Tour de France: Thomas Voeckler Wins Stage 15 while Alberto Contador Takes Yellow Jersey
Stage 15 of the Tour de France went well for Thomas Voeckler, who won the stage 1 minute and 20 seconds ahead of second place Alessandro Ballan and third place Aitor Perez Arrieta. After the victory, he said that he is very proud of what he did. It’s extraordinary to have won a Tour stage, he continued, adding that he doesn’t attack for the sake of it but for the victory, and sometimes you have to try many times before it works.
However, Voeckler isn’t the only one celebrating after this stage. Alberto Contador has pushed himself past Andy Schleck to take first place overall and the yellow jersey. When making his move to keep himself in the lead, Schelck’s chain popped off his bike, which left him helpless to keep Contador, Sammy Sanchez and Denis Menchov from riding by. He lost 30 seconds due to the incident.
Needless to say, Schleck isn’t happy about what happened. He says that he is really angry and wants to take his revenge. He will ride on the Tourmalet until he falls off his bike, giving everything he has to the race, he continued. The Tour isn’t finished, he added.
Although Schleck believes that Contador took advantage of what happened, Contador claims that he didn’t see what happened. He had already launched his counterattack, he explained, so just kept going. He said that he didn’t know Schleck had mechanical problems until he was ahead. Contador added that he’s sure Schleck will attack him, and he’s always afraid of what he may be capable of.
Because of this, the overall standings have changed some. Here is a better look at the top 10:
- Alberto Contador 72h50′42”
- Andy Schleck +08”
- Samuel Sanchez +2′00”
- Denis Menchoz +2′13”
- Jurgen Van Den Broeck +3′39”
- Robert Gesink +5′01”
- Levi Leipheimer +5′25”
- Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver +5′45”
- Alexandre Vinokourov +7′12”
- Ryder Hesjedal +7′51”
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