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Monday, July 15, 2024

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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks. - Tennessee Williams

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Current racing:

• June 29 - July 21: Tour de France

Upcoming racing:

• July 27 - August 11: Olympic cycling

Latest completed racing:

• June 9 - 26: Many National Championships
• June 15 - 18: La Route d'Occitanie Cancelled because security forces busy with Olympics
• June 9 - 16: Tour de Suisse
• June 12 - 16: Baloise Belgium Tour
• June 2 - 9: Critérium du Dauphiné
• June 5 - 9: ZLM Tour
• June 7: GP Canton Aargau
• June 2: Brussels Cycling Classic

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Tour de France Stage 15 reports

We posted the report from the race organizer with the results.

Here's the Tour stage 15 report from Jonas Vingegaard's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Jonas Vingegaard fought really hard in the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France. Team Visma | Lease a Bike took control of the race from the start, but on the final climb to Plateau de Beille, Vingegaard was once again stranded in second place. Tadej Pogacar won the stage.

Seven kilometers to go, Tadej Pogacar is glued to Vingegaard's wheel. A couple of kilometers later Pogacar attacked

Right from the start it was climbing. With no less than five categorized climbs and almost five thousand altimeters the peloton had a tough time today. That did not stop Team Visma | Lease a Bike from making the race hard right from the start.

The troops of the Dutch formation took turns at the head of the peloton. The group thinned out considerably and towards the end of the stage it was Wilco Kelderman and Matteo Jorgenson's turn to serve their leader Vingegaard. Thanks to the duo, Vingegaard and co started the final climb towards Plateau de Beille in a group of less than ten riders.

After Jorgenson was completely depleted, Vingegaard placed an attack. Only Pogacar could follow the Dane's fast pace. Vingegaard tried to mat the Slovenian, but could not get the code cracked. After an extreme effort, Vingegaard had to allow Pogacar to attack from his wheel. Vingegaard fought for all he was worth, but Pogacar proved the strongest on the slopes of Plateau de Beille. The difference on the finish line was just over a minute.

Vingegaard doesn't blame himself. "Tadej was simply the strongest today. I can hardly be disappointed about today. The team did everything they could and gave their all. On the final climb I pedaled fine values. It's close to my best performance. Tadej was really strong. I can't do anything but congratulate him on the win. We are definitely not giving up yet. The Tour is not over yet. If Tadej encounters another bad day, maybe we can crack him. We are realistic enough to see that it will be difficult if he maintains his current level. As long as there's a chance, we'll keep fighting," Vingegaard shows himself combative.

"The team did everything it could today," explained sports director Grischa Niermann. "It was our plan to exhaust the competition. I think we executed that plan well. Unfortunately, one person was stronger today. Jonas rode a bizarrely good ride, which we as sports directors can only be very proud of, as well as the work of the other guys. The Tour is certainly not done yet, but we have to be realistic. Right now, Tadej Pogacar seems unbeatable, but the leaden final week is still to come. We are certainly not bowing our heads yet, but we are taking a break."

The peloton will enjoy a well-deserved rest day tomorrow. On Tuesday, the peloton moves on, with a flat stage towards Nîmes.

Here's the Tour report from Remco Evenepoel's Team Soudal Quick-Step:

Remco Evenepoel became the first Belgian rider in the last 46 years to sit on the podium of the Tour de France after 15 stages, following a rock-solid display on the queen stage of the race, which featured 5400 vertical meters and five draining classified climbs: Col de Peyresourde, Col de Menté, Col du Portet d’Aspet, Col d’Agnes and Plateau de Beille.

It was a long and sweltering day in the saddle, the heat and the furious pace reducing the peloton to around 15 riders by the time they arrived at the foot of Plateau de Beille, which was making its seventh appearance at the race. It was on those arduous slopes that things exploded in the GC group as the first two riders in the standings attacked and rode clear. Just like on Pla d’Adet, Remco went with his own pace, basically riding a mountain time trial all the way to the top.

Remco Evenepoel on the day's final climb to the finish. Sirotti photo

The leader of the youth classification caught and passed the survivors of the day-long breakaway, but more importantly, he increased his gap over his closest rivals to the podium as he continued to climb steadily. Evenepoel emptied the tank without going into the red zone, carefully dosing his effort as the kilometers ticked down, and just like on Saturday, he finished in third place behind winner Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), a result which helped him extend his gap over the next rider on the GC to five minutes and another performance from which he can take heart for the final week of the Tour.

“My race is for the third spot and it’s looking good at the moment. I need to remain at this level, because a hard week in the mountains is coming. Our team was on a high level today, we took time on all the other riders behind me on what was the toughest stage of the Tour so far, so we can be content. Two third places in the Pyrenees is not a bad result I would say, especially as it helped me cement my place in the top three. It’s important to remember that the race is far from being over, but we will remain focused and see how it goes”, said Remco after his 16th top-three finish in a Grand Tour stage.

