2014 Tour de France stage15 results and photos by BikeRaceInfo (original) (raw)

2014 Tour de France

101st edition: July 5- July 27, 2014

Stage 15 results and photos

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Sunday, July 20: Stage 15, Tallard - Nîmes, 222 km

Stage 15 live updates | Stage 15 photos | Stage 15 map and profile |

Alexander Kristoff wins stage 15. Photo ©Sirotti

Stage 15 has no categorized ascents

The Race: This stage was a heartbreaker if you want hard-working breakaway riders to win races. Three minutes into today's stage Martin Elmiger (IAM Cycling) and Jack Bauer (Garmin-Sharp) left the peloton and soon had a sizeable gap. At one point the duo were almost nine minutes up the road.

Halfway through the stage light drizzle started to fall. That became a torrential rainstorm. Still, Elmiger and Bauer pressed on. The sprinters' teams nailed the gap back, but with 30 kilometers to go the pair still had two minutes.

It was a nail-biter. With three kilometers to go, Elmiger and Bauer were still a half-minute ahead. Near the finish Bauer had a gap on Elmiger as the peloton was flying up to them. Bauer was passed by a flying Alexander Kristoff with about 30 meters to go to win the stage. That makes two stage victories for Kristoff this Tour.

Vincenzo Nibali stayed close to the front most of the stage and finished safely to remain the overall leader.

Complete Results:

Winner's average speed: 44.9 km/hr

GC after stage 15: 2,753 km raced so far at an average speed of 41.196 km/hr

Points Classification:

Mountains Classification:

Young Rider Classification:

Team Classification:

Stage 15 Photos:

Lots of fans in Nîmes to watch the finish. Photo ©Sirotti

Alexander Kristoff wins stage 15. Photo ©Sirotti

Jack Bauer after just being caught at the line. Photo ©Sirotti

Bauer and Tom Jelte Slagter. Photo ©Sirotti

Stage winner Alexander Kristoff. Photo ©Sirotti

Vincenzo Nibali seemed to have no trouble today. Photo ©Sirotti

No stage wins yet for Peter Sagan, but he has quite a lock on the points classification. Photo ©Sirotti

So far Romain Bardet has been able to hold of Thibaut Pinot in their fight for the best young rider. Photo ©Sirotti

KOM Joaquin Rodriguez. Photo ©Sirotti

Martin Elmiger was given the day's combatitivity award. Photo ©Sirotti

Stage 15 live updates:

Weather at Nîmes at 1:05 PM local time: 24C (76F), Light rain, thunder. Wind from the west-northwest at 11 km/hr (7mph). We could have locally heavy downpours (80% chance is the forecast) with lots of lightning. There could be as much as 25mm (one inch) of rain.

Km 0: Yesterday's 171 finishers were are the start line today, a long, flat stage in the south of France going from the Alps to the Rhone Valley.

Km 38: Three minutes into today' stage Martin Elmiger (IAM) and Jack Bauer (Garmin-Sharp) blasted away from the peloton. They were allowed a lot of rope. Their lead is currently 8min 20sec.

Km 42: Ji Cheng (Giant-Shimano) and Lars Ytting Bak (Lotto-Belisol) are leading the peloton, controlling (barely) the breaks lead for their sprinters.

Km 53: After an hour of racing the two leaders covered 44.1 km. Their lead has been pegged back to 7min 45sec.

Km 67: Katusha, with their sprinter Alexander Kristoff to protect, has joined Giant-Shimano and Lotto-Belisol at the front. Elmiger and Bauer are now six minutes ahead of the field.

Km 79: The gap continues to come down. It's now 5min 40sec. With stormy weather forecast, there is the fear that with the wind the peloton could break up into echelons. When that happens, if a rider isn't up front, time losses can be catastrophic.

Current GC fourth place Thibaut Pinot voiced that fear before today's start, “All the FDJ.fr [riders] will stay close around me today. It would be a pity to waste all the good work in such a stage.” Earlier he had said, "The stage I fear the most is stage 15 to Nîmes because of the risk of echelons.”

Km 90: Elmiger and Bauer are sharing the work almost equally, Elmiger being at the front 53% of the time. With roughly 130 km to go, the pair have a 6min 15sec lead. There is one Giant, one Lotto and one Katusha rider at the front of the peloton followed by what looks like the entire Astana squad.

