometer flat stretch just atop the devilishly steep the Côte de la Croix Neuve. All three riders were part of a strong chase five minutes ahead of the peloton.
Cummings spoiled what should have been a face-saving day for France. Bardet attacked almost immediately at the start of three-kilometer climb up to Mende. He quickly caught two breakaway riders as he tried to take the incline solo. Pinot gradually closed the gap, however, and passed Simon Yates and Rigoberto Uran, who were much quicker to react to Bardet.
It appeared to be a France v. France dogfight for the line, but Cummings snuck up on the duo and took them on the flat. Pinot and Bardet finished third and sixth overall, respectively, last year at the Tour de France, but have been non-starters this year, currently ranked 17th and 12th, respectively.
Chris Froome extended his yellow jersey lead by 18 seconds on the day after he once again weathered assaults from his rivals then dominated when he took his turn. Nairo Quintana tried to leave Froome late in the climb, but Froome stuck to Quintana's wheel then flipped the table and ended up taking second ahead of the Colombian rider.
Tejay Van Garderen fell to third place overall because of the climb, losing 40 seconds to Froome and 39 seconds to Quintana. The American didn't have the legs to punch his way up the more than 10-percent gradient of the final hill and suffered a bit. The time lost wasn't disastrous, however. He's still on the podium with longer, gentler-sloping Alpine climbs forthcoming.
Peter Sagan likely wrapped up an green jersey tension for good, taking the intermediate sprint easily before finishing fifth overall on the stage. There was no change in the polka dot jersey standings, except for a three-point bonus to Bardet for topping the final climb in first place.
Stage 14 results
| Name | Team | Time | Gap |
| Steve Cummings | MTN-Qhubeka | 4:23:43 | |
| Thibaut Pinot | FDJ | 4:23:45 | :02 |
| Romain Bardet | AG2R La Mondiale | 4:23:46 | :03 |
| Rigoberto Uran Uran | Etixx-Quick Step | 4:24:03 | :20 |
| Peter Sagan | Tinkoff-Saxo | 4:24:12 | :29 |
| Cyril Gautier | Europcar | 4:24:15 | :32 |
| Ruben Plaza | Lampre-Merida | " | " |
| Bob Jungels | Trek Factory Racing | " | " |
| Jonathan Catroviejo | Movistar | " | " |
| Simon Yates | Orica Greenedge | 4:24:16 | :33 |
General classification (yellow jersey) standings
| Name | Team | Time | Gap |
| Christopher Froome | Sky | 56:02:19 | |
| Nairo Quintana | Movistar | 56:05:29 | 3:10 |
| Tejay Van Garderen | BMC | 56:05:51 | 3:32 |
| Alejandro Valverde | Movistar | 56:06:21 | 4:02 |
| Alberto Contador | Tinkoff-Saxoy | 56:06:42 | 4:23 |
| Geraint Thomas | Sky | 56:07:13 | 4:54 |
| Robert Gesink | Lotto NL-Jumbo | 56:08:32 | 6:23 |
| Vincenzo Nibali | Astana | 56:10:36 | 8:17 |
| Tony Gallopin | Lotto-Soudal | 56:10:42 | 8:23 |
| Bauke Mollema | Trek Factory Racing | 56:11:12 | 8:53 |
Points (green jersey) standings
| Name | Team | Points |
| Peter Sagan | Tinkoff-Saxo | 322 |
| Andre Greipel | Lotto-Soudal | 261 |
| John Degenkolb | Giant-Alpecin | 228 |
| Mark Cavendish | Etixx-Quick Step | 192 |
| Bryan Coquard | Europcar | 120 |
King of the Mountains (polka dot jersey) standings
| Name | Team | Points |
| Chris Froome | Sky | 61 |
| Joaquim Rodriguez | Katusha | 52 |
| Jakob Fuglsang | Astana | 41 |
| Richie Porte | Sky | 40 |
| Romain Bardet | AG2R La Mondiale | 38 |