Stage 15 was the start of the Pyrenees leg of this year’s Tour de France and the GC guys needed to do some attacking. Not necessarily to put Tadej Pogacar under pressure, but to separate themselves in the top 5. At the end of the day, the only team to have done something different was Jumbo-Visma, who pushed all the chips to the middle of the table and came away an exhilarating stage win for Sepp Kuss, some pox points and most combative rider for Wout van Aert and Jonas Vingegaard holding his own in the yellow jersey group and getting back onto the virtual GC podium. Did anyone gain any time on Pogacar? Did they hell …
Jumbo gambles big
What was the Jumbo plan? They leave their fourth placed rider Jonas Vingegaard – the man that showed his strength against Pogacar on Ventoux – with only one team in the peloton and the rest of them go up the road in the 30-man break of the day. Madness, it was cried!
I'm sad for Vingegaard especially given Jonas was the only rider to be able to put pressure on Pogi on Ventoux 🤨
Could be all out attack but seems risky.
— Issie 💙 (@IssieAtch) July 11, 2021
Vingegaard with one teammate in the peloton…The rest in the breakaway. I really feel sorry for Jonas.
— Janibrajkovic (@janibrajkovic) July 11, 2021
JW teams tactics and doings are always strange in my opinion and others as I see. Luck and strong riders usually safes them, keeping fingers crossed for this one ☝️ 🙏🍀
— Irma Baloh (@irmabaloh) July 11, 2021
We had a little of that here too. Questioning why all their support climbers are in the break
— midge (@pariswheels) July 11, 2021
“That was a proper sprint, Sean!” 🙌🏔️
🇳🇱 Ten points go the way of @WoutPoels at the #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/fZ6Boafx0H
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) July 11, 2021
Wout Van Aert the first place pox points on the climb, Poels and Woods follow #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/zSfNyZq58I
— VeloVoices (@VeloVoices) July 11, 2021
They left Vingegaard home alone for this? #TDF2021 #CouchPeloton pic.twitter.com/oHRVfqgkbK
— Belinda (@reallyspoketome) July 11, 2021
Some had faith, however.
J-V scenario? Vingegaard repeats Ventoux gap, bridges up to WVA waiting on top, rails it to line + Kuss solos out of group to stage win … #dreambig
— Andrew Hood (@EuroHoody) July 11, 2021
It didn’t quite work out that way, but kinda. So, on the final climb, the 30-man break was breaking up. Sepp Kuss went off the front in an audacious attack and Wout van Aert went out the back, not so audaciously. With Movistar and Ineos banding together to either start the chase for a stage win or attempting to break either their rivals or Pogacar or all three alternatives, would WvA wait for Vingegaard and help him to the finish? Yes. He would.
🇫🇷 #TDF2021 @WoutvanAert pacing in the group with Jonas👊
— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) July 11, 2021
Meanwhile, Kuss quickly made a gap of about 15sec and, although chased the whole descent to the finish by Alejandro Valverde, he was never caught (and not really ever in any danger of being caught).
Sepp Kuss goes. Nobody can follow. That's it for the stage win, I think. #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/Fh0hvE29IY
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) July 11, 2021
Kuss has got to go all-in for a gap before that downhill finish, too many fast finishers in that group. #TDF2021
— CyclingTips (@cyclingtips) July 11, 2021
Lets gooooooo Sepp!!!
Aka a long lost Tracey brother #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/kpfrvzv4lk
— Issie 💙 (@IssieAtch) July 11, 2021
As he rode into the final few hundred metres, he had time to sit up, smile at the spectators and take off his sunnies and throw them to the crowd, like a bride throws her bouquet.
Did @seppkuss just start the cycling version of a mic drop? Biff the sunnies into the crowd, shit that was good!
— Sam Bewley (@sam_bewley) July 11, 2021
He went for it, and he did it! #TDF2021
Sepp Kuss wins in Andorra 😍 pic.twitter.com/Rs8z6aUDCK
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 11, 2021
Translation: “To be honest, I really suffered at the start of the Tour. Today, I knew that the race was ending at home, my girlfriend was on the last climb to encourage me. My parents at home, I know that ‘they encouraged me. “
🎙🇺🇸 @seppkuss
"Pour être honnête, j'ai vraiment souffert en début de Tour. Aujourd'hui, je savais que la course se terminait chez moi, ma copine était dans la dernière montée pour m'encourager. Mes parents à la maison, je sais qu'ils m'encourageaient."#TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/syxGMb96M4
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 11, 2021
The drought is over! @seppkuss is the first American to win a Tour stage in 10 years. #TDF2021
— CyclingTips (@cyclingtips) July 11, 2021
Nice moment. Winner @seppkuss and runner-up @alejanvalverde congratulating each other after Tour de France Stage 15 👌
___________#TDF2021 #TourdeFrance pic.twitter.com/AgSiKCEGMt— Velon CC (@VelonCC) July 11, 2021
Now for the yellow jersey group!
As expected, Ineos (helped by Movistar) decided to rabble rouse on the final climb … Kuss was already away and it was Richie Porte with three Movistar riders who started the attritional riding. At that point, the group included Wilco Kelderman, Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogacar, Rigoberto Uran, Richard Carapaz and Guillaume Martin.
IT'S HAPPENING! 👀 #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/Bq8fp2vnwW
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) July 11, 2021
Seems like the jumbo-bees took a bit of a timing gamble and it seems to have paid off
— Kirsten (@KirstenKrogh) July 11, 2021
Castroviejo and Van Baarle had been in the break but soon dropped back to help lil Richie and Geraint Thomas drill it on the climb.
With them sitting up, INEOS better have something exciting up their sleeves #TDF2021 https://t.co/2CIj544nhv
— Issie 💙 (@IssieAtch) July 11, 2021
By the time they got over the final climb and were on the descent, Guillaume Martin fell behind and due to some strong headwinds on that descent, there was no getting back. Whereas on Stage 14, he jumped from 8th to 2nd on GC, today, he fell back down to 9th by the end of the stage. That said, I suspect Martin would have fallen out of the top 5 on his own later in the week, so did Ineos have a better plan?
Guillaume Martin had an effort beyond his limit yesterday and then really fell apart today. That's typically how the human body works.
— Peter Flax (@Pflax1) July 11, 2021
Hasn't he been successful at that the whole Tour, though?
— VeloVoices (@VeloVoices) July 11, 2021
I'm not convinced that they'll do anything to him. They've dropped Martin, so I suppose that's good, although I would have thought he would have fallen away by himself at some point without them burning all their matches. But we'll see!
— VeloVoices (@VeloVoices) July 11, 2021
I could eat my words BUT comms are thrilled about a Carapaz attack being imminent and Pog being isolated despite no evidence Carapaz can launch a successful attack or that Pog needs his team around them
— Journal Velo (@JournalVelo) July 11, 2021
As this film will tell you, Richard Carapaz just couldn’t get away from that tiny group. But Jonas Vingegaard looked strong, attacking a number of times. Sepp Kuss said in his post-stage interview, they’re all in for Vingegaard now.
Vingegaard bestookt de andere favorieten. Pogacar geeft geen krimp. #tdf2021 pic.twitter.com/qF70SwzqFk
— Sporza 🚴 (@sporza_koers) July 11, 2021
You can't say they didn't try but Pogacar answered to all the attacks even if he was isolated from far. The only GC victim was Lutsenko who lost 30 seconds. Guillaume Martin lost everything what he gained yesterday. #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/BPXMMvMm5K
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) July 11, 2021
#sbstdf #couchpeloton Pogacar to Ineos: pic.twitter.com/4AnhTs0fSH
— black cate (@blakcate) July 11, 2021
I think @SeanKellyCC has nailed it. A lot of these tactics make more sense if you just accept they're not racing against Pog but actually just scrapping for podium places.
— John Galloway (@VelocastJohn) July 11, 2021
Whether it was driving the break, sprinting for the pox points, then leading the way down the final climb descent with Vingegaard on his wheel, Wout van Aert was pretty busy today. And it won him most combative of the stage.
Wout van Aert wins most combative after a long day in the mountains 🥵⛰#couchpeloton #sbstdf #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/ElNHrntpeN
— CyclingCentral (@CyclingCentral) July 11, 2021
Jumbo-Visma seemed to get a lot more out of their wild gamble (could we call it ‘a new way of racing’?) than Ineos’ tried and true tempo riding to no real gain. I wonder if anyone in the Ineos team car might look at that performance and wonder if they could maybe try this at some point this week.
— Laticia Waclawik (@sdbeachgirl9) July 11, 2021
At the end of all that effort, Uran and Vingegaard moved up into 2nd and 3rd respectively, due to Martin losing so much time on the descent. But Uran, Vingegaard, Ben O’Connor, Carapaz and Kelderman did not gain any time on each other or on Pogacar. Not one single second.
Jumbo-visma seems to be doing fine #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/jEcN8lf5O1
— Cycling Memes (@Cycling_Memes1) July 11, 2021
Vibe on the Jumbo Visma bus today. pic.twitter.com/jwTbDt1C24
— Peter Flax (@Pflax1) July 11, 2021
And what did Pog want for the rest day?
"i hope i can sleep so long that i have pain from the bed"–Pog.#tdf2021 #couchpeloton pic.twitter.com/aBf3nBhRib
— Jamie Naragon (@TdF4077) July 11, 2021
Pox stand-off
It seems to be a four-horse race for the Paris polka-dots. Yesterday, it was a three-horse race: Wout Poels, Michael Woods, Nairo Quintana. Today, Wout van Aert threw his hat into the ring (as we saw above). And the jersey changed shoulders again – this time, Poels got it back. With the green jersey sewn up (other than time cuts), the yellow and white taken by the same guy, it’s up to the pox to give us some adrenaline in the jersey fights.
. @WoutPoels is back into the polka dot jersey after a strong performance in the demanding stage 15 @LeTour that saw him take 3rd place 🥉 in Andorra.#RideAsOne #TDF2021
📸 @bettiniphoto pic.twitter.com/QAFp3Exw4P
— Team Bahrain Victorious (@BHRVictorious) July 11, 2021
Stage 15 – Tour de France.
104 KOM points to share. In breakaway and in top 10 for polka-dots:@rusty_woods – 1st – 54 pts@NairoQuinCo – 2nd – 50 pts@WoutPoels – 3rd – 49 pts@WoutvanAert – 4th – 43 pts@KennyElissonde – 6th – 27 pts@alafpolak1 – 10th – 20 pts#TDF2021
— Kevin Glenton (@KevinJGlenton) July 11, 2021
HOW does Quintana have such sparks of racing brilliance in between such long periods of humdrum performance? It makes no sense physically. #TDF2021
— Zimbololo (@LoisHorwitz) July 11, 2021
Millar is such a spoofer…
Quintana attacks
"Wow… this is Nairo Quintana at his absolute best"
2 mins later
"…and Quintana has been distanced! " pic.twitter.com/TC27Mtyd8O— 🏴☠️QuentinQuarantino#️⃣PoliticsIsPanto (@DrumStig) July 11, 2021
So now its reached the point where the competition for the green, yellow and white jerseys is pretty boring. But @letour is still exciting with plenty of action for stage wins, the battle for the polka dot jersey and the day's most aggressive rider.
— Mr T (@PedalRaymond) July 11, 2021
The time cuts
This has been a much more important part of fans’ stage viewing, as it’s the Cav Watch most days. But there were a few casualties, both within the race and at the end after the time cut. Nacer Bouhanni left the race about halfway through the race after being followed by a menacing broomwagon.
🤦♀️🤪💥 pic.twitter.com/rvpBhv14ro
— Amy E White (@AmyEWhite3) July 11, 2021
But EBH misses the cut – injury to his knee I think
— skip (@_hiranyaloka) July 11, 2021
German tv said EBH’s “best years are behind him.” Husband: “That was very harsh.” Me: “But true.”
— Susan Westemeyer (@WestemeyerSusan) July 11, 2021
The Last Word
are we all agreed at this point that alaphilippe is the most likely rider to get the red number in paris?#TDF2021
— mira ✨ (@miranemcikova) July 11, 2021
Results
Stage 15 Top 5
1 Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) 5:12:06
2 Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +0:23
3 Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious) +1:15
4 Ion Izagirre (Astana Premier Tech) same time
5 Ruben Guerreiro (EF Education-Nippo) s/t
General Classification Top 10
1 Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 62:07:18
2 Rigoberto Uran (EF Education-Nippo) +5:18
3 Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) +5:32
4 Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) +5:33
5 Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën Team) +5:58
6 Wilco Kelderman (Bora-Hansgrohe)+6:16
7 Alexey Lutsenko (Astana-Premier Tech) +7:01
8 Enric Mas (Movistar Team) +7:11
9 Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) +7:58
10 Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) +10:59
All the jerseys
🇫🇷 #TDF2021
Jerseys after Stage 15💛🏆 Tadej Pogačar 🇸🇮
💚💨 Mark Cavendish 🇬🇧
🔴⛰️ Wout Poels 🇳🇱
🤍👶 Tadej Pogačar 🇸🇮 pic.twitter.com/msa15mEEvZ— pro cycling trumps (@procycletrumps) July 11, 2021
Leaders jersey: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)
Points jersey: Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck-Quick Step)
KOM jersey: Michael Woods (Israel Start-up Nation)
Best young rider jersey : Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates)
Most combative rider : Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma)
For full stage review, go to cyclingnews