When the Jumbo-Visma car managed to pass the peloton and join Van Aert after 30km, they ordered their man to ease up and drop back there was no tactical need for him to ride up front in such a small group. They opened a lead of 1:30 before BikeExchange-Jayco and Alpecin-Deceuninck moved to the front to keep them in check. Nils Politt (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Mikkel Honoré (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) joined Van Aert and with the peloton preferring to let them go, the breakaway was formed quickly. Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost) and Simon Clarke (Israel-Premier Tech) were the other non-starters, both testing positive for COVID-19 before stage 15. Indeed, the attacks came as soon as the flag dropped and yet again Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) was there despite the team having decided to pull Primož Roglič from the race due to his crash injuries. Feeding was allowed right from the start and the time limit was extended but nobody called for the stage to be reduced. The riders wore ice vests, ice packs on their necks and made sure to hydrate before and during the race. With temperatures already at 32☌ at the start in Rodez, the peloton knew they faced another hot day in the saddle for the 202.5km ride south to Carcassonne via the sunflower and wheat fields of the Occitanie region of southwest France. It’s a bad day but can happen." How it unfolded I’m okay and I hope that Tiesj is okay too. "Steven abandoned the race and Teisj and I crashed, so not the best day. "Today was not the best day for us," Vingegaard said. The Dane said his injuries were limited to a some road rash. Vingegaard also crashed but got back in the race to keep his 2:22 lead over Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), while Geraint Thomas remains in third at 2:43. It was an imperfect day for Jumbo-Visma, however, as race leader Jonas Vingegaard lost Primož Roglič before the start then another strong climber Steven Kruijswijk crashed out mid-stage just days before the race heads in to the Pyrenees. "I knew I had good legs but we just had to wait until the right moment and the right opportunity and today was the day."
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We had to wait til stage 15 with the team but everyone still believed it was possible. I'm super proud we can finally finish it off after a tough Tour. "It's been massive search for this victory," Philipsen said. Van der Poel struggled after a tough Giro d'Italia and dropped out on stage 11. Alpecin-Deceuninck had none of the luck of 2021 when Mathieu van der Poel won a stage and led the race in the first week.