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July 20, Stage 15: Tallard - Nîmes 222km

Tour de France: Kristoff wins in Nîmes

By:

Susan Westemeyer

Published:

July 20, 2014, 16:38 BST,

Updated:

July 21, 2014, 3:47 BST

Nibali remains in yellow

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

Bauer and Elmiger had escaped from nearly kilometer zero, establishing a solid gap 5km into the 222km stage. With a temporary truce between the general classification riders, the pair were allowed a maximum gap of nearly nine minutes.

A brisk tailwind helped them along, and after rolling start the roads flattened out. A sprint finish was expected, and those sprinters were happy to see not a single ranked climb on the day.

With the sprinters determined to have their chance again, Astana was able to relax a little and turn over the lead work to Giant-Shimano, Lotto Belisol and Katusha.

There were questions as to whether or not the weather would play a role, with crosswinds and rain expected toward the finish. A heavy storm hit the finish in Nîmes, with driving rains and strong wind gusts, but fortunately the peloton was still over 100km away.

No sooner did the chasing field hit the beginning of the flatter area, than the crosswinds started and immediately made themselves known. More and more riders were dropped off the back, including mountains classification leader Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and an ailing Richie Porte (Sky).

The gap dropped as well, dropping to the two-minute mark with 66km to go. And as the two leaders came within 50km of the finish, the roads were first wet and then the rain started too. There appeared to be hail, as well.

With about 23km to go, Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) jumped from the peloton. He had buried his hopes of a top GC placing and now looked to salvage what he could. But Giant-Shimano turned on the speed again and he was caught again.

The pitch black skies, heavy downpours and water-covered roads boded ill for the expected mass-sprint finish, but fortunately the skies cleared up as the finish approached. In fact, the sun even came out in the last 10km.

The sprinters’ teams did their work effectively, and the peloton was within a half a minute with 5km to go. Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) moved to the font on a roundabout, seemingly unsure as to whether he should go for it or not. Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Belisol) joined him, but they were caught.

Martin took off again, though, only to be caught and passed by Daniele Bennati. The Tinkoff-Saxo rider looked good to go, but quickly punctured, leaving Martin alone in front.

Bauer and Elmiger took 14 seconds with them under the flamme rouge. They fought hard for the stage win, but Bauer was caught within 10 meters of the finish line, as the field rolled in. Kristoff had opened the sprint and was never really challenged.

Photo: Bettini Photo

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