2020 Tour de France: Stage 15 Results

The 2020 Tour de France boiled down to a battle between its two star Slovenian riders Sunday as last year’s winner Egan Bernal dropped out of realistic contention.

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) beat yellow jersey-holder Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma) in a dramatic mountaintop finish to Stage 15, though Roglic retains a 40-second advantage in the yellow jersey and formidable support from teammates who shepherded him up the Grand Colombier climb.

Bernal plummeted down the standings, all but ensuring the end of a five-year streak of Tour victories by his Ineos Grenadiers team, formerly known as Team Sky.

“The race started at great speed until the breakaway went, and we had Marco Marcato there to cover it,” Pogacar said after the stage. “Jumbo-Visma set a very high pace and maintained it throughout the stage, which along with the heat meant it was better not to attack. In the final, I waited for the sprint and took another beautiful victory. Some of the GC guys were dropped and this was due the effect of the pace set by Jumbo-Visma. Tomorrow we’ll have the rest day, then I’ll try to give my best again: at the moment, Roglic seems unbeatable, but anything can happen, anyone can have a bad day, as happened today to Bernal or as can happen to me or to Primoz”.

Pogacar stayed with Roglic on the long and brutal Grand Colombier climb despite Roglic having backing from four teammates on his ascent. They drew on their last reserves to sprint for the summit finish, Pogacar taking his second stage win by a bike-length.

Pogacar and Roglic were given the same time. As the stage winner, Pogacar was awarded 10 bonus seconds in the general classification against Roglic’s six for second place. Roglic leads Pogacar by 40 seconds overall.

“I was a bit too short at the end. I didn’t make any gift to Tadej. We are good friends but we both want to win. He was just stronger and I was a bit disappointed to lose the stage,” Roglic said, adding that the Tour is “far from over.”

Monday is a rest day before five competitive stages including an individual time trial on Saturday, then the traditional procession into Paris on Sept. 20.

Colombian riders started the day ranked third to sixth overall behind the Slovenian duo, but all of them lost time Sunday on the 175-kilometer (108-mile) stage into the Jura mountains, and for two the challenge seemed over.

Bernal dropped off the lead group on the Grand Colombier climb and appeared to lose any chance of retaining the title as he dropped to 13th overall, 8 minutes 25 seconds off the yellow jersey. Fellow Colombian Nairo Quintana started the day fifth but also dropped back on Grand Colombier and is ninth, 5 minutes, 8 seconds off the lead.

Two more Colombian riders, Rigoberto Uran and Miguel Angel Lopez, managed to stay with the lead group and sit third and fourth in the overall standings.

As the long climb from the Rhone valley to the finish began, Roglic’s Jumbo-Visma team had five riders including the Slovenian in the peloton. They worked well together on the climb to protect Roglic and force a pace that put pressure on his rivals.

Restrictions introduced because of the coronavirus pandemic were supposed to ensure that fans were restricted to the flatter sections and foothills and weren’t allowed to throng the narrow approaches to the summit finish. However, there were still some cheering and waving flags near the top.

Egan Drops Out of Top Ten

Despite pushing right until the end, last year’s Tour de France winner Egan Bernal admitted he had been struggling since the first climb on the stage.

He said: “I was not going well from the first climb to be honest, I was almost dropped there, I was suffering from the first climb. I told the team I was not good, but then I was trying to fight until the final and give my best.

“It’s difficult to say how I felt, the feeling was that I was empty – I had no power. When the other riders did a big acceleration, I couldn’t go too hard to follow, but then I recovered really quickly, but my body couldn’t react as normal.

“I’m the number one and I tried to give my best, but finally there were riders who were stronger than me.”

Bennett Strengthens Grip on Green Jersey

Sam Bennett extended his cushion in the points classification after Sunday’s stage 15, which took the peloton through the Jura mountains, where three punishing climbs awaited: Montée de la Selle de Fromentel, Col de la Biche and Grand Colombier, a lung-busting ascent which was first used in a race four decades ago, at the Tour de l’Avenir.

A flurry of attacks flew from the peloton seconds after the start, some of these coming from riders who tried to put pressure on Sam Bennett. The Irishman responded present each time, sticking like glue to his opponents’ wheel and showing them how determined he was to fight for the green jersey. Victorious on stage 10, Sam remained calm and attentive as a breakaway tried to form, and again shut down a series of accelerations, before things finally calmed down and a group got green light.

“It was another hard day and I used a lot of energy for the intermediate sprint, but overall I felt pretty good compared to other stages. Everything was under control today. I could count again on this fantastic team, to whom I am grateful, and I’m happy that I will now start the final week of the Tour clad in the green jersey”, Bennett said after the stage.

2020 Tour de France: Stage 15 Brief Results

1. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) 4:34:13
2. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) s.t.
3. Richie Porte (trek-Segafredo) @ 5″

General Classification after Stage 15:

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 65:37:07
2. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) @ 40″
3. Rigoberto Uran (Ef) @ 1’34 “