Froome Extends Lead In Tough Stage 15

Stage 15 of this year's Tour de France was the longest stage (at 242.5 kilometers) and finished with an incredibly difficult unrated climb. After Yellow Jersey leader Christopher Froome lost time to his competitors in stage 14, many thought stage 15 might be the stage that breaks him. Well, he erased any doubts about his abilities this year, and even extended his lead by more than a minute and a half, by winning stage 15 -- using that final climb to clearly show that he is the heavy favorite to ride into Paris wearing yellow next Sunday. The Tour will now have its final rest day before another mountain leg in stage 16. Here are the stage 15 top finishers and the current standings:

STAGE 15 TOP FINISHERS
1. Christopher Froome (Great Britain) Sky Procycling
2. Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Columbia) Movistar
3. Mikel Nieve Iturralde (Spain) Euskaltel-Euskadi

YELLOW JERSEY (Best Overall Time)
1. Christopher Froome (Great Britain) Sky Procycling
2. Bauke Mollema (Netherlands) Belkin Pro Cycling..........4' 14"
3. Alberto Contador (Spain) Saxo-Tinkoff..........4' 25"
4. Roman Kreuziger (Czech Republic) Saxo-Tinkoff..........4' 28"
5. Laurens Ten Dam (Netherlands) Belkin Pro Cycling..........4' 54"
6. Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Columbia) Movistar..........5' 47"
7. Jakob Fuglsang (Denmark) Astana..........6' 22"
8. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spain) Katusha..........7' 11"
9. Jean-Christophe Peraud (France) AG2R La Mondiale..........7' 47"
10. Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) Omega Pharma-Quick Step..........7' 58"
11. Daniel Martin (Ireland) Garmin-Sharp..........8' 28"
12. Michael Rogers (Australia) Saxo-Tinkoff..........9' 54"
13. Andrew Talansky (United States) Garmin-Sharp..........12' 32"

GREEN JERSEY (Best Sprinter)
1. Peter Sagan (Slovakia) Cannondale..........377 pts
2. Mark Cavendish (Great Britain) Omega Pharma-Quick Step..........278 pts
3. Andre Greipel (Germany) Lotto-Belisol..........223 pts
4. Marcel Kittel (Germany) Argos-Shimano..........177 pts
5. Alexander Kristoff (Norway) Katusha..........157 pts
6. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spain) Movistar..........145 pts

POLKA DOT JERSEY (Best Climber)
1. Christopher Froome (Great Britain) Sky Procycling..........83 pts
2. Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Columbia) Movistar..........66 pts
3. Mikel Nieve Iturralde (Spain) Euskaltel-Euskadi..........53 pts
4. Pierre Rolland (France) Europcar..........51 pts
5. Roman Kreuziger (Czech Republic) Saxo-Tinkoff..........28 pts
6. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spain) Katusha..........28 pts
7. Richie Porte (Australia) Sky Procycling..........28 pts

WHITE JERSEY (Best Young Rider)
1. Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Columbia) Movistar
2. Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) Omega Pharma-Quick Step..........2' 11"
3. Andrew Talansky (United States) Garmin-Sharp..........6' 45"
4. Romain Bardet (France) AG2R La Mondiale..........18' 03"
5. Arthur Vichot (France) FDJ.FR..........49' 18"
6. Tejay Van Garderen (United States) BMC Racing..........54' 15"

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Saxo-Tinkoff (Denmark)
2. Belkin Pro Cycling (Netherlands)..........3' 36"
3. AG2R La Mondiale (France)..........8' 03"
4. Movistar (Spain)..........12' 15"
5. Radioshack Leopard (Luxembourg)..........16' 19"
6. Katusha (Russia)..........23' 42"
7. BMC Racing (United States)..........39' 25"
8. Garmin-Sharp (United States)..........45' 02"
9. Omega Pharma-Quick Step (Belgium)..........52' 05"
10. Sky Procycling (Great Britain)..........54' 40"