Freire triumphs in stage 14

2:19am Sunday 20th July 2008

Oscar Freire held off a stern challenge from sprint legend Erik Zabel and Leonardo Duque to win the 14th stage of the Tour de France from Nimes to Digne-les-Bains on Saturday.

The points jersey holder came off the wheel of Zabel before edging out Duque to give the Rabobank team their first stage win in the 2008 tour.

Freire's victory increased his advantage in the green jersey standings to 47 points over nearest rival Thor Hushovd.

Australia's Cadel Evans retained the race leader's yellow jersey, one second ahead of Frank Schleck of Luxembourg.

Freire told Eurosport: "It was a perfect stage for me, but I felt a bit tired towards the end. It was a very fast finish as we descended, but the guys just couldn't get back to me in the end.

"(Mark) Cavendish is a dangerous sprint rider and it just fell my way. It was a great day for me.

"In the end I came from behind (Erik) Zabel and managed to win. It was a quick sprint and (Mark) Cavendish said he was coming after me, but he couldn't get there."

Evans was forced to react quickly in the closing stages of the 194.5 kilometre stage to retain the overall lead ahead of Schleck.

The Silence-Lotto rider came under threat by a late advance from a group including Schleck, but he did just enough to hold on to the yellow jersey.

He said: "Schleck wasn't the only problem during the stage, but I wanted to play it safe and I kept myself in contention."

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