2011 Tour De France Stage 15 Results: Mark Cavendish Secures Emphatic Spint Win

After three tough days in the Pyrenees, the Tour returned to the relatively flat transition stages before moving into the Alps next week.

While there was a general sorting out of the serious contenders from the pretenders, little really changed at the pointy end of the field. The exception was Frank Schleck and Cadel Evans, who swapped places after Schleck put in a strong finishing burst on the ride into Luz Ardiden to steal a 20-second break on the Aussie.

Most surprisingly, Tommy Voeckler managed to keep his yellow jersey all of the way through the Pyrenees, at least in part  thanks to the wariness and respect shown by the top four riders toward each other.

What wasn’t surprising is that there was a breakaway at the beginning of stage 15 from Limoux to Montpellier, a leisurely 192 kilometre ride featuring only one Category 4 climb.

The five riders—including three Frenchmen desperate to secure their nation's first stage win of the year—were doomed to get caught by the thundering herd, led by Mark Cavendish’s HTC-Highroad team.

The riders in the breakaway were, Niki Terpstra (Quick Step), Mickael Delage (FDJ), Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis), Mikhail Ignatyev (Katusha) and Anthony Delaplace (Saur-Sojasun), none of whom were within an hour of the leaders in the general classification.

Despite none of them being threats, the value of the sprint points is such that not even the most benign breakaway is allowed to succeed. Terpstra was last to concede, being swept up with 3 kilometres to go

The lead in to the finish was a lesson in modern sprinting. HTC’s organization and lead out train for Cavendish is now so well drilled and organized as to make it difficult for all but the fastest riders to even get close.

Despite a last gasp breakaway attempt by Philippe Gilbert and the attempts by Garmin and Lampre to break Cavendish’s run, his ever-reliable lead-out man Mark Renshaw delivered him in perfect position to claim victory from the fast finishing Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervelo) and Alessandro Petacchi.

That was the final stage for pure sprinters on this year’s Tour, and with a 37 point lead in the points classification, Cavendish should secure his first Tour green jersey on the Champs-Elysees provided he can get over the Alps without being eliminated.

That’s far from a certainty. He managed to squeak home with one minute to spare after Stage 14 into Plateau de Beille.

Elsewhere, all of the major contenders made it home without incident and Voeckler continues his unlikely run in the yellow jersey.

Tomorrow sees the riders have a rest before on Tuesday taking on what is essentially an uphill stage for all but the last 11 kilometres, although there is technically only one second category climb. It won’t be a stage for the sprinters.

Jersey holders after Stage 15

		181	VOECKLER Thomas	TEAM EUROPCAR	65h 24' 34"
		171	CAVENDISH Mark	HTC - HIGHROAD	319 pts
		38	VANENDERT Jelle	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	74 pts
		118	URAN Rigoberto	SKY PROCYCLING	65h 32' 29"
			TEAM LEOPARD-TREK		195h 47' 43"

GC Standings after Stage 15

1.	VOECKLER Thomas	TEAM EUROPCAR	65h 24' 34
2.	SCHLECK Frank	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	+ 01' 49"
3.	EVANS Cadel	BMC RACING TEAM	+ 02' 06"
4.	SCHLECK Andy	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	+ 02' 15"
5.	BASSO Ivan	LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE	+ 03' 16"
6.	SANCHEZ Samuel	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	+ 03' 44"
7.	CONTADOR Alberto	SAXO BANK SUNGARD	+ 04' 00"
8.	CUNEGO Damiano	LAMPRE - ISD	+ 04' 01"
9.	DANIELSON Tom	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	+ 05' 46"
10.	DE WEERT Kevin	QUICK STEP CYCLING TEAM	+ 06' 18"