Evenepoel wins in France as Vingegaard’s Tour collapses

The Tour de France rarely bothers with subtlety, and Sunday’s 15th stage in France was no exception. Remco Evenepoel won the day by beating Tadej Pogacar in a sprint to the line after an 11-kilometre climb, while Jonas Vingegaard’s race ended in a crash 20 kilometres from the finish.

For Evenepoel, the Olympic champion from Belgium, it was his third stage victory in the Tour and a timely reminder that he remains a serious force when the road turns steep and the margins narrow. He crossed the line just ahead of the reigning champion, with Mexican rider Isaac Del Toro taking third, six seconds behind. The stage was demanding enough to expose any weakness, but not chaotic enough to hide the strongest legs.

Vingegaard’s withdrawal changed the shape of the race more than the stage result itself. The Dane had begun the day in second place overall, only to come down in what looked like a broken collarbone and abandon the Tour. Pogacar, suddenly without his nearest challenger, extended his lead in the general classification to five minutes. That is a comfortable cushion by any normal standard, and in a race like this it borders on luxury.

Evenepoel’s reward was not limited to the stage win. He moved up to second overall, which gives the Tour at least one meaningful contest left behind Pogacar’s growing control. Del Toro also profited, climbing from seventh to third and taking the white jersey for the best young rider from Paul Seixas.

The teenage French rider still had reasons to be noticed. He finished fourth, almost a minute behind the winner, with Germany’s Florian Lipowitz right on his wheel. Juan Ayuso had a much rougher afternoon. After losing the white jersey to Seixas on Saturday, the Spaniard lost another minute to the Frenchman and nearly two minutes to Del Toro, slipping to sixth overall.

The stage left the race in a familiar but still slightly brutal position: Pogacar stronger, Evenepoel better placed than before, and Vingegaard gone. Cycling likes to present itself as a test of endurance and strategy. Mostly, it is a machine for sorting who survives the day and who does not. On Sunday, France did the sorting with unusual clarity.

Written by Thorben Thiede thorben.thiede@alpineweekly.com