Le Tour 2014 – Stage 15

Tallard – Nîmes

Distance: 222 kilometers.

The relatively flat descent to sea level out of the Alps before the final Rest Day which is followed by the Pyrennes.

Martin Elmiger and Jack Bauer broke away at the start and led for all but the last 50 meters. The chase was led by the sprinters and after it began raining the major Yellow Jersey contenders were more concerned with not crashing than winning.

Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 ) [Yellow] 66h 49′ 37″
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) [Green] 402 points
Joaquim Rodriguez ( Esp – KAT – 021 ) [Polka Dot] 88 points
Romain Bardet ( Fra – ALM – 082 ) 3 [White]

Team: AG2R La Mondiale ( ALM – 081-089 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Alexander Kristoff ( Nor – KAT – 023 )
Combative: Martin Elmiger ( Sui – IAM – 193 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 )
2 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte ( Esp – MOV – 011 ) + 04′ 37″
3 Romain Bardet ( Fra – ALM – 082 ) + 04′ 50″
4 Thibaut Pinot ( Fra – FDJ – 127 ) + 05′ 06″
5 Tejay Van Garderen ( US – BMC – 141 ) + 05′ 49″
6 Jean-Christophe Péraud ( Fra – ALM – 081 ) + 06′ 08″
7 Bauke Mollema ( Ned – BEL – 061 ) + 08′ 33″
8 Leopold Konig ( Cze – TNE – 201 ) + 09′ 32″
9 Laurens Ten Dam ( Ned – BEL – 067 ) + 10′ 01″
10 Pierre Rolland ( Fra – EUC – 151 ) + 10′ 48″

The Rest of the Top 30:

11 Jurgen Van Den Broeck ( Bel – LTB – 131 ) + 11′ 02″
12 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre ( Esp – TFR – 169 ) + 11′ 10″
13 Alberto Costa Rui ( Por – LAM – 111 ) + 12′ 57″
14 Frank Schleck ( Lux – TFR – 161 ) + 14′ 37″
15 Richie Porte ( Aus – SKY – 007 ) + 16′ 19″
16 Michal Kwiatkowski ( Pol – OPQ – 074 ) + 19′ 24″
17 Yury Trofimov ( Rus – KAT – 029 ) + 19′ 30″
18 Geraint Thomas ( GB – SKY – 008 ) + 20′ 18″
19 Brice Feillu ( Fra – BSE – 211 ) + 21′ 00″
20 Steven Kruijswijk ( Ned – BEL – 064 ) + 22′ 30″
21 Mikel Nieve Iturralde ( Esp – SKY – 005 ) + 23′ 09″
22 Christopher Horner ( US – LAM – 114 ) + 26′ 18″
23 John Gadret ( Fra – MOV – 013 ) + 33′ 13″
24 Tanel Kangert ( Est – AST – 046 ) + 39′ 12″
25 Ben Gastauer ( Lux – ALM – 085 ) + 41′ 28″
26 Peter Velits ( Svk – BMC – 149 ) + 45′ 33″
27 Jan Bakelants ( Bel – OPQ – 072 ) + 49′ 03″
28 Cyril Gautier ( Fra – EUC – 154 ) + 50′ 17″
29 Jakob Fuglsang ( Den – AST – 042 ) + 52′ 26″
30 Tom Dumoulin ( Ned – GIA – 106 ) + 52′ 36″

Note: Wikipedia has a simple article on the Mountain classification used on the Tour. The basic fact is that climbs fall into five types, with the four numbered types decreasing in difficulty as the numbers get larger, and then there is the Hors Catégorie, literally “without category”, which generally makes you look for an elevator or Sherpas.

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