Will Tadej Pogačar continue to stamp his authority on the difficult mountain stage that culminates with the ascent of Plateau de Beille on Sunday? Or will defending champion Jonas Vingegaard use the steep slopes to regain some time lost to his rival? Will a French rider go for stage glory on Bastille Day and be able to hold the GC contenders?
Stage 15 on the third Sunday of the Tour de France could prove crucial as the terrain on this stage is ripe for revenge or confirmation, with 4,850 metres of vertical gain on the menu over almost 200 kilometres of racing.
All manner of scenarios could play out, and it’s not unrealistic to imagine that teammates of the GC contenders will attempt to infiltrate the breakaway, climbing the Peyresourde.
That would prove invaluable given what lies ahead, especially in a finale that features the climbs of the Col d’Agnes and the Port de Lers, followed by the final haul up to Plateau de Beille.
After winning stage 11 in a two-up uphill sprint to Pogačar, Vingegaard seemed to be gaining momentum, but the Slovenian stopped that in its track on Saturday.
Pogačar consolidated his lead in the general classification with a searing solo attack on Pla d’Adet to not only win stage 14 but also increase his lead to 1:57 on his closest competitor, Vingegaard. Third overall, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quickstep) is now 2:22 back.
Though Vingegaard was not able to follow Pogačar blistering attack in the final five uphill kilometres and lost 39 seconds overall, he takes confidence that he was able to claw some time back on the steepest part of the climb.
“When it was steep, I was catching back some time. So I think he gained most of the time when he was more flat because he has his total power and also on the downhill path. So in some kind of way, it also gives confidence for tomorrow,” Vingegaard said after stage 14.
The riders will be able to give it their all on this stage, because the following day they’ll have a well-deserved rest day.
Stage 15 information
Starting in Loudenvielle, the climbing starts from kilometre zero on stage 15 with the ascent of Col de Peyresourde (6.9km at 7.8%). From the outset, there will be a lot of attacks on this climb, and only good climbers will be able to escape the peloton, that would prove invaluable given what lies ahead, the Col de Menté (9.3km at 9.1%) and Col de Portet-d’Aspet (4.3km at 9.6%).
The riders will have about 70 kilometres before tackling the finale which features the climbs of the Col d’Agnes (10km at 8.2%), and the Port de Lers followed by the final haul up to Plateau de Beille. The final formidable climb is 15.8km long with an average gradient of 7.9% with the hardest gradients at the bottom where the KOM strava of 44 minutes and 54 seconds is held by Thibaut Pinot.
Stage 15 Sprints
- Intermediate sprint, km 37
Stage 15 Mountains
- Col de Peyresourde (6.9km at 7.8%), cat. 1, km 7
- Col de Menté (9.3km at 9.1%), cat. 1, km 50
- Col de Portet-d’Aspet (4.3km at 9.6%), cat. 1, km 65.4
- Col d’Agnes (10km at 8.2%), cat. 1, km 138.6
- Plateau de Beille (15.8km at 7.9%), cat. HC, km 197.7
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