Mountain man Majka’s new high

Poland’s Rafal Majka was thrilled with his second victory of the 2014 Tour de France as Vincenzo Nibali further enhanced his hold on the race leader’s yellow jersey after stage 17.

The 124.5-kilometre route from Saint-Gaudens to Saint-Lary Pla d’Adet was a brute, with four categorised climbs including the finishing ascent where the stage result was decided.

Majka won Saturday’s 14th stage to Risoul and recorded Tinkoff-Saxo’s second successive Pyrenean stage win, after Michael Rogers’ success on Tuesday, as the team’s strong performance since losing leader Alberto Contador to injury continued.