Tour De France 2015: Full Standings and Highlights After Stage 12 Results

Joaquim Rodriguez conquered a savage, undulating run from Lannemezan to Plateau de Beille on Thursday in the 2015 Tour de France to take victory on Stage 12. Team Sky’s Chris Froome also preserved his strong position atop the general classification standings thanks to some tremendous work from team-mate Geraint Thomas.

Team Katusha's Rodriguez was part of an early breakaway that put minutes between themselves and the peloton and was eventually too strong for Astana Pro Team's Jakob Fuglsang and Romain Bardet of AG2R La Mondiale, respectively, to take the stage win on a rainy summit.

Peter Dejong/Associated Press

Froome, after three tough days in the Pyrenees, remains well in control of the yellow jersey, with none of Alberto Contador, Nairo Quintana, Tejay van Garderen or Vincenzo Nibali able to make inroads into the Briton's substantial overall lead.

Here are stage results and a look at how the general classification is shaping up after another encapsulating day of racing in the mountains:

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha	5:40:14
2	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team	0:01:12
3	Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale	0:01:49
4	Gorka Izagirre (Spa) Movistar Team	0:04:34
5	Louis Meintjes (RSA) MTN - Qhubeka	0:04:38
6	Jan Barta (Cze) Bora-Argon 18	0:05:47
7	Romain Sicard (Fra) Team Europcar	0:06:03
8	Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale	0:06:28
9	Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team	0:06:46
10	Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky	0:06:47

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky	46:50:32
2	Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:02:52
3	Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team	0:03:09
4	Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team	0:03:58
5	Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky	0:04:03
6	Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo	0:04:04
7	Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo	0:05:32
8	Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal	0:07:32
9	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team	0:07:47
10	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing	0:08:02

#	Rider Name	Team Name	Points
1.	Peter Sagan	Tinkoff-Saxo	254 pts
2.	Andre Greipel	Lotto-Soudal	252 pts
3.	John Degenkolb	Team Giant-Alpecin	201 pts
4.	Mark Cavendish	Etixx Quick-Step	185 pts
5.	Bryan Coquard	Team Europcar	117 pts
6.	Christopher Froome	Team Sky	94 pts
7.	Greg van Avermaet	BMC Racing Team	81 pts
8.	Zdenek Stybar	Etixx Quick-Step	76 pts
9.	Tony Gallopin	Lotto-Soudal	70 pts
10.	Alejandro Valverde Belmonte	Movistar Team	68 pts

#	Rider Name	Team Name	Points
1.	Christopher Froome	Team Sky	61 pts
2.	Joachim Oliver Rodriguez	Team Katusha	52 pts
3.	Jakob Fuglsang	Astana Pro Team	41 pts
4.	Richie Porte	Team Sky	40 pts
5.	Romain Bardet	AG2R La Mondiale	35 pts
6.	Rafal Majka	Tinkoff-Saxo	32 pts
7.	Nairo Alexander Quintana	Movistar Team	32 pts
8.	Alejandro Belmonte Valverde	Movistar Team	32 pts
9.	Robert Gesink	Team Lotto NL - Jumbo	28 pts
10.	Gorka Izagirre Insausti	Movistar Team	28 pts

After two days of climbing on Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday’s stage was well set to separate the contenders from the pretenders. As we can see here courtesy of the tour’s official Twitter account, the 195-kilometre run was a tough grind for the riders:

In the past, so many former champions have made their mark on the run to Plateau de Beille, with Marco Pantani in 1998, Lance Armstrong in 2002 and 2004 and Contador in 2007 all paving the way to Paris with a rapid ascent towards this grueling summit. So those who lined the roads of the stage were expecting something special from the general classification leaders.

Laurent Cipriani/Associated Press

It’s a stage that has an infamous reputation too, with Fabio Casartelli losing his life on the descent of the Col de Portet d'Aspet in 1995. As we can see, there is a permanent memorial to the Italian rider:

However, memories of tragedies gone by didn’t see any of the men in the hunt for glory relinquish in their intensity.

The first order of business saw Peter Sagan kept hold of the green jersey, but he was denied an intermediate sprint win, as Andre Greipel surged past him to take victory. The German racked up some blistering numbers, as noted by LeTourData:

From then on, it was all about climbing, and with some weary legs in the peloton, we were witness to a break putting some substantial distance between themselves and the main general classification contenders. But with a second category, two first category and hors categorie to come, the break was always going to be dismantled on the sun-scorched inclines.

However, as we can see, near the flamme rouge the weather awaiting the riders had taken a turn for the worse:

After a substantial lead group preserved their gap to the peloton over the first three inclines, it was becoming increasingly likely that unless the contenders for the maillot jaune decided to battle, a breakaway rider would win the stage.

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

The technical descents were proving to be just as tricky as the arduous climbs too, as Louis Meintjes, part of the lead group, found out on the run down from Port de Lers, per ByTheMin Cycling:

But he quickly rejoined the leaders as they sought to position themselves for the final 15-kilometre hors categorie climb towards what was becoming an increasingly stormy Plateau de Beille.

Meanwhile, as noted by the Team Sky Twitter feed, with the peloton a long way back, two separate contests were set to play out on the punishing final incline:

Michal Kwiatkowski, the 2014 world road race champion, was the first to break from the front, putting 90 seconds between himself and a chasing group that was being thinned down all the time by the final climb. But he was reeled in by Rodriguez, who was relentless in his riding and eventually coasted to victory ahead of the trailing Fuglsang and Bardet.

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

Contador, Nibali and Quintana all made breaks in the latter stages, but they were extinguished by some stellar controlling work by Sky's Thomas, who kept a lid on things for Froome superbly. The Welshman ensured all the general classification riders crossed the finish line almost simultaneously, with the overall leader even nipping across the line ahead of Quintana for good measure.

Cycling writer Cillian Kelly paid tribute to the efforts of Thomas in the aftermath:

Froome will be delighted to still have yellow draped around his shoulders after three days in the Pyrenees. The previous trio of stages were always going to be a facet of this tour when Team Sky looked to make their mark on the general classification, and with a sizable advantage established, they’ll be delighted with the work done on what are so often decisive climbs.

With some medium mountainous stages to come in the Alps, the chasing pack now face what looks like an almost insurmountable ask if they’re to make matters competitive on the run to Paris. Froome and his team-mates look serene, assured and, if anything, likely to increase their cushion atop the standings.