So, despite the concerted efforts of their team-mates, Sagan, Kristoff and Degenkolb are once again frustrated by André Greipel. It’s a ninth stage win for the man they call the Gorilla, and the third of this year’s race. If he can hang on through the Alps, he’s the favourite to pile more hurt on his rivals in Paris.
Today’s official top five:
- André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal)
- John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin)
- Alexander Kristoff (Katusha)
- Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo)
- Edvald Boasson Hagen (MTN Qhubeka)
A bunch sprint finish means there’s no change in the general classification; Chris Froome still leads Nairo Quintana by 3min 10sec – and as far as we know, he’s dodged the trolls out on the road too.
As the stragglers, including Cavendish and Péraud, crawl over the finish line, it’s time to wrap up. Thanks for joining me. Bye!
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André Greipel wins stage 15 of the Tour de France!
It’s Greipel who lasts longest in a thigh-shredding drive for the line, edging out Degenkolb, with Kristoff third and Sagan fourth. That’s the German’s third stage win of this year’s Tour.
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Kristoff is best placed with 500m to go, but Andre Greipel and John Degenkolb outlast him in the final metres, and Sagan is gaining...
1km to go
Katusha take up the reins, with Peter Sagan back in a prime position after an busy day. Stybar is hauled in as the sprinters move forward. Here comes the flamme rouge...
BMC still driving things forward at a blistering pace, perhaps trying to set up Greg van Avermaet rather than simply protecting GC contender Tejay van Garderen. Zdenek Stybar, who has form for this sort of thing, tries to catch the peloton unawares. He opens a gap, but the pack are chasing after him furiously, led by the Lotto-Soudal team.
5km to go
Rohan Dennis – the first maillot jaune of this year’s Tour, no less – is leading the way for BMC, with the sprinters’ teams taking a quick breather. Jan Barta and Michal Kwiatkowski each attempt a wacky late breakaway; both are contemptuously snuffed out by the peloton. The riders cross the Rhône into Valence, greeted by a curiously attired brass band. It’s go time!
Peter Sagan has been handed the combativity award, to go with his intermediate sprint win, his green jersey, and basically anything that isn’t a stage win.
10km to go
On cue, Orica and Lampre fight their way to the front of the peloton, with Team Sky and BMC also putting in a shift. Still a modest pace being set as Valence appears on the horizon.
Howard Fowler asks: “any time left before the end of this to mention Eduardo Sepúlveda getting disqualified yesterday for riding in an AG2R car? Hard to imagine what anyone in that situation was thinking.”
There’s always time for stuff like this. The best bit: it wasn’t even his team’s car.
There are a couple of seasoned sprinters still in the pack who could spring a surprise victory – Michael Matthews (Orica GreenEdge) and Daniel Cimolai (Lampre-Merida). Matthews has struggled since being injured in the crash that ended Fabian Cancellara’s Tour, while Lampre’s sporting director Philippe Mauduit reckons the finish isn’t right for Cimolai. Boy, will his face be red.
20km to go
The peloton keeps things moving, with Europcar front and centre as they try to set up Bryan Coquard for a first stage victory of this year’s Tour. The road has been straight and flat along the riverbank, but this being the Tour de France, that’ll now be replaced by a series of sinewy twists and turns that lead us down to the flamme rouge.
The leaders are finally, inevitably swallowed up – so, aside from the group of stragglers who are now twelve minutes back, everyone is reunited with 28km to go. It’s all set for a sprint finish, the last before Paris – can Sagan finally bag a stage win? I for one would be amused if he came second again.
The leaders take a hard left to join the banks of the Rhône, which will lead them to the finish at Valence. Behind them, and getting closer, is the peloton, led in turn by Katusha, Europcar and Lotto-Soudal, all of whom have sprinters who will fancy their chances – Kristoff, Coquard and Greipel respectively. Sagan, another who probably wouldn’t mind a stage win, has rejoined the pack.
Updated
Trentin and Hesjedal have teamed up at the front of the race, and are still clinging on to a thirty-second advantage. Sagan, moments after being reintroduced to the peloton, has stopped to change his bike, and is in the process of charging back to the main bunch. It seems to be a planned change, rather than a mechanical problem, as Tinxoff-Saxo get all tactical.
Ryder Hesjedal replaces Geschke in the chase after Trentin, while the peloton have reeled in the rest of that counter-attack. So, just two men out in front – Matteo Trentin, a minute clear of the pack, and Hesjedal, twelve seconds behind the leader.
