14th stage of the Tour de France is won by Michael Matthews, going to Mende.

Alberto Bettiol caught up to the 31-year-old in the closing stages, but he came back to beat him by 15 seconds.
Matthews was keen to finish third after placing second twice on different stages of the Tour de France this year.

With more than 50 kilometers remaining, Matthews abandoned his team and had to battle to win all by himself up a difficult mountain.

Despite failing on stages six and eight, the Australian persevered and was inspired by his daughter to win stage 14.

Matthews stated, "I really simply wanted to show her why I'm away all the time and what I do it for.
The Australian earned the single success, which followed two phone calls with his wife Kat, whose encouraging comments served as the inspiration for the victory he dedicated to his four-year-old daughter.

The Massif Central was traversed on the 192.5-kilometer stage from Saint-Etienne to Mende, which was played out in oppressive heat. The highland regions, with their undulating roads through manure-smelling farmland and aromatic pine trees, are what break men at the Tour, not the Alps or the Pyrenees.
From the shot, Matthews (BikeExchange-Jayco) was on it. In a frenzied start, he sprinted off the front of the peloton to form the breakaway, and with approximately 60 kilometers left, he launched an attack on the escapees.

Matthews moved from Sunweb to BikeExchange-Jayco under a lot of pressure, but up until earlier this season when he won a stage at the Volta a Catalunya, he had not lived up to expectations.

"If you want to win, do something different, something people don't anticipate from you," he recalled his wife telling him.

"So I took that action. I hope my wife and daughter are proud of me today.

"I wanted to demonstrate to my kid why we make such great sacrifices and why I travel so often.