Mikel Landa was the other Soudal Quick-Step rider to put in a huge and impressive ride on Plateau de Beille, coming home behind Evenepoel, in fourth place. This superb effort – one of Mikel’s best outings of the year – helped the experienced Basque soar into the top five overall with just six stages remaining at the Tour.

“It was a good day and I’m glad Remco extended his gap over the other riders who are going for a podium place. I am satisfied with my display and quite optimistic for the third week. I will continue helping Remco on the hard stages coming in just a couple of days and see how things go for myself and if I can get a good result on the general classification. Now I’m just looking forward to Monday’s rest day”, Mikel said after the last stage in the Pyrenees.

Here's the Tour report from eighth-place Carlos Rodriguez's Team INEOS Grenadiers:

Carlos Rodriguez put up a spirited fight in sweltering conditions at the Tour de France on stage 15.

The Spaniard came home eighth atop Plateau de Beille on a day that saw Tadej Pogacar extend his race lead.

Rodiguez settled into his own tempo on the final climb as Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) launched clear, catching the day's breakaway in the process.

Carlos Rodriguez riding to eighth place. Sirotti photo

Laurens De Plus had put in a superb ride to represent the team up the road, remaining at the front as the group gradually whittled down across a testing parcours.

Starting the final climb with a gap of 2:33 proved to not be enough for the group, as the GC battle began to rage early. The final escapees would eventually be hauled back with 9.3km to go.

De Plus would eventually cross the line in 14th place, while Rodriguez now sits sixth overall as the race reaches its second rest day.

And here's the Tour stage 15 report from Bram Welten's Team dsm-firmenich PostNL:

Making his debut at the Tour de France this year, Bram Welten was an integral part of Team dsm-firmenich PostNL’s sprint group and played an important role in the promising results with Fabio Jakobsen in the opening week’s sprint finales. Yet, it wasn’t only in the fast finishes that he could be found alongside Jakobsen, as when his Dutch compatriot was having a tough moment, Welten would always be the first to raise his hand to help. Showcasing a selfless attitude, Welten’s encouragement and positive attitude helped his teammate and friend through those tougher moments; something we can all aspire to.

When Jakobsen abandoned the race on stage 12, Welten was thrust into the opportunity to be the team’s sprint finisher that day. Using his own experience as last lead-out man, he followed Nils Eekhoff and John Degenkolb who guided him excellently, but a bit of bad luck in the finale saw him unable to compete for a top result. Nonetheless, the optimistic Welten still crossed the line smiling and joyed at the fact he had secured a top 15 in his debut Tour.

“For me it was special to be the finisher in a race like the Tour de France and have the support of the team,” said Welten on the day.

The days that followed saw Welten, like many of the sprinters and classics riders in the peloton, suffer over the climbs as the GC riders came out to play and duke it out for stage wins. Coming through Saturday’s stage 14 as part of the grupetto, stage 15 on Sunday was set to be arguably one of the toughest stages of the race. Climbing from the flag drop an incredibly fast tempo was made and riders had to form their own groups on the climb with Welten, Eekhoff and Degenkolb teaming up in a group alongside another five or so riders, including Cavendish.

The task lying ahead of them was to ride the almost 190 kilometres and over 4200 metres of climbing in the small group, while ahead the peloton rode full-gas and never let up all stage. Their group didn’t give up either, but as the day progressed and the searing sun beat down over the Pyrenees, the enormity of their task became clear. Already 30 minutes down at the foot of the final climb to Plateau de Beille, the group could only concede a further 20 minutes to stage winner Pogacar by the top of the ascent.

As a result it meant the group had to go full-gas and unfortunately suffering after all of his previous efforts and being 15 stages into his first Tour de France, Welten had to let go of the wheels. Equally encouraged by the team’s following DS car and the many fans that lined the road, Welten heroically dug-deep and never gave-up as he tackled the last 11 kilometres of the climb alone. Battling the stinging gradients all the way to the finish an empty and emotional, rightfully so, Welten was embraced by Degenkolb and Eekhoff who had waited to applaud him over the line, and offer their words of solace to their teammate who left everything he had on that mountainside.

Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach Matt Winston said: “It was a really full-gas day. It was a good job from Frank and Warren to close the gap on the flat and for Oscar to jump into the break on the climb. With the really hard pace and parcours it also meant that the guys in the groups at the back of the race also had a tough day. They had to keep the pressure on the pedals during the whole stage to try and make the time cut. John and Nils made it across the line just in time but unfortunately Bram was distanced and missed out. He really fought for it and we could see that he left it all out on the road, so there is nothing more that he could do. It’s a shame to lose him not only on the bike, but also the presence and atmosphere that he brings to the group here too. The rest of the guys will rest and recover tomorrow before we come out and try to take our chances in the last week.”

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