Katusha rider Alexander Kristoff won the 15th stage of the 2014 Tour De France on Sunday, while Astana rider Vincenzo Nibali remained on top of general classification.
Kristoff shifted to next gear in the final 50 meters of the race and successfully edged the two breakaway riders to win the 222-kilometer race on flat from Tallard to Nimes, scoring his second stage victory in this year's Le Tour De France.
IAM Cycling rider Heinrich Haussler of Australia finished second to Kristoff, while Cannondale rider Peter Sagan of Slovakia wound up third. Lotto-Belisol rider Andre Greipel of Germany and Quick-Step rider Mark Renshaw of Australia completes the top five.
"I thought it was a little bit too late, I thought I'd have to go for second but I was relieved that we caught them," Kristoff said via BBC. "I was a bit surprised I could take the win today. Maybe they had heavier legs than me after the Alps."
Kristoff pace himself for the entire race before stepping up in the home stretch of the race, and the chase group eventually overtook Martin Elmiger and Jack Bauer, who were poised to finish first and second after leading right from the get go until the final 50 meters.
"It's just a bitter, bitter disappointment. It's a childhood dream to win a stage of the tour and for a domestic, like myself, I'm normally working for others," said Bauer, who broke in tears after the race. "This was my first chance to be up the road and with the change in the wind and the weather, Martin and I realized we had a chance for the win."
Meanwhile, Nibali will still wear the yellow jersey in the 16th stage after maintaining his overall lead. The Italian rider is still four minutes, 37 seconds ahead of Alejandro Valverde. Below is the general classification top ten and the top five finishers on Sunday's race.
General Classification After 15 Stages, Top 10
- Vincenzo Nibali (Ita/Astana) 66hrs 49mins 37secs
- Alejandro Valverde (Spa/Movistar) +4mins 37secs
- Romain Bardet (Fra/AG2R) +4mins 50secs
- Thibaut Pinot (Fra/FDJ) +5mins 06secs
- Tejay van Garderen (US/BMC Racing) +5mins 49secs
- Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra/AG2R) +6mins 08secs
- Bauke Mollema (Ned/Belkin) +8mins 33secs
- Leopold Konig (Cze/Netapp-Endura) +9mins 32secs
- Laurens Ten Dam (Ned/Belkin) +10mins 01secs
- Pierre Rolland (Fra/Europcar) +10mins 48secs
Stage 15 Results, Top Five
- Alexander Kristoff (Nor/Katusha) 4hrs 56mins 42secs
- Heinrich Haussler (Aus/IAM Cycling) ST
- Peter Sagan (Svk/Cannondale)
- Andre Greipel (Ger/Lotto-Belisol)
- Mark Renshaw (Aus/Omega Pharma - Quick-Step)
The complete classification can be seen on this link, while Tour De France 2014 stage 15 highlights are available here.
