2008 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21#Stage 16

The 15th stage of the 2008 Tour de France on July 20 was 183 km long and ran from Embrun to Prato Nevoso. There were two intermediate sprints and a mountain stage of the Hors Catégorie, a mountain stage of the third category and a mountain stage of the first category (the mountain-top finish ) on the program.

At the start it was raining. Immediately after the start there were first attacks, but all failed. Egoi Martínez, José Luis Arrieta and Danny Pate launched a successful escape attempt at kilometer 12. Martínez won the first intermediate sprint. After that, Simon Gerrans joined the three. While the field was quiet, built the four leaders of the projection on the climb to the Col Agnel intermittently over 13:45 minutes. Just pulled the team Lampre- Fondital tempo. Martinez also won this mountain classification, which was the second highest point of this tour, and forms the border with Italy. Now Silence-Lotto took to the chase in the field and some riders fell back. Thomas Voeckler attacked at the pass, but fell back again, since no one went along. Óscar Pereiro was on the descent to the case and had the race with a shoulder injury to give up. Thus, the projection of the leaders is enlarged again to a maximum of 17:05 minutes. Gerrans won the second intermediate sprint. Under the leadership of Lampre the projection of outliers melted slightly, later also turned on the Team CSC- Saxo Bank. In a roundabout several riders were on the slippery by light rain asphalt again to case, but could continue. Through the resulting speed reduction the top four could win back some of its time. Arrieta was able to secure the second, smaller, mountain classification. In the field CSC now intensified the pace and the projection of the top group melted now clearer. Martínez reached the ascent to the summit finish in the top group. Pate and Gerrans followed him, Arrieta demolished. Andy Schleck now took the lead in the main field, which thereby ripped apart. Cadel Evans, Denis Menshov, Carlos Sastre, Fränk Schleck, Bernhard Kohl, Alejandro Valverde, who enabled it to push the end back under the first 10 overall, and Roman Kreuziger could follow Schleck. Menshov attacked, but came in a curve on the back slippery in light rain asphalt to case, but was able to catch again. Sastre attacked now, cabbage and Menshov could follow. The others could keep behind it tight. In the top three, meanwhile, attacked and Gerrans, the objective in Prato Nevoso that was achieved on a 200 meter long and 6.5 meter wide stretch, reach first. Valverde, meanwhile, could catch up with the group to Sastre. Evans was the pace in the next chase group does not hold and thus lost his yellow jersey. Carbon increased the pace again and came to the lies before him Arrieta in fifth place. He extended his lead in the mountains jersey that he had secured before, from. Fränk Schleck, who finished in ninth place, the yellow jersey was able to secure a few seconds ahead of cabbage, one second ahead of Evans remained in that classification.

Tasks

Óscar Pereiro 37 - Fall
43 Mark Cavendish - before the start of the stage
89 Mark Renshaw - during the stage
Stijn Devolder 91 - during the stage

Sprints

Second intermediate sprint in Rossana ( 114.5 km ) ( 578 m above sea level. NN )

Sprint finish in Prato Nevoso ( 183 km ) (1440 m above sea level. NN )

Climbs

Col Agnel, HC category ( 58 km ) ( 2744 m above sea level, . 20.5 km à 6,6 %)

Colle del Morte, Category 3 ( 157 km ) (710 m above sea level, . 1.7 km à 7,2 %)

Prato Nevoso, Category 1 ( 183 km ) (1440 m above sea level, . 11.4 km à 6,9 %)

Driver's field

Tour de France 2008

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