Trentin has carved out a seventeen second lead, with Simon Geschke leading the pursuit. Geschke is doing so on behalf of John Degenkolb, but with team-mate Mark Cavendish way down the field, Trentin doesn’t need to race for his sprinter. He’s racing for number one, dammit.
Trentin is the first in the breakaway to blink – with the peloton only a minute behind and cruising down the descent, the Italian decides to make a break for it. Kwiatkowski hares after his team-mate, and has to think fast to bunny hop over a stretch of pavement that is, for some reason, in the middle of the road.
“Poor old Jean-Christophe Péraud. He started yesterday’s stage in a lot of pain from his heavy fall the day before, and he told a French TV interviewer that he’s keep his head down, help his team if possible and see how it went. He finished of course but will that be the case today?” asks Michael Cosgrove.
I can happily report that JC, arms covered in bandages, is leading the group of stragglers, who are trying to claw back a near ten-minute deficit to the main bunch.
The breakaway heave themselves wearily over the top of the final climb, with the gap trimmed to 1min 30sec. It’s all downhill from here, with 57km to go. Pinot takes the maximum five King of the Mountains points, with Hesjedal taking three, Kwiatkowski two, and a solitary point for Matteo Trentin.
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Ken Childs asks, I attempt to answer
There’s a variety of reasons – some, like Jean-Christophe Péraud and Simon Yates, are struggling with injury and fatigue – but the main factor was the start out of Mende, which went straight uphill to the Côte de Badaroux, and stayed that way for 20km or so. Sprinters like Cavendish, unable to keep the pace, and with little incentive to fight back to the peloton, may have given up the ghost. There have thankfully been no heavy crashes so far today.
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With 5km to go until the top of the climb, it might be time for someone among the breakaway to make a move. The peloton are closing, albeit at a relaxed rate, and with Lars Bak and Simon Geschke riding for teams who are still aiming for a sprint finish, it’s touch and go whether the remaining seven can maintain their lead.
A reminder of those seven: Thibaut Pinot (FDJ), Michael Rogers and Peter Sagan (both Tinkoff-Saxo), Adam Yates (Orica GreenEdge), Matteo Trentin and Michal Kwiatkowski (both Ettix QuickStep) and Ryder Hesjedal (Cannondale) who is currently setting a solid pace at the front of the group.
Updated
The breakaway are now moving on up towards the Col de l’Escrinet, the day’s last and steepest climb. The bunch continue to close, with 1min 45sec now the gap. The aim will be to keep the front nine in touch until the sprinters are hauled up the Category 2 climb. For Mark Cavendish and co, in a group six minutes behind the peloton, the aim will be to finish the stage.
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The leaders are now winding through the town of Aubenas, home of the day’s intermediate sprint. Sagan, who at least has the green jersey as good as sewn up, cruises past the post first to pick up another twenty points.
Michael Rogers, who picked up a puncture but has now rejoined the leading group, came in second, with Thibaut Pinot third. The gap to the peloton is down to two minutes, largely down to Rogers’ puncture, which caused the breakaway to slow down.
Updated
Juan Antonio Flecha asked several riders at the start line who will finish second, the cheeky so-and-so. Pretty much everyone said Peter Sagan. The Slovakian has finished second four times already on this Tour, without bagging a single stage win. He’s in with a decent chance today, as one of the nine breakaway riders who are now reunited as the descent levels out a touch.
As if by magic, the gap between the breakaway and the bunch leaps to 2min 45sec, with the peloton unprepared to go hell for leather to set up a sprint finish. The Category 2 Col de l’Escrinet, coming up in 30km, will surely decide whether it’s a breakaway or a bunch sprint that will make it to the line in Valence.
Now, if you’re struggling to tell Simon and Adam Yates apart, the Tour have published this handy guide:
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One potential reason for the leading group’s inability to pull away is the slippery state of the descent; there are signs of rainfall on the road, and more is forecast imminently. There’s a tiny split in the main group, with seasoned descenders Sagan, Rogers, Trentin and Kwiatkowski opening a gap of a few seconds over the other five: Pinot, Adam Yates, Geschke, Hesjedal, and at the back, it’s Lars Bak.
