In the sprint, the Belgian Jasper Philipsen won the 15th stage of the Tour de France, Sunday July 17, in Carcassonne. Under a blazing sun, Jonas Vingegaard suffered. The yellow jersey suffered a minor fall and above all lost two Jumbo-Visma teammates, forced to retire.
Still no French victory on this 109th edition of the Tour de France. Benjamin Thomas maintained hope at the end of the day’s course, on the plain, between Rodez and Carcassonne. Launched in the last kilometers with his compatriot Alexis Gougeard, then solo as the finish approached, the Cofidis rider did not hold out until the end. The peloton caught him 500 meters from the line.
Under a scorching heat, the last word went to Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin), in the sprint. In the fight with Wout van Aert and Mads Pedersen, the Belgian gave everything to pass in front of his competitors and offer his country its fourth stage victory on this Grande Boucle, after the first stage won by Yves Lampaert and the 4th and 8th stage won by Van Aert.
Overall, no change. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) retains the yellow jersey, still 2’22 ahead of Tadej Pogacar and 2’43 over Geraint Thomas, while Romain Bardet remains fourth, at 3’01. But the Danish leader did not have a restful Sunday.
Roglic and Kruijswijk out before the Pyrenees
The day started with the first bad news: Slovenian Primoz Roglic, Vingegaard’s teammate, had to throw in the towel before the start, victim of shoulder and lower back injuries. Too diminished, the 2nd of the Tour de France 2020 could not start. Then, another rider from Jumbo-Visma, the Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk, also had to withdraw. Victim of a fall 64 kilometers from the finish, he was forced to retire, visibly hard hit on a collarbone. An ambulance took care of him.
With Roglic and Kruijswijk less, Jonas Vingegaard loses two important men, while there are still two stages in the Pyrenees to gobble up. Between these hard knocks and a fall 56 kilometers from the finish, the Dane had a complicated day. The rest day on Monday, before the 16th stage on Tuesday July 19, comes at the right time. The verdict of this Tour de France 2022 is not yet fixed.