Tour de France: Kristoff wins in Nîmes

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Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) won his second stage at the Tour de France, claiming the sprint during stage 15 in Nîmes on Sunday. The on-rushing peloton caught the day’s two escapees within mere meters of the finish line, snatching the stage victory from the grasps of breakaway riders; Jack Bauer (Garmin-Sharp) and Martin Elmiger (IAM Cycling). Heinrich Haussler (IAM Cycling) and Peter Sagan (Cannondale) rounded out the top three.

There were no changes in the top of the GC rankings, with race leader Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) facing no challenge from his rivals on a day tailor-made for the sprinters, but which was very nearly stolen by the escapees.

"It was close, it was really close," a smiling Kristoff said, as Bauer was reduced to tears beyond the finish line. "The break was strong and, with the roundabouts at the end, it was difficult to close them back. Luckily we just caught them on the line and I'm really happy."

The joy of victory for the Norwegian sprinter was matched by the agony of defeat for Garmin's Bauer, who looked set to cruise to the team's first stage victory after distancing the Swiss champion in the final few hundred meters. But the duo's gap was not quite large enough to withstand the pressure of the sprinters, and Bauer grimaced in frustration as he slipped to 10th on the stage behind the clot of sprinters.

"It's a childhood fantasy to win a stage of the Tour for any cyclist, and especially for a Kiwi cyclist," Bauer said after calming down and getting cleaned up. "Not many of us get the chance to start the Tour de France. I really gave it absolutely everything, and as you can see from my meltdown at the finish line, I was pretty disappointed to come away empty handed.

"We really came together as a team and decided this morning that one of us would be in the move no matter what it took. I hadn't planned on it being a two-man move. Me and Martin managed it pretty well between ourselves. I think we both had decent legs in the finale, I felt I had the upper hand in the last 20km. I just waited to pounce. Maybe I waited a little too late."

Photo: Bettini Photo

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