07/19/26 11:39:00
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07/19 11:38 CDT Evenepoel wins 15th stage of the Tour and Pogacar retains big
lead as Vingegaard crashes out of race
Evenepoel wins 15th stage of the Tour and Pogacar retains big lead as
Vingegaard crashes out of race
PLATEAU DE SOLAISON, France (AP) --- Remco Evenepoel held off Tadej Pogacar and
his teammate Isaac Del Toro to win the 15th stage of the Tour de France, while
Pogacar kept his commanding overall lead and saw his main rival Jonas
Vingegaard crash out of the race.
Vingegaard fell about 20 kilometers (about 12 miles) from the end of the
184-kilometer (114-mile) trek, which ended with a big climb.
Belgian rider Evenepoel withstood two attacks from Del Toro in the last 800
meters and then beat Pogacar in a dash to the line for his first stage win of
this year's race and third overall on the Tour. Del Toro finished a few seconds
behind them in third.
Vinegaard's retirement means that Evenepoel climbed to second overall, five
minutes behind four-time Tour champion Pogacar, with the 22-year-old Mexican
Del Toro 5:58 back from Pogacar in third place.
Barring mishap, a fifth Tour crown looks inevitable for Pogacar, who has won
four stages so far in this year's race.
Only Belgian Eddy Merckx, Spaniard Miguel Indurain and Frenchmen Jacques
Anquetil and Bernard Hinault have won the overall Tour five times.
Vingegaard crashes before final climb
Sunday's trek featured one Category 1 (the second-hardest category) up Col de
la Croisette and concluded with a HC climb (the hardest category) up Plateau de
Solaison in the French Alps --- an 11-kilometer slog with a punishing 9%
gradient.
It was a special stage for the 19-year-old rising French star Paul Seixas,
whose grandparents' house was about 15 kilometers from the finish. Seixas
credits his grandfather, Jos Manuel Seixas, for introducing him to cycling
when he was a youngster. Seixas finished fourth and is fourth in the standings,
6:23 behind Pogacar.
A lead group of nine riders, including Olympic mountain bike champion Tom
Pidcock and American Quinn Simmons, headed up the sharp 4.7 kilometers of Col
de la Croisette, with Simmons moving ahead.
Shortly after Vingegaard's crash, which saw the Danish rider tumble close to a
roadside kerb after losing control of his front wheel, riders reached the
Solaison ascent.
Pogacar caught Simmons with just under 5 kilometers remaining, with Del Toro
and Evenepoel the only ones able to stick with him.
Monday is the second rest day of the race, which concludes on the
Champs-lyses in Paris on July 26.
Tuesday's 16th stage is an individual time trial and offers Evenepoel, the
reigning time trial Olympic and world champion, a good chance for another stage
win.
He won the Tour time trial last year with a stunning ride. -__
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
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