It was another great day of racing at the Tour de France! Wout Poels broke away from the lead group and after a wonderful final climb, crossed the finish line all on his own.
He had to have been very happy after earning his first Tour de France stage win. I was very happy with our prediction!
- Stage 15: 4h 40' 45" (actual), 4h 37' 25" (prediction), 03' 20" fast (-1.19% error)
That's a good way to head into tomorrow's rest day! Check out the winner's average speed.
- Stage 15: 10.63 m/s (38.25 kph or 23.77 mph)
Wout Poels had a great average speed after so much climbing today!
This has been a Tour de France unlike I've seen in my relatively limited number of years watching the world's most famous bicycle race. Sports are so much more fun and interesting when rivalries develop. Jonas Vingegaard (GC winner in 2022) and Tadej Pogačar (GC winner in 2020 and 2021) have been a joy to watch this year. Pogačar tried a couple of attacks in the final kilometer, but Vingegaard responded like a champion. Their teams have done all they could do to support the two superstars. How fitting is this image I grabbed?
Pogačar (16th place) came in just ahead of Vingegaard (17th place); both were 06' 04" behind Poels.
Tomorrow will represent the second rest day in this year's Tour de France. Cyclists will remain where they finished today, which is in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains.
Stage 16 will be an individual time trial. Riders will begin the 22.4-km (13.9-mi) stage in the commune of Passy and head in a southwesterly loop to Combloux. A category-2 climb will be navigated near the end a time trial that will see riders increase elevation by 395 m (1296-ft) from start to finish. I often wait until the rest day to post the next stage's prediction, but I'll offer our prediction now.
- Stage 16: 30' 22" (prediction)
Many riders who are not GC contenders could take it easy. But Pogačar and Vingegaard will be the last two riders out. If Pogačar sets a torrid pace, Vingegaard will have to respond.
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