Polish rider Rafal Majka crosses the finish line first in stage 14 of the Tour de France.

Story highlights

Tinkoff Saxo rider Rafal Majka beats Tour de France leader Vincenzo Nibali in stage 14

Majka dedicates victory to teammate Alberto Contador who crashed out of race last Monday

Nibali finishes second to extend overall lead to four minutes 37 seconds

CNN  — 

Friday’s 13th stage of the Tour de France may have been unlucky for Rafal Majka, but the Polish rider made amends by storming to victory in the 14th stage on Saturday.

Majka had said he was “hungry for more” after finishing 10 seconds behind overall leader Vincenzo Nibali in the stage from Saint Etienne to Chamrousse.

And so it proved as the Tinkoff-Saxo rider went one better on the 177-kilometer route from Grenoble to Risoul – the second of two Alpine stages on this year’s tour.

Majka was part of a 17-rider breakaway formed early on in the stage that was gradually whittled down to 10 with around 60 kilometers to go as the riders made the ascent of the Col de l’Izoard.

With nine kilometers to the finish it was Majka who surged ahead of the pack.

Nibali tried to stay in touch but Majka managed to hold on to the lead to claim his first win in his first Tour de France, crossing the line 24 seconds ahead of the Italian with France’s Jean-Christophe Peraud coming home in third.

Afterwards, Majka dedicated his victory to teammate and two-time champion Alberto Contador who crashed out of the race on stage 10 last Monday.

Second place for Nibali further strengthens his grip on the yellow jersey.

With the Astana rider’s main rivals Spain’s Alejandro Valverde and France’s Romain Bardet finishing the stage 10th and fifth respectively, Nibali extended his overall lead to four minutes and 37 seconds.

Sunday’s stage sees the riders tackle 222 kilometers from Tallard to Nimes.