Another dramatic day for the 2010 Tour de France…Contador (the yellow jersey from stage 14 and now the overall race winner) and Schleck (the overall winner going into today’s stage) were in a heated sprint battle less than 3km from the finish line when Schleck dropped his chain.
Many feel that Contador went against tradition when, instead of waiting for the yellow jersey, he took advantage of the lag time and cycled hard to claim the yellow jersey for himself. As for Schleck? He says his “stomach is full of anger” at Contador, and that he will plot his revenge in the next couple of days. The fans don’t seem too keen on Contador’s untraditional behavior–he was booed as he slipped the yellow jersey on after today’s stage.
Although Contador, widely favored to win the TDF overall, has shown a cunning on the course that has not won him any friends. Whether you like him or hate you have to admit that he is helping to make this TDF one of the most heated in recent memory.
Stage 15 Results
1. Thomas Voeckler (BBO) – 04:44:51 2. Alessandro Ballan (BMC) +01:20 3. Aitor Perez Arrieta (FOT) +01:20
4. Lloyd Mondory (ALM) +02:50 5. Luke Roberts (MRM) +02:50 6. Francesco Reda (QST) +02:50
Overall Classification
1. Alberto Contador (AST) 72:50:42
2. Andy Schleck (SAX) +00:08 3. Samuel Sanchez (EUS) +02:00 4. Denis Menchov (RAB) +02:13 5. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (OLO) +03:39 6. Robert Gesink (RAB) +05:01
31. Lance Armstrong (RSH) +40:31