Froome seizes yellow jersey from Aru

Matthews captures 2nd Pyrenees stage; Bardet 3rd overall.

RODEZ, FRANCE — There is only one thing certain at the Tour de France: Nothing is certain.

Following two frenetic days of racing in the Pyrenees, no one would have bet on a change of leadership Saturday after Stage 14, a rolling 181.5-kilometer (113-mile) ride with no major difficulty.

But a short and steep climb to the finish in the southern town of Rodez was enough for Chris Froome and his mighty Sky team to recover the yellow jersey they lost two days before in the mountains.

The day’s big loser was Fabio Aru, the Astana leader, who cracked in the last 500 meters and relinquished the coveted tunic to the threetime champion.

While the Team Sky train hit the front in the technical and twisting final kilometers at high speed, Aru was at the back and didn’t come back before the peloton split in the climb. He lost touch with the leaders in the sharp ascent of the Cote de Saint Pierre and crossed the line 25 seconds behind stage winner Michael Matthews.

Froome was well positioned and had no problem tackling the final climb. He finished seventh, a second behind Matthews.

“It’s a beautiful surprise today,” said Froome, who lost his jersey after enduring a bad day on the road to the ski station of Peyragudes.

French rider Romain Bardet, the runner-up to Froome last year, limited his losses to five seconds. He is 23 seconds back from the leader, in third place.

In fourth is Rigoberto Uran, who stuck with Froome on the final climb. He trails the Brit by 29 seconds overall.

Matthews sat up at the end and cruised over the line for his second stage win at the Tour.

“I’ve been dreaming of winning like that since I started cycling,” he said.

The stage today will lead the peloton to Le Puy-en-Velay in Massif Central during a spectacular 189.5-kilometer (118-mile) ride on rolling terrain with four climbs.

Brit Chris Froome was 7th Saturday and leads overall.