The first of two very challenging weekend stages was a bit of a stalemate as far as the race between the overall contenders was concerned but there was an intriguing battle for the stage win.

RIchard Moore and Lionel Birnie check in with our man in Spain, Daniel Friebe, to recap stage 14, which was won by Romain Bardet.

The Frenchman was arguably the most dangerous of the riders in the 18-man break and we’ll hear from another man in the lead group, Lotto-Soudal’s Matt Holmes, who wanted to get away without Bardet but suffered two untimely punctures.

We also clear yesterday’s little local difficulty between Deceuninck-Quick Step’s sprinter Fabio Jakobsen and his lead-out man, and eventual stage winner, Florian Senechal.

Finally, we learn about Jose Maria Jimenez, who lit up the Vuelta around the turn of the century and was one of three high-profile tragic figures in professional cycling in the early 2000s. Tomorrow’s stage visits Jimenez’s home town and will pay tribute to El Chava.

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