Pantano gives Colombia cheer with Tour stage win

On a day featuring hardly any flat stretches, there were plenty of attacks but only a few skirmishes between the main contenders.

Published : Jul 17, 2016 23:56 IST , Culoz (France)

Jarlinson Pantano celebrates his stage victory on the winners podium following the 160km stage15 of Le Tour de France from Bourg-En-Bresse to Culoz.
Jarlinson Pantano celebrates his stage victory on the winners podium following the 160km stage15 of Le Tour de France from Bourg-En-Bresse to Culoz.
lightbox-info

Jarlinson Pantano celebrates his stage victory on the winners podium following the 160km stage15 of Le Tour de France from Bourg-En-Bresse to Culoz.

Colombian rider Jarlinson Pantano won the brutal 15th stage of the Tour de France through the Jura mountains after a long breakaway on Sunday.

Pantano outsprinted Polish rider Rafal Majka to the finish line in Culoz.

On a day featuring hardly any flat stretches, there were plenty of attacks but only a few skirmishes between the main contenders. Race leader Chris Froome finished slightly more than three minutes behind in a group including the other main contenders and kept the yellow jersey.

Majka, who started an early breakaway soon after the start in Bourg-en-Bresse, moved away on his own in the final of six categorized climbs on the day's agenda.

A third-place finisher at the Spanish Vuelta last year, he accelerated in the punishing 8.4-kilometer climb of the Lacets du Grand Colombier to drop Pantano. But Majka made a mistake on the descent and allowed his rival to rejoin him.

"It's a dream come true," said Pantano, who rides for the IAM team. "I had good feelings today, I knew that if I was able to join him in the downhill I had good chances. And in the end the best rider won."

Froome kept his 1:47 lead over Dutch rider Bauke Mollema intact, with Adam Yates in third place overall, 2:45 back. Colombian climber Nairo Quintana lags 2:59 behind.

After Majka and Ilnur Zakarin attacked on the first climb, a group of 30 riders gathered at the front. With no overall contender in the leading pack, Froome and his Team Sky teammates seemed happy with the breakaway and did not chase.

On a constantly undulating course, Dutch rider Dylan van Baarle made the most of the lack of cooperation in the breakaway to try his luck soon after the feed zone but was quickly joined by Tom Dumoulin, who countered him in the Cote d'Hotonnes.

The move sparked a reaction from former Tour champion Vincenzo Nibali, who jumped out of the chasing group alongside Pantano and Alexis Vuillermoz.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment