Tour de France Stage 15 Analysis
Today was an opportunity for the general classification riders to try and gain back time that was lost to Chris Froome on Friday. In the end it wasn’t to be, as Froome and the rest of the group crossed the finish line together. After an uneventful day yesterday, today offered a little bit more drama in the race.
Froome Cruises To The Finish
It was another fantastically executed day for Team Sky, as Froome once again had the support needed to cover all attacks. For most of the day the riders were waiting for the final climb to try and displace the race leader. Fabio Aru and Alejandro Valverde were the first to try and open up a gap, but their efforts didn’t last long. A few minutes later Frenchman Romain Bardet also tried to shake off the group. His efforts didn’t get him very far before he was swallowed up by the group again.
The yellow jersey group did lose one rider in Tejay Van Garderen. He struggled up the final climb, and in the end fell back to eighth place overall as a result. His teammate Richie Porte now moves ahead of him, and the two are side-by-side in the standings.
The last categorized flat stage before the Champs-Elysees comes tomorrow. The riders will have another rest day on Tuesday. This will be the last chance for respite before entering the Alps. Wednesday through Saturday will be where the podium places are decided, with three mountain stages and one time trial awaiting the riders. Cycling fans everywhere are sure to be glued to their televisions next week.
Pantano Wins Stage
Jarlinson Pantano of IAM Cycling was the victor today. He rode very well in the latter part of the stage to pick up his first career win at the Tour de France.
It came down to a battle between Pantano and Rafal Majka of Tinkoff for the stage. The Polish rider was the first to launch his sprint, however Pantano covered the move and sprinted past him for the win. Coming in right behind them were Alexis Vuillermoz and Sebastien Reichenbach.
Pantano’s descending was terrific, as he eliminated the deficit that was formed when Majka broke away on the climb. During the descent Majka almost crashed, which hampered his efforts to stay in the lead. A few other riders were also in difficulty on the descent, including Julian Alaphilippe who managed to work his way back up to finish in fifth place.
Stage Highlights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcGJfn9MtWo
Tweets Of The Day
What a victory! Muchas gracias @jarlinsonpantan#TDF2016 #TeamIAM
📸 @bettiniphoto pic.twitter.com/Bdm0priPFs
— ✚ Team IAM Cycling (@IAM_Cycling) July 17, 2016
https://twitter.com/BMCProTeam/status/754705962334904320
#TDF2016 Great to see @majkaformal awarded the most aggressive rider award for the day – well deserved! pic.twitter.com/9yYcc6cghY
— Tinkoff (@tinkoff_team) July 17, 2016
Bravo @reichenbach_seb mais aussi à @alexis39200 qui auront tout donné et finissent à 6 secondes. 👏👍 #TDF2016 pic.twitter.com/dLhjvVJct5
— Équipe Cycliste Groupama-FDJ (@GroupamaFDJ) July 17, 2016
"We did a good race. For me, this was the maximum. I couldn’t do anything more." – @tomjelteslagter. #goodgreenday pic.twitter.com/m6ZRsYQ1Kd
— EF Pro Cycling (@EFprocycling) July 17, 2016
Stage 15 Results
Stage 15 Results.#TDF #TDF2016 pic.twitter.com/Z7y1myhvS9
— LWOSCycling (@LWOSCycling1) July 17, 2016
General Classification After Stage 15
https://twitter.com/BMCProTeam/status/754707414969151488
Points Classification
- Peter Sagan 340 Pts
- Mark Cavendish 278 Pts
- Marcel Kittel 228 Pts
- Bryan Coquard 145 Pts
- Andre Greipel 128 Pts
Mountain Classification
- Rafal Majka 127 Pts
- Thomas De Gendt 90 Pts
- Daniel Navarro 69 Pts
- Serge Pauwels 62 Pts
- Tom Dumoulin 58 Pts
Team Classification
- Movistar
- Team Sky
- BMC
- Astana
- AG2R La Mondiale
Stage Stats
Ave speeds of fastest descenders from Lacets du Grand Colombier
Porte: 55.33km/h
Mollema: 53.27km/h
Pantano: 53.21km/h#TDFData #TDF2016— letourdata (@letourdata) July 17, 2016
Average speeds in the climb:
Majka – 20.6km/h
Froome – 20.1km/h
Nibali – 16.7km/h
Sagan – 16.5km/h
Cavendish – 15.3km/h#TDFdata #TDF2016— letourdata (@letourdata) July 17, 2016
Pantano (IAM) was clearly the most powerful rider in Breakaway, to storm to the finish line. #TDFdata #TDF2016 pic.twitter.com/VuQJwgYhBE
— letourdata (@letourdata) July 17, 2016
The Breakaway had built enough of a lead to resist the final push from the GC contenders. #TDFdata #TDF2016 pic.twitter.com/eVmKxfyTbQ
— letourdata (@letourdata) July 17, 2016
Main Photo