Daniel Martinez sealed his first Tour de France stage win on a day that saw Primoz Roglic extend his overall lead and Tadej Pogacar take over from Egan Bernal in second place.
EF Pro Cycling rider Martinez held off Bora-Hansgrohe duo Lennard Kamna and Maximilian Schachmann in an intense battle over the final 40 kilometres to come out on top on stage 13.
Martinez triumphed from the early break as, despite the best efforts of Kamna, he pulled clear in the final metres of a gruelling Puy Mary climb in Cantal.
On another fascinating day in the fight for the yellow jersey, Jumbo-Visma rider Roglic underlined his position as favourite with an emphatic climbing display.
The Slovenian crossed the line with compatriot Pogacar (Team Emirates), who climbed above Bernal into the runners-up spot in the general classification.
Defending champion Bernal of Team INEOS struggled on the finishing climb and fell 59 seconds behind Roglic, while Pogacar stayed within 44 seconds of his countryman.
Elsewhere, French duo Guillaume Martin and Romain Bardet fell from their starting positions of third and fourth respectively and slipped just out of the top 10.
HARD WORK PAYS OFF FOR MARTINEZ
Martinez was given a scare by Schachmann and Kamna in particular but was confident he had the strength to see off the challenge with a counter-attack.
"Today, I worked hard, I gave a lot on the last climb when I was with the two [Bora-Hansgrohe riders]," he told France Televisions.
"I could see they had a bit less strength in the end, so I thought I could win it in the sprint."
Martinez has put behind him a crash earlier in the Tour.
"I'm really, really happy. I love climbing in the mountains. I did a good job today and feel the stage went incredibly well," he said.
"I had a week that wasn't great. I didn't have good sensations because I was still struggling after my crash but I knew I could win a stage all the same and now I've done it."
STAGE RESULT
1. Daniel Martinez (EF Pro Cycling) 5:01:47
2. Lennard Kamna (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:04
3. Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0.51
4. Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) +1:33
5. Pierre Rolland (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept) +1:42
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 56:34:35
2. Tadej Pogacar (Team Emirates) +0:44
3. Egan Bernal (Team INEOS) +0:59
Points Classification
1. Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) 252 points
2. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) 186
3. Bryan Coquard (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept) 162
King of the Mountains
1. Benoit Cosnefroy (AG2R La Mondiale) 36
2. Nans Peters (AG2R La Mondiale) 31
3. Marc Hirschi (Team Sunweb) 31
WHAT'S NEXT?
Stage 14 takes the riders from Clermont-Ferrand to Lyon. The challenging 197km course sees the riders tackle the Col du Beal and Cote de Courreau before halfway. The closing stages feature the short but demanding ascents of the Cote de la Duchere and the Cote de la Croix-Rousse.
