MONTPELLIER, July 17, 2011 (Bicycling.com/AFP) - Britain's Mark Cavendish continued his domination of the Tour de France sprint stages Sunday by claiming his fourth win of the race to take his career tally to an unrivalled 19 on stage 15. France's Thomas Voeckler, of the Europcar team, remained in the yellow jersey after the mainly flat but wind-buffeted ride over 193 km from Limoux to Montpellier which had the overall contenders fighting for survival.
Voeckler maintained his 1min 49sec lead on Luxembourg's Frank Schleck, with Australian Cadel Evans in third at 2:06. Andy Schleck, the runner-up the past two years, is fourth at 2:15 while three-time and reigning champion Alberto Contador of Spain is seventh at 4:00.
The peloton racing early in Stage 15 after a break of five riders got away. (James Startt)
Cavendish meanwhile showed that when his team are in control, he is virtually unstoppable. After a strong ride by HTC-Highroad, which helped chase down an earlier five-man breakaway and then countered a late move by Belgian champion Philippe Gilbert, Cavendish was quick to share the plaudits.
"I don't think there's been one of my 19 wins that I've done alone, and that just shows the commitment those guys have towards me and I'm incredibly lucky for that," said Cavendish. I crossed the finish line first but it's not just me. I did 200 metres today in a 200 km stage. The team rode and delivered me to the line. I'm incredibly proud to be associated with them."
Although Belgian legend Eddy Merckx holds the race record of 34 stage wins Cavendish is by far the most successful sprinter ever on the race.
After a windy ride into Montpellier which had Evans, the Schlecks and Contador nervously trying to avoid losing time due to splits in the peloton, his team remained in control despite the technical approach to the finish line. The cosmopolitan American outfit then kept their composure when Gilbert, Cavendish's principle rival for the points competition's green jersey, launched an attack with three kilometres to race. Cavendish's Australian teammate Matt Goss admitted Gilbert, who won stage one to take the yellow jersey and has been a threat for Cavendish throughout, had to be brought to heel.
"Gilbert went, and you've got to worry," said Goss. "You see how strong and how good he is. We certainly had to make sure we got him back."
HTC-Highroad reeled the Omega-Pharma rider in and with just over 200 metres to race Cavendish emerged from the wheel of Australian lead-out man Mark Renshaw and drove hard for the finish where he beat American Tyler Farrar into second. Garmin sprinter Farrar, who secured his maiden Tour victory on stage three, had hoped to benefit from the slipstream of lead-out man Julian Dean however the New Zealander got stuck behind HTC.
Voeckler donned yet another yellow jersey—but said he can't win the Tour de France. (James Startt)
"I couldn't come off the wheel there to give Tyler that extra bit of speed he needed at the finish. There was nothing we could do today," said Dean. "HTC were right on their game."
After surviving three tough stages in the Pyrenees Farrar admitted he is looking forward to a rest.
"It was a stressful day with lots of wind but the team rode all day and got me into good position in the finale," said the American. "I really wanted the win today but unfortunately it just didn't turn out. I think we're all ready for the rest day tomorrow and we will look forward to next week and another try on the Champs (Elysees)."
Monday is the second rest day of the race, which resumes Tuesday with a hilly 162.5 km ride from Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux to Gap on stage 16.
Voeckler is likely to keep the yellow jersey at least until then; however, despite punching above his weight so far, the Frenchman said he is under no illusions.
He said: "I give myself zero percent chance of winning the Tour de France."
Related post-stage interviews:
Stage 15 results
1. Mark Cavendish (IDM/HTC) 4h20min 24sec
(average: 44,4 km/h)
