Stage 15: Tallard to Nîmes, 222km. Flat.
The best way I could describe the Tour de France if given just two words would be Beautiful Brutality; or maybe Glorious Suffering, though I think it was the former that best summed up yesterday's stage. Beautiful countryside (albeit terrible weather), a beautiful ride by the breakaway duo of Jack Bauer and Martin Elmiger, and the brutal manor of their catch, less then 50 metres from the line.
Perhaps Agony and Ecstasy would be two words to sum the Tour up also. For while it was Bauer suffering the Agony of such a defeat -- snatched away from him in the final metres by the surging sprinters after hundreds of kilometres up the road, leading the stage, biding for his first ever Tour de France stage win -- it was ecstasy for Alexander Kristoff who led the race for a mere dozen or two metres and won his second stage of this Tour.
It is a beautiful race but so brutal at the same time. It's why we watch; it is why we regard them as the finest athletes on the planet and it is why this race holds so much appeal. It takes place in the greatest stadium in all of sport -- the backdrop of an entire nation, from flatland's to rolling hills to high mountains -- and yet the suffering required in order to just finish it, is beyond the majority of our comprehensions.
And the action itself is edge of the seat, especially the final kilometres on stages like this. Watching the time gap between the bunch and the break and trying to figure whether they will make it. Such a scenario is becoming a rare sight at the Tour thanks to race radios able to allow the bunch to time its catch safely so as to set up the sprint trains for the big gallop, but today, with the bad weather, tired legs and difficult winds, they almost left it too late. With the gap at 30 seconds with 2 kilometres to go, it looked good for Bauer and Elmiger. Even with 500m to go they appeared to have enough. And then Bauer jumped and Elmiger had nothing left.
Just when you thought surely the road had run out and his arms could go up, he was swept away, collapsing over the line in exhaustion and tears while Kristoff celebrated.
That's cycling sometimes. We all felt bad for Bauer...we all hope he'll get his win one day...but we were all entertained at the same time...it's why we love this sport.
Result:
1. Kristoff (KAT) in 4h 56'43"
2. Haussler (IAM)
3. Sagan (CAN)
4. Greipel (LTB)
5. Renshaw (OPQ)
6. Coquard (EUC) all s.t.
Overall:
1. Nibali (AST) in 66h 49'37"
2. Valverde (MOV) +4'37"
3. Bardet (ALM) +4'50"
4. Pinot (FDJ) +5'06"
5. Van Garderen (BMC) +5'49"
6. Péraud (ALM) +6'08"