Updated
Just under 100km to go, with the leaders tackling the first, steepest stages of the descent from the Col de la Croix de Bauzon. The peloton are two minutes back, with the back markers now almost six minutes behind the pack.
Several other slow goers have been swept up by that group, including Simon Yates and Sébastien Chavanel. The main GC contenders are all snugly contained within the peloton, with Team Sky and Movistar working hardest to keep the breakaway in reach.
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Here’s Gary Naylor re: Lotto-Soudal’s promo pic:
I do love the lack of even a single bike in that photo. “Bikes? No! That’s what they’ll be expecting...”
The front nine have tackled those two peaks, with Pinot and Rogers taking a largely meaningless King of the Mountains point apiece. They now start a 35km(!) descent towards the intermediate sprint at Aubenas. But don’t just take my word for it – have a look at our snazzy stage-by-stage guide. It’s right here!
The group of stragglers, which includes Mark Cavendish and Jean-Christophe Péraud, has drifted four minutes behind the main group. Other familiar names in that sorry bunch: Team Sky’s Peter Kennaugh, Etixx’s Mark Renshaw, FDJ’s Arnaud Demare and former polka-dot sporter, Daniel Teklehaimanot.
The race leaders are approaching two Category 4 climbs in quick succession – the Col de la Croix de Bauzon is the highest point of today’s stage, before the route plunges down towards the Rhône Valley. First up, it’s the Col du Bez – perhaps the only climb on this year’s Tour named after an early nineties icon.
Of the leading group of nine, eight are taking turns to haul the breakaway forward, with a gap of 1min 45secs to the peloton. The one man who won’t help out is Lars Bak – the Lotto-Soudal rider is hanging, well, back, as a bunch sprint finish is key for their main man, André Greipel. Which a) makes you wonder what he’s doing in the breakaway and b) allows me to link seamlessly to this, sent in by Tom Adams:
“Which is your favourite?” asks Tom. “Poor Adam Hansen looks like he’s had a breakdown.” He may be the obvious choice, but Greipel is absolutely owning that central box.
Updated
That bumper leading group has largely been hauled in, with nine riders staying clear to maintain a lead of around 45 seconds. Pinot, Sagan and Kwiatkowski are there, alongside Michael Rogers, Lars Bak, Simon Geschke, Matteo Trentin, Ryder Hesjedal and Britain’s Adam Yates.
Not such good news for another Brit, with Mark Cavendish, who may well have fancied another stage win today, in a group of stragglers 30 seconds behind the peloton.
Updated
The story so far
The riders are around 30km into today’s stage, and have tackled the Category 3 Côte de Badaroux already. A predictable pattern is emerging, with a large group of breakaway hopefuls being kept in range by a peloton pushing for a final sprint.
There are currently 27 riders in the leading group, with just a 45-second lead over the main bunch. Big names at the front include Peter Sagan, Andrew Talansky, Thibaut Pinot, Joaquim Rodríguez, Rigoberto Uran and Michal Kwiatkowski. At the back, Jean-Christophe Péraud, who finished second last year, is struggling to keep up with the peloton’s pace.
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Preamble
We all know that the Tour de France is no picnic, but even by this great race’s standards, it’s been a bruising year. You’ll have to search pretty hard in the peloton for a smile today. Chris Froome’s domination of the overall classification so far has left plenty of favourites down in the mouth, as a hotly anticipated yellow jersey race has failed to catch fire.
Froome himself should have reason to be cheerful – he extended his lead over the chasing pack to over three minutes yesterday – but continued questions over Team Sky’s methods have taken an unpleasant turn, with Richie Porte getting punched and Froome being greeted with a cup of urine on yesterday’s stage. Froome may, for once, wish he wasn’t wearing such a conspicuous colour today.
Peter Sagan is another jersey wearer without much to smile about; the Slovakian is grumpy in green, with eight top-five finishes and no stage wins so far. Today may be his last chance until Paris, with a finish that looks likely to suit the sprinters before the race hits the Alps. John Degenkolb and Alexander Kristoff are two other sprint specialists who could still slink away from the Champs Elysées empty handed.
That’s not to mention the finishing ramps, wild weather, brutal crashes and dizzying climbs that have hit just about everybody where it hurts. Today should be one of the more forgiving stages, with four mid-category climbs before the profile dips towards a flat finish. In a Tour packed with drama and disaster so far, nothing’s guaranteed. At best, there’ll be only one man smiling at the finish line.
