Vinokourov solos to second consolation win

By Cycling News

published 19 July 2008

Alexander Vinokourov may not realize his dream of winning the Tour de France but the aggressive...

(opens in new tab)
(opens in new tab)
(opens in new tab)

Race Home
Stages
Race history
map
Start list

Image 1 of 95

Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) (Image credit: AFP)

Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) en route (Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)

Alberto Contador tried everything (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Juan Manuel Gárate (Quickstep-Innergetic) (Image credit: Sirotti)

Le Mevel crashed out of the Tour (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Christian Vande Velde (Team CSC) (Image credit: Sirotti)

Kirchen showed better form (Image credit: Sirotti)

Contador checks (Image credit: Sirotti)

Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank) at the start. (Image credit: Gregor Brown/Cyclingnews.com)

Rolf Aldag chats at the start. (Image credit: Gregor Brown/Cyclingnews.com)

A fan watches the start of stage 15. (Image credit: Gregor Brown/Cyclingnews.com)

Sunflowers typical of this area. (Image credit: Gregor Brown/Cyclingnews.com)

Foix post office. (Image credit: Gregor Brown/Cyclingnews.com)

Château Comtle in Foix (Image credit: Gregor Brown/Cyclingnews.com)

Caravan Volkswagen bus truck. (Image credit: Gregor Brown/Cyclingnews.com)

Château Comtle in Foix (Image credit: Gregor Brown/Cyclingnews.com)

Carlos Barredo (Quickstep-Innergetic) signs for the fans. (Image credit: Gregor Brown/Cyclingnews.com)

Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) is back on top of his game! (Image credit: AFP Photo)

Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) wins the second stage in the Pyrénées (Image credit: AFP Photo)

The Pyrénées were stunning for spectators and the racers wished they could enjoy it, too. (Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)

Sylvain Chavanel smiles in the mountains. He even held the polka dot for a few days. (Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)

Tadej Valjavec (Lampre-Fondital) the Slovenian champion. (Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)

Christian Knees and Laurent Lefèvre were part of the break of the day. (Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)

Mauricio Soler (Barloworld) could not gain points to really get the polka dot that he has on loan from Rasmussen. (Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)

Christophe Moreau (Ag2r Prévoyance) was aggressive today, but still is not 100% after his crash a few days ago. (Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)

Christian Vande Velde (Team CSC) rode strongly today. (Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)

Juan Manuel Gárate (Quickstep-Innergetic) had a good day in the break and in the mountains. (Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)

Kim Kirchen (T-Mobile) recovered from yesterday and got second. (Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)

Juan José Cobo (Saunier Duval-Prodir) was also a factor and was rewarded with 4th. (Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)

Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel-Euskadi) showed great form in the area close to the Basque country. (Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)

Fans were cheerful as the Pyrénées provided them with a stunning setting for stage 15. (Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)

Dropped riders get the occasional push to get them over the gradients. (Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)

The fans came out in numbers and cheered the riders on. (Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)

John Gadret (Ag2r Prévoyance) had an ok day in the mountains. (Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)

Stage winner Alexander Vinokourov celebrates as he wins stage 15. (Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)

Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) has to dig deep to be able to hold Contador's wheel. (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Alberto Contador tried everything but couldn't shake the Dane. (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

This looks like cheating. (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Le Mevel crashed out of the Tour with a broken collarbone. (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Juan Manuel Gárate (Quickstep-Innergetic) is digging deep on the Peyresourde. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

David Arroyo (Caisse d'Epargne) is trying to stay on the wheel of the compatriot Garate. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Christian Vande Velde (Team CSC) had an excellent day out in the mountains and was pretty happy about it. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Contador checks on the whereabouts of Rasmussen. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

The mano a mano was a fan's delight (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Contador tried very hard to distance the Dane. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Rasmussen gave it all and responded to each attack. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Contador attacked the hairpins like a man possessed. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Evans and Leipheimer were further back with the American unable to pull as Contador was up the road. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto) lost some time today. It looks like it's over for first place. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel) with another strong showing in the mountains, but held back by team tactics. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Andrey Kashechkin (Astana) was there to help team-mates (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Andreas Klöden (Astana) couldn't respond to attacks on the front. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

The domestiques stayed together from left to right: Schleck, Horner, Popovych (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Christophe Moreau (Ag2r Prévoyance) showed heart today. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) won the stage. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Rasmussen is still in yellow. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Contador leads young rider classification. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) wins the stage to Loudenville (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

The Kazakh attacked solo off the remainder of the break. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

The ever aggressive Vino secured his second stage win in this year's Tour (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Haimar Zubeldia (Euskaltel-Euskadi) got third after a good day for him. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Kirchen showed better form than the day before to get second. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Juan José Cobo (Saunier Duval-Prodir) also rode a good race and finished fourth. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Juan Manuel Gárate (Quickstep-Innergetic) showed a lot of courage, but couldn't hang with the very top guys. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

David Arroyo (Caisse d'Epargne) was another highly motivated Spaniard. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Kohl and Van de Velde come in (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Ludovic Turpin (Ag2r Prévoyance) had a good showing for the Ag2r team, after Moreau's overall hopes were dashed. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Contador and Rasmussen finish together and made sure that the overall is between them only now. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Contador in white (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

The sprint of the Evans group (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

The group with the main overall threats behind the two leaders. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto) would rather have the mountain stage replaced with a time trial. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

The Aussie has still a shot at the podium. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) celebrates victory (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Tour de France madness in the mountains. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Denis Menchov (Rabobank) rides through the crowds. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Rik Verbrugghe (Cofidis) tries to squeeze every drop out of his seemingly empty bottle. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Linus Gerdemann (T-Mobile) shows off his descending skills. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

The Quick.Step Innergetic mountain train (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) took the honours on stage 15 (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Michael Rasmussen with another yellow jersey and lion. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Alberto Contador once again extended his lead in the young rider classification. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

French champ Christophe Moreau fights his way past some Basque fans. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Oscar Pereiro (Caisse d'Epargne) on the climb. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Mauricio Soler (Barloworld) in his terrain. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Vinokourov showed his courage again. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

The Kazakh attacked hard at the bottom and was never to be seen again until the finish. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Haimar Zubeldia (Euskaltel-Euskadi) enjoyed the encouragement of 'his' fans. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Kirchen chases Cobo. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Kirchen got second at the end. Job well done. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Bernhard Kohl in the action again to finish seventh this time. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Christian Vande Velde (Team CSC) likes the encouragement. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)