Egan Bernal's hopes of defending his Tour de France title may have been dashed at Puy Marie on Saturday, but he attacked on the punchy final climb to Lyon on stage 14 and tried to regain the lead.

Bernal arrived at the top of the Puy Marie 38 seconds behind race leaders Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma) and Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates).

The Colombian, who was 59 seconds behind in the overall and with the momentum behind him, tried again on Saturday, even if the terrain was not conducive to making a difference in the overall fight. On the finale of the hilly stage to Lyon, the second of two 1.4km climbs, Bernal jumped from the front after Julien Alaphilippe went on the attack. The move did not last long, but Bernal still felt it was good for morale.

"In the finale, I think everyone was at their limit. It wasn't in the plan, but I felt good on the last climb, so I tried," Bernal explained. [To be honest, I wasn't really thinking about the attack. I just enjoyed the attack. You have to enjoy the race, and I really enjoyed the last part."

Beulah Hansgrohe ran a strong tempo for most of the day, but Logrich's Jumbo Visma never left the front of the peloton and quickly accelerated to catch Bernal.

"It was incredible how quickly the racers responded to Bernal's attack," said Roglic.

Wout Van Aert was there to protect Roglic rather than to try for the stage win.

"It was a tough finale with lots of obstacles. It was very hectic, but that's what finishing in a city like Lyon is all about. It was important to stay sharp all day and stay ahead. The team was all hands on deck. When Bernal left, if you were in tenth place, you would have hit yourself in the head. The team worked well right there," Van Aert said.

"As a team we have to stay sharp every day. After all, you never know when someone is going to attack. You can see it in Bernal. But he is a winner who never gives up and tries to take every chance he gets. I am happy that Primosch did not waste any time and finished the stage unscathed."

Bernal was not concerned that his bullet did not land in Lyon and set his sights on Sunday's summit finish on the Grand Colombier.

"It was a hard stage. On the first climb, Bora went full gas for Sagan and tried to drop Sam Bennett. Eventually he was dropped and the whole stage was really hard.

"We need to stay focused and fight until Paris. It's one less stage in the Tour de France."