2. Tyler Farrar (USA/GRM) at 0:00.
3. Alessandro Petacchi (ITA/LAM) 0:00.
4. Daniel Oss (ITA/LIQ) 0:00.
5. José Joaquin Rojas (ESP/MOV) 0:00.
6. Ben Swift (ENG/SKY) 0:00.
7. Gerald Ciolek (GER/QST) 0:00.
8. Tony Gallopin (FRA/COF) 0:00.
9. Francisco Ventoso (ESP/MOV) 0:00.
10. Sébastien Hinault (FRA/ALM) 0:00.
11. Jimmy Engoulvent (FRA/SAU) 0:00.
12. Fabio-Leonardo Duque (COL/COF) 0:00.
13. Andre Greipel (GER/OLO) 0:00.
14. Borut Bozic (SLO/VAC) 0:00.
15. Tomas Vaitkus (LTU/AST) 0:00.
General classification
1. Thomas Voeckler (FRA/EUC) 65h24min 34sec
2. Frank Schleck (LUX/LEO) at 1:49.
3. Cadel Evans (AUS/BMC) 2:06.
4. Andy Schleck (LUX/LEO) 2:15.
5. Ivan Basso (ITA/LIQ) 3:16.
6. Samuel Sanchez (ESP/EUS) 3:44.
7. Alberto Contador (ESP/SAX) 4:00.
8. Damiano Cunego (ITA/LAM) 4:01.
9. Tom Danielson (USA/GRM) 5:46.
10. Kevin De Weert (BEL/QST) 6:18.
11. Rigoberto Uran (COL/SKY) 7:55.
12. Jean Christophe Peraud (FRA/ALM) 8:20.
13. Rein Taaramae (EST/COF) 9:02.
14. Pierre Rolland (FRA/EUC) 9:20.
15. Haimar Zubeldia (ESP/RSH) 9:50.
16. Peter Velits (SVK/HTC) 10:01.
17. Arnold Jeannesson (FRA/FDJ) 10:05.
18. Nicolas Roche (EIR/ALM) 10:56.
19. Sandy Casar (FRA/FDJ) 11:54.
20. Jelle Vanendert (BEL/OLO) 12:06.
21. Rob Ruijgh (NED/VAC) 12:56.
22. Jérome Coppel (FRA/SAU) 13:03.
23. Vladimir Karpets (RUS/KAT) 15:11.
24. Yury Trofimov (RUS/KAT) 16:43.
25. Levi Leipheimer (USA/RSH) 16:48.
26. Gorka Verdugo (ESP/EUS) 16:54.
27. Vladimir Gusev (RUS/KAT) 19:41.
28. Philippe Gilbert (BEL/OLO) 20:50.
29. Christian Vande Velde (USA/GRM) 21:06.
30. Maxime Monfort (BEL/LEO) 21:40.
31. David Moncoutié (FRA/COF) 21:57.
32. Ryder Hesjedal (CAN/GRM) 25:18.
33. Carlos Barredo (ESP/RAB) 26:25.
34. Cyril Gautier (FRA/EUC) 26:37.
35. Hubert Dupont (FRA/ALM) 28:20.
36. Tony Martin (GER/HTC) 28:34.
37. Andrej Zeits (KAZ/AST) 30:51.
38. Jérôme Pineau (FRA/QST) 30:58.
39. Yannick Talabardon (FRA/SAU) 31:55.
40. Egoi Martinez (ESP/EUS) 34:43.
41. Robert Gesink (NED/RAB) 35:21.
42. Geraint Thomas (GBR/SKY) 35:27.
43. Luis Leon Sanchez (ESP/RAB) 37:26.
44. Chris Anker Sörensen (DEN/SAX) 38:01.
45. Julien El Farès (FRA/COF) 38:22.
46. Jakob Diemer Fuglsang (DEN/LEO) 39:46.
47. Linus Gerdemann (GER/LEO) 39:48.
48. Dries Devenyns (BEL/QST) 42:17.
49. Steve Morabito (SUI/BMC) 42:44.
50. David Arroyo (ESP/MOV) 43:03.
51. Remy Di Gregorio (FRA/AST) 43:56.
52. Laurens ten Dam (NED/RAB) 45:29.
53. George Hincapie (USA/BMC) 45:42.
54. Anthony Charteau (FRA/EUC) 48:53.
55. Maxime Bouet (FRA/ALM) 50:36.
56. Sylvester Szmyd (POL/LIQ) 54:00.
57. Xavier Zandio (ESP/SKY) 54:07.
58. David Millar (GBR/GRM) 55:30.
59. Thor Hushovd (NOR/GRM) 55:48.
60. Christian Knees (GER/SKY) 56:35.
61. Grischa Niermann (GER/RAB) 57:58.
62. Christophe Riblon (FRA/ALM) 1h00:01.
63. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR/SKY) 1h03:23.
