Breakaway Is Caught 50 Meters From Finish In Stage 15

Stage 15 was a 222 kilometer descent out of the Alps, but rainy conditions made it a bit more difficult than expected. A couple of riders took advantage of the weather conditions and did a breakaway run -- and for nearly the complete 222 kilometers it looked like they might succeed. But they had their hearts broken as the peloton caught and passed them only 50 meters from the finish line. Alexander Kristoff of Norway crossed the finish line first, followed by Heinrich Haussler of Australia and Peter Sagan of Slovakia. The overall standings did not change, since the peloton of 69 riders all got the same time for finishing as a group.

The Tour will not take its second and final rest day. Then the Tour will enter the Pyrenees Mountains in stage 16 (which has two category 4 climbs, one category 3 climb, one category 2 climb, and an extremely difficult unrated climb near the end of the stage). Here are the current standings:

YELLOW JERSEY (Overall Race Leader)
1. Vincenzo Nibali (Italy) Astana Pro Team
2. Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spain) Movistar Team..........4' 37"
3. Romain Bardet (France) AG2R La Mondiale..........4' 50"
4. Thibaud Pinot (France) FDJ.FR..........5' 06"
5. Tejay Van Garderen (United States) BMC Racing..........5' 49"
6. Jean-Christophe Peraud (France) AG2R La Mondiale..........6' 08"
7. Bauke Mollema (Netherlands) Belkin Pro Cycling..........8' 33"
8. Leopold Konig (Czech Republic) Team Netapp-Endura..........9' 32"
9. Laurens Ten Dam (Netherlands) Belkin Pro Cycling..........10' 01"
10. Pierre Rolland (France) Team Europcar..........10' 48"
11. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Belgium) Lotto-Belisol..........11' 02"
12. Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spain) Trek Factory Racing..........11' 10" 
13. Rui Alberto Costa (Portugal) Lampre-Merida..........12' 57"
14. Frank Schleck (Luxembourg) Team Sky..........14' 37"
15. Richie Porte (Australia) Team Sky..........16' 03"

GREEN JERSEY (Best Sprinter)
1. Peter Sagan (Slovakia) Cannondale..........402 pts
2. Bryan Coquard (France) Team Europcar..........226 pts
3. Alexander Kristoff (Norway) Team Katusha..........217 pts
4. Marcel Kittel (Germany) Team Giant-Shimano..........177 pts
5. Mark Renshaw (Australia) Omega Pharma-Quick Step..........153 pts 
6. Andre Greipel (Germany) Lotto-Belisol..........143 pts
7. Vincenzo Nibali (Italy) Astana Pro Team..........134 pts
8. Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium) BMC Racing Team..........115 pts 

POLKA DOT JERSEY (Best Climber)
1. Joaquim Rodriguez (Spain) Team Katusha..........88 pts
2. Rafal Majka (Poland) Tinkoff-Saxo..........88 pts
3. Vincenzo Nibali (Italy) Astana Pro Team..........86 pts
4. Thibaud Pinot (France) FDJ.FR..........49 pts
5. Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spain) Movistar Team..........40 pts 
6. Alessandro De Marchi (Italy) Cannondale..........38 pts
7. Thomas Voeckler (France) Team Europcar..........34 pts

WHITE JERSEY (Best Young Rider)
1. Romain Bardet (France) AG2R La Mondiale
2. Thibaud Pinot (France) FDJ.FR..........0' 16"
3. Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) Omega Pharma-Quick Step..........14' 34"
4. Tom Dumoulin (Netherlands) Team Giant-Shimano..........47' 46"

TEAM STANDINGS
1. AG2R La Mondiale (France)
2. Belkin Pro Cycling (Belgium)..........12' 42"
3. Team Sky (Great Britain)..........38' 32"
4. Astana Pro Team (Kazakhstan)..........46' 10" 
5. Movistar Team (Spain)..........47' 44"
6. BMC Racing (United States)..........51' 01"