Wout Poels won the last mountain finish of the 110th Tour de France. The Dutchman won the 15th stage over 179 kilometers from Les Gets to Saint-Gervais on Mont Blanc as a soloist on Sunday. Wout van Aert from Belgium came second in front of Mathieu Burgaudeau from France. The favorites reached the almost 1400 meter high goal with a gap of almost six minutes.
In the overall standings, Jonas Vingegaard once again successfully defended the yellow jersey he had taken over after the sixth stage. The defending champion from Denmark is still ten seconds ahead of two-time champion Tadej Pogacar from Slovenia after more than two thirds of the tour.
The stage was overshadowed by an incident: a careless spectator triggered a mass fall and brought down defending champion Vingegaard’s most important helper. With about 128 kilometers to go, the fan stood too far on the road and stuck out his arm, apparently holding a smartphone. The American Sepp Kuss, who was at the front of the field, touched his arm, fell and swept around 20 drivers with him. In the mountains, Kiss is Vingegaard’s main helper.
“This is the drivers’ office. Don’t go to her office,” said Eurosport expert Jens Voigt, who accompanied the stage to Saint-Gervais on Mont Blanc on the motorcycle. “Don’t try to be part of the spectacle. The drivers are the spectacle, they are the show. Leave the road to the drivers,” appealed the ex-professional. John Degenkolb was also involved in the crash, which immediately forced no driver to retire.
On Monday, the second rest day offers the pros the opportunity to recover from the hardships in the Alps. As a rule, the riders get on their bikes for a maximum of two hours for a relaxed ride, are treated by physiotherapists, attend media appointments and receive family visits.
