Richard Carapaz attacked out of the break and raced with all the grit and courage he has in his heart to try to win Stage 14 of the Tour de France.

Richie wanted to finish off the work that his teammates did for him in the breakaway during a brutal mountain stage in the Vosges. Alex Baudin and Georg Steinhauser each did huge turns on the front to build a gap over the GC favorites on the early climbs out of Mulhouse. Then Ben Healy took over and drove the break as if he were on a solo mission to get to the bottom of the Col du Haag first. Ben opened up the throttle and kept it open, while the yellow jersey group chased hard behind. By the foot of the final climb, he'd managed to keep the GC favorites to a minute and a half back. That's when Richie took off, grinding his way up the mountain to the roar of the enormous Alsatian crowds. When the yellow jersey group caught him, Richie hung tough and accelerated onto the wheels. He pushed all the way to the finish and finished eighth on the stage.

"We knew it was going to be a very tough stage. I had the legs to be able to try, but it didn't work out in the end. I'm happy with the effort of having tried again. The result is what it is, and well, nothing more.

"When I had 40 seconds on the climb, I knew that was the limit. It ended up being a stage for the general classification. Vingegaard and the others got motivated to go for the stage. I made my best effort, but that was it.

"For me, today's stage was a positive one. We fought hard right up to the very end, trying to secure the win. There was a lot of tension right from the start. I'm happy with my performance, because my legs are getting stronger every day and that motivates me.

"The crowd was incredible. Especially on the final climb, when you could really feel the energy from the people. The support of the fans is vital for us.

"I am very motivated now. The last week is coming, which is also going to be very, very tough with the Alps. We hope to be able to have more freedom and – and try to win a stage." – Richard Carapaz

"We had four riders in the break at the start. Then, Georg made an effort on the first climb that basically flipped the race. We asked Richie to keep going after the KOM, and that opened the race up, because it was going to be locked down otherwise with Pidcock there – he was so close on GC. That was a massive effort from Ben and a massive effort from Richie. All of the guys were committed today. We asked the bigger guys to pull on the flat, which is a very hard thing to do with that kind of stage ahead. They were up for it. And then we put four riders in the front group from the start, and everybody was fully committed. To see a rider of Georg's quality laying it down on the line just to give Richie a springboard so far from the finish – and then someone like Ben, with his palmarès and quality, basically sacrificing himself like that – that's remarkable.

"What Richie did on the final climb, you can't do that if you don't have the legs. That tells us that if the race had played out a bit differently, he'd definitely have had the legs to go all the way to the line. I think that just remains a testament to his character, and to that of the whole team. Hopefully we can keep that going forward and get something out of it." – Charly Wegelius, sports director

Ben Healy set an all-time three-hour power record today when he was pulling for Richie in the break. Ben averaged 313 watts for that effort. His peak numbers were also impressive. For 20 minutes, he did 399 watts. For 10 minutes, he did 432 watts. And for five minutes, he did 456 watts. Those are massive turns for his teammate.

Fifteen minutes before the start, we got the news that today's bus parking had moved from the summit and would now be down the descent, six kilometers from the finish. The thing was that our finish van – the vehicle our soigneurs use to transport food, drinks, clothes, and us to the end of every stage – had already left. Our plan of covering the team presentation and then going to the finish line in the leisure of the riders’ bus was going to have to be scrapped. The new bus route crossed the race course, too. We got stuck at an awesome corner and made some great videos before rushing back to the bus. By the time we got to the improvised parking lot, halfway up the mountain, there were 65 kilometers to go in the race and a storm had blown in. The road up was closed. There was nothing left to do but hike. We set off up the mountain in the rain, reckoning we would make it with about 15 minutes to spare if we moved fast. After the first kilometer, the road opened and other teams' vans started coming up. We stuck out our thumbs to hitchhike. Decathlon and FDJ kindly picked us up and we made it to the top with lots of time. The Tour de France is a complex logistical challenge and sometimes plans change fast and we have to adapt on the fly. Team staff are always willing to help each other out.

Rhubarb tastes like summer. After a hard day on the bike, chugging down sweets to keep their energy levels up, super sweet desserts might overwhelm our riders’ palettes. Owen and Chris decided to make the guys a classic British rhubarb tart tonight. Made with crumbly shortcrust pastry, it’s a tangy treat that the riders love.

Ingredients:

For the sweet shortcrust pastry:

750 g plain flour

375 g cold unsalted butter, diced

150 g icing sugar

3 large eggs

1 tsp fine sea salt

Optional: zest of 1 lemon or 1 tsp vanilla paste

For the vanilla custard:

500 ml whole milk

1 vanilla pod (or 1 tsp vanilla paste)

4 egg yolks

80 g caster sugar

35 g cornflour

20 g unsalted butter

For the poached rhubarb

Rhubarb, cut into 5 to 7-centimeter lengths

250 ml water

100 g sugar

Optional: orange zest, vanilla, star anise, or ginger

Method:

For the pastry:

Rub or blitz butter into flour to fine breadcrumbs.

Mix in icing sugar and salt.

Add eggs, mix just until dough comes together.

Divide into two discs, wrap, and chill for at least one hour (or overnight).

Roll to 3 mm, line tart tins.

Chill again 30 minutes.

Line with baking paper and pie weights.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes at 355 F (180 C fan/200 C conventional).

Remove weights and paper, bake 8 to 12 minutes more until golden and dry.

Cool completely.

For the custard:

Heat milk with vanilla until just simmering.

Whisk yolks, sugar, and cornflour until smooth.

Pour hot milk onto egg mixture, whisking constantly.

Return to pan, cook over medium heat until very thick, whisking continuously.

Remove from heat, whisk in butter.

Press plastic wrap onto surface and cool.

For the poached rhubarb:

Make syrup from water, sugar, and aromatics.

Add rhubarb, simmer gently 3 to 5 minutes until tender but holding shape.

Lift out, cool completely; reserve syrup.

For the tart:

Whisk cooled custard smooth and spread into baked pastry shell.

Chill 1 to 2 hours until set.

Arrange rhubarb over custard.

Brush with reduced syrup or warmed apricot jam. Garnish as desired.

Keep refrigerated; serve within 24 hours for the crispest pastry.

The word flick has unique connotations in cycling. It means to trick someone – and it's all part of the sport. Bike racing is a rolling game with shifting alliances and objectives. One minute, you might be collaborating with a rival in a breakaway. The next, you'll be doing your very best to drop them. The game is to make others do as much work for you as possible, so they are tired when you attack. Say you're in a group of three and one rider races up the road. The other racer expects you to pull through so you can chase down the leader together, but when it's your turn, you flick out your elbow – bike racing's sign for the next rider to pull through – and sit up. If the other rider takes the bait, and does all the chasing themselves and then you sprint them at the end, you'll have well and truly given them the flick.