64. Tejay Van Garderen (USA/HTC) 1h03:27.
65. Amaël Moinard (FRA/BMC) 1h03:52.
66. Daniel Navarro (ESP/SAX) 1h04:10.
67. Jens Voigt (GER/LEO) 1h04:11.
68. Sylvain Chavanel (FRA/QST) 1h05:22.
69. Tony Gallopin (FRA/COF) 1h05:41.
70. Maciej Paterski (POL/LIQ) 1h10:22.
71. David Loosli (SUI/LAM) 1h10:23.
72. Ruben Perez Moreno (ESP/EUS) 1h12:20.
73. Richie Porte (AUS/SAX) 1h13:05.
74. Paolo Tiralongo (ITA/AST) 1h14:40.
75. Bauke Mollema (NED/RAB) 1h15:51.
76. Jürgen Roelandts (BEL/OLO) 1h15:57.
77. Rui Costa (POR/MOV) 1h17:01.
78. José Joaquin Rojas (ESP/MOV) 1h17:07.
79. Adriano Malori (ITA/LAM) 1h17:07.
80. Gorka Izagirre (ESP/EUS) 1h18:08.
81. Egor Silin (RUS/KAT) 1h18:16.
82. Sergio Paulinho (POR/RSH) 1h19:38.
83. Bjorn Leukemans (BEL/VAC) 1h19:58.
84. Thomas De Gendt (BEL/VAC) 1h21:24.
85. Markel Irizar (ESP/RSH) 1h21:30.
86. Stuart O'Grady (AUS/LEO) 1h21:43.
87. Marco Marcato (ITA/VAC) 1h22:16.
88. Imanol Erviti (ESP/MOV) 1h22:26.
89. Nicki Sörensen (DEN/SAX) 1h24:06.
90. Ivan Santaromita (ITA/BMC) 1h24:19.
91. Arthur Vichot (FRA/FDJ) 1h25:26.
92. Alan Perez Lezaun (ESP/EUS) 1h26:10.
93. Ivan Gutierrez (ESP/MOV) 1h26:35.
94. Juan Antonio Flecha (ESP/SKY) 1h29:21.
95. Kristjan Koren (SLO/LIQ) 1h31:54.
96. Simon Gerrans (AUS/SKY) 1h32:55.
97. Jeremy Roy (FRA/FDJ) 1h33:01.
98. Johnny Hoogerland (NED/VAC) 1h33:19.
99. Matteo Bono (ITA/LAM) 1h34:10.
100. Michael Schär (SUI/BMC) 1h35:22.
101. Daniel Oss (ITA/LIQ) 1h35:58.
102. Jesus Hernandez (ESP/SAX) 1h36:51.
103. Sébastien Hinault (FRA/ALM) 1h38:02.
104. Danilo Hondo (GER/LAM) 1h38:38.
105. Gianni Meersman (BEL/FDJ) 1h39:45.
106. Alessandro Petacchi (ITA/LAM) 1h39:47.
107. Benjamin Noval (ESP/SAX) 1h40:48.
108. Manuel Quinziato (ITA/BMC) 1h41:11.
109. Sebastian Lang (GER/OLO) 1h43:44.
110. Anthony Roux (FRA/FDJ) 1h43:53.
111. Roman Kreuziger (CZE/AST) 1h44:37.
112. Jonathan Hivert (FRA/SAU) 1h45:14.
113. Laurent Mangel (FRA/SAU) 1h45:51.
114. Sébastien Turgot (FRA/EUC) 1h46:05.
115. Matteo Tosatto (ITA/SAX) 1h46:06.
116. Tristan Valentin (FRA/COF) 1h46:07.
117. Dmitriy Fofonov (KAZ/AST) 1h46:27.
118. Maartens Tjallingii (NED/RAB) 1h46:32.
119. Brian Vandborg (DEN/SAX) 1h48:43.
120. Joost Posthuma (NED/LEO) 1h50:55.
121. Mickael Delage (FRA/FDJ) 1h51:32.
122. Brent Bookwalter (USA/BMC) 1h51:41.
123. Fabio-Leonardo Duque (COL/COF) 1h51:42.
124. Grega Bole (SLO/LAM) 1h51:50.
125. Michael Buffaz (FRA/COF) 1h52:33.
126. Paolo Longo Borghini (ITA/LIQ) 1h53:37.
127. Ben Swift (ENG/SKY) 1h54:39.
128. Jeremie Galland (FRA/SAU) 1h54:49.
129. Francisco Ventoso (ESP/MOV) 1h55:53.
130. Fabian Cancellara (SUI/LEO) 1h56:33.
131. Marcel Sieberg (GER/OLO) 1h57:49.
132. Alessandro Vanotti (ITA/LIQ) 1h58:00.
133. Sébastien Minard (FRA/ALM) 1h58:32.
134. Mark Cavendish (GBR/HTC) 1h58:34.
135. Tomas Vaitkus (LTU/AST) 1h59:10.
136. Lieuwe Westra (NED/VAC) 1h59:26.
137. Maxim Iglinskiy (KAZ/AST) 1h59:38.
138. Matthew Goss (AUS/HTC) 2h00:30.
139. Niki Terpstra (NED/QST) 2h01:34.
140. Borut Bozic (SLO/VAC) 2h03:07.
141. Addy Engels (NED/QST) 2h04:19.
142. Blel Kadri (FRA/ALM) 2h05:03.
143. Leonardo Bertagnolli (ITA/LAM) 2h05:30.