Km 104: It has started to drizzle as the two leaders head into the feed zone with a 6min 35sec lead.

Km 115, 106 km to go: Martin Elmiger and Jack Bauer are 6min 1sec ahead of the pack. It is pouring buckets at the finish.

Km 125, 96 km to go: The peloton is racing on dry roads, though there is lots of rain and potential crosswinds down the road. Bauer and Elmiger still have a six minute lead. Jean-Christophe-Péraud punctured and has returned to the field. Wanting to avoid trouble, Astana has moved up to the front.

Km 138: We're 3hr 10min into the stage. The break is moving down the road quite briskly, they rode 45.1 km the last hour and have a 6min 18sec lead. They are riding down a road aimed straight into black skies.

Km 150: The side winds have hit. Skies have darkened. Things could get interesting. Lotto-Belisol is at the front, riding hard. Break's lead is down to 5min 33sec. Some riders are having trouble maintaining contact with the peloton as thing string out. The peloton is getting lined out.

Joaquin Rodriguez was at the back when things sped up and has been dropped. Richie Porte (who has gut trouble, it turns out), is riding at the back has been dropped and is trying to bridge. He's losing ground.

Km 155: With the increased speed, the break's gap is down to 4min 4sec. The race referee is hugely pissed because Porte used a photographer's motorcycle to draft back up to the peloton. Porte is back in the field.

Km 163: As predicted, when the peloton left the town of Cavaillon, speed has been ramped up, first under pressure from Ag2r and now BMC. BMC, looking to advance Tejay Van Garderen's interests is just hammering!

Attentive, Nibali sprinted up to the front. Katusha leadout man Luca Paolini has flatted. But since Katusha's sprnter Alexander Kristoff has been dropped, it is unlikely he'll be in today's sprint. The break's lead is down to 1min 32sec.

Km 168: It looks like the pack's speed has relented a bit. The computation is that the break will be caught with 19 km to go.

Km 176: Martin Elmiger led Bauer through the intermediate sprint as they ride through the rain. Bryan Coquard won the field sprint, Peter Sagan went over the line a couple of riders later. Astana leads the peloton 1min 28 sec behind the break. The break is riding 54 km/hr.

Km 191, 31 km to go: Astana is at the peloton's front and it looks like things have slowed as the race goes over wet, slippery roads. Elmiger and Bauer have pressed on and have grown their lead to 2min 9sec. The chasing group with Joaquin Rodriguez has fifteen riders. Earlier they had been clocked at three minutes behind the peloton.

Km 198, 24 km to go: Giant-Shimano has moved to the front of the rain-drenched peloton. With that increased impetus the break's gap has come down quickly, 1min 25sec.

In the rain, there are lots of flat tires. The sky is very dark. Sprinter Arnaud Démare is ill and has been dropped.

Now Michal Kwiatkowski attacks.

Km 203, 19 km to go: Kwiatkowski has a small lead, maybe 20 seconds.

Km 205: Kwiatkowski has been caught. Giant-Shimano and Lotto-Belisol pull the peloton. The break has 1min 6sec.

Km 209: Luca Paolini has fought his way back to the peloton and made to the front with Alexander Kristoff on his wheel. The break is slowly being reeled in, their lead is 54 seconds. Nicolas Roche has punctured. Jakob Fuglsang has been dropped.

9 km to go: Lotto-Belisol is still at the front of the peloton. Elmiger and Bauer still have 44 seconds. André Greipel is near the front.

6.5 km to go: The peloton is strung out, led by Lotto. Break's gap is 39 seconds.

5 km to go: Omega Pharma is now at the front, gap is 34 seconds.

4 km to go: 30 seconds.

3 km to go: Cannondale is leading the pack. Elmiger and Bauer have 27 seconds. Tony Martin is trying a flyer.

Under the red kite: Martin still has a gap. The break has 14 seconds!

The Finish: This was so close. Bauer left Elmiger and looked like he might make it, but the peloton overwhelmed the break with just a few meters to go after they had been away for 220 kilometers.

Alexander Kristoff went flying by Bauer to win the stage. Heinrich Haussler was second and Peter Sagan third.

Stage 15 map and profile:

Stage 15 map

Stage 15 profile

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