144. Anthony Delaplace (FRA/SAU) 2h05:38.
145. Fabrice Jeandesboz (FRA/SAU) 2h05:40.
146. Gerald Ciolek (GER/QST) 2h06:01.
147. Denys Kostyuk (UKR/LAM) 2h06:25.
148. Dmitry Muravyev (KAZ/RSH) 2h06:25.
149. Julian Dean (NZL/GRM) 2h08:28.
150. Romain Zingle (BEL/COF) 2h08:52.
151. Arnaud Coyot (FRA/SAU) 2h09:11.
152. André Greipel (GER/OLO) 2h11:11.
153. Lars Ytting Bak (DEN/HTC) 2h11:12.
154. Maciej Bodnar (POL/LIQ) 2h11:20.
155. Yohann Gene (FRA/EUC) 2h13:46.
156. Tyler Farrar (USA/GRM) 2h14:15.
157. Andriy Grivko (UKR/AST) 2h16:12.
158. Mark Renshaw (AUS/HTC) 2h19:20.
159. Samuel Dumoulin (FRA/COF) 2h19:25.
160. Bernhard Eisel (AUT/HTC) 2h19:50.
161. Perrig Quemeneur (FRA/EUC) 2h19:51.
162. Ramunas Navardauskas (LTU/GRM) 2h19:55.
163. Marcus Burghardt (GER/BMC) 2h20:15.
164. Mikhail Ignatiev (RUS/KAT) 2h22:01.
165. Jimmy Engoulvent (FRA/SAU) 2h22:36.
166. Pablo Urtasun (ESP/EUS) 2h22:42.
167. Danny Pate (USA/HTC) 2h25:42.
168. Fabio Sabatini (ITA/LIQ) 2h32:59.
169. Vincent Jérôme (FRA/EUC) 2h33:38.
170. Audrey Amador (CRC/MOV) 2h43:07.
Points
1. Mark Cavendish (GBR/HTC) 319 pts
2. José Joaquin Rojas (ESP/MOV) 282
3. Philippe Gilbert (BEL/OLO) 248
4. Thor Hushovd (NOR/GRM) 192
5. André Greipel (GER/OLO) 170
6. Cadel Evans (AUS/BMC) 159
7. Tyler Farrar (USA/GRM) 141
8. Mickael Delage (FRA/FDJ) 122
9. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR/SKY) 105
10. Alessandro Petacchi (ITA/LAM) 96
King of the Mountains
1. Jelle Vanendert (BEL/OLO) 74 pts
2. Samuel Sanchez (ESP/EUS) 72
3. Jeremy Roy (FRA/FDJ) 45
4. Andy Schleck (LUX/LEO) 28
5. Cadel Evans (AUS/BMC) 26
6. Frank Schleck (LUX/LEO) 24
7. Johnny Hoogerland (NED/VAC) 22
8. Sylvain Chavanel (FRA/QST) 20
9. Sandy Casar (FRA/FDJ) 19
10. Geraint Thomas (GBR/SKY) 18
Team stage
1. Garmin 13h 01:12sec.
2. Cofidis at 0:00.
3. Saur - Sojasun 0:00.
4. HTC 0:00.
5. AG2R La Mondiale 0:00.
Team overall
1. Leopard 195h 47:43sec.
2. Europcar at 0:06.
3. AG2R La Mondiale 2:32.
4. Garmin 3:43.
5. Katusha 8:31.
6. Cofidis 14:14.
7. Euskaltel 16:28.
8. RadioShack 16:32.
9. Sky 27:49.
10. Saxo Bank 28:39.
11. Quick Step 29:32.
12. FDJ 32:46.
13. Omega Pharma 45:02.
14. BMC 46:35.
15. HTC 47:44.
16. Rabobank 49:34.
17. Astana 54:54.
18. Saur - Sojasun 1h08:09.
19. Liquigas 1h08:54.
20. Vacansoleil 1h13:40.
21. Lampre 1h23:57.
22. Movistar 1h39:24.
Best young riders (stage)
1. Daniel Oss (ITA/LIQ) 4h 20:24sec.
2. Ben Swift (ENG/SKY) at 0:00.
3. Gerald Ciolek (GER/QST) 0:00.
4. Tony Gallopin (FRA/COF) 0:00.
5. Arnold Jeannesson (FRA/FDJ) 0:00.
Best young riders (overall)
1. Rigoberto Uran (COL/SKY) 65h 32:29sec.
2. Rein Taaramae (EST/COF) at 1:07.
3. Pierre Rolland (FRA/EUC) 1:25.
4. Arnold Jeannesson (FRA/FDJ) 2:10.
5. Rob Ruijgh (NED/VAC) 5:01.
6. Jérome Coppel (FRA/SAU) 5:08.
7. Cyril Gautier (FRA/EUC) 18:42.
8. Andrej Zeits (KAZ/AST) 22:56.
9. Robert Gesink (NED/RAB) 27:26.
10. Geraint Thomas (GBR/SKY) 27:32.
Aggressivity (stage)
Niki Terpstra (NED/QST)
Timothy V. Lain Keith T. Chavarria Nicole C. Johnson David D. Bassett Craig T. Russell John J. Stephenson
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