Tour de France 2015 recap: How the race unfolded

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Chris Froome collects another lion on the stage 20 podium.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Stage 1: Utrecht (ITT), 13.8km

What happened: Endless blue skies and huge crowds created the backdrop for the first stage of this year’s Tour de France with a city-centre test around Dutch venue of Utrecht. Rohan Dennis (BMC) was among the earlier starters and the former UCI Hour Record holder held off a volley of challengers including former world time trial champions Tony Martin (Etixx-QuickStep) and Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing). Whether it was the fastest time trial ever recorded at the Tour is still open to debate but there was no doubting Dennis’ phenomenal performance.

Contador, Froome, Tejay van Garderen and a number of sprinters made the cut with Tinkoff-Saxo the most willing team to work with Etixx. In the dash for the line Geipel held his nerve in the face of a buffeting headwind, while Cancellara’s third place behind Greipel and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) ensured that the Swiss rider picked up enough time bonuses to take yellow from under Tony Martin’s nose. A double whammy for Etixx-QuickStep but they faired better than LottoNL-Jumbo, who saw Wilco Kelderman and Laurens ten Dam lose several minutes.

What happened: Another day of high drama with the race leaving Holland and dipping into Ardennes country. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) showed a clean pair of heels to his rivals on the Mur de Huy in a stage dubbed as La Flèche Wallonne Part Two, while Froome was the best of the chasing bunch and secured enough time to move into the yellow jersey for the first time since his overall win in 2013. Alberto Contador showed signs of weakness, briefly following Froome before losing ground but the major talking point of the stage came with 58km remaining.

A high-speed crash involving race leader Cancellara and a number of other riders led to the race being neutralised on three occasions over the next eight kilometres due to safety concerns after all of the race doctors were busy treating the fallen. Cancellara finished the stage but lost five minutes. He was later diagnosed with broken vertebrae and left the race, while Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin abandoned with a broken collarbone and Orica-GreenEdge lost both Simon Gerrans and Daryl Impey to broken bones.

How it happened: The Tour de France’s second uphill finish and yet another jaw-dropping ending that saw Zdeněk Štybar sail away from the rest of the peloton but his teammate and race leader fall with the finish insight. Martin’s tumble appeared to take place in slow motion with the German losing his front wheel on the final climb and falling to his right, causing a mass pile up that took out Nibali and Quintana. Froome skilfully stayed upright despite Nibali making contact but it was Martin who came off worst, shattering a collarbone into several pieces. The sight of his Etixx-QuickStep teammates shepherding him over the line created one of the most poignant portraits of the race.

Unlike in his previous two sprints Cavendish waited until the final 150 metres as Greipel opened his sprint. The Etixx rider came through with expert ease, having been dropped off on Kristoff’s wheel by Mark Renshaw. The key moment came when Cavendish spotted a gap between the Norwegian and Greipel, and in the blink of an eye came through to take his first Tour stage in two years. With so few sprint stages in this year’s race the win was all the more important.

How it happened: Team Sky dealt a huge blow to their rivals’ chances of winning the Tour de France with a supreme ride in the first Pyrenean test. It was as crushing as Froome’s ride on Mont Ventoux back in 2013 with the maillot jaune distancing the rest of the peloton. His first attack came with 6.5km remaining, with Alberto Contador and Vincenzo Nibali already distanced after a relentless pace setting from Richie Porte. Only Nairo Quintana managed to hold the race leader and his lieutenant but when Froome attacked, the Colombian had no response.

How it happened: The Col d’Aspin and Col du Tourmalet failed to see the main GC riders distance each other, although Vincenzo Nibali still managed to lose time on the final climb of the stage after he and his Astana team had set the pace on the Tourmalet. Rafal Majka attacked from the day’s main break to secure Tinkoff Saxo’s first Tour de France stage win of the race, while Dan Martin picked up another second place.

How it happened: It was a thrilling uphill finish with Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) securing his team’s third stage win of the race ahead of Peter Sagan (Tinkoff Saxo). The Belgian timed his effort beautifully, allowing the peloton to eat-up the remnants of the early break with less than 200 meters to go before unleashing his sprint for the line. Sagan made it up to the BMC rider’s rear wheel but a combination of hesitation and error gave Van Avermaet the remaining initiative he needed to take his first ever stage in the Tour.

How it happened: Steve Cummings (MTN-Qhubeka) looked dead and buried when Romain Bardet (AG2R-La Mondiale) and Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) attacked from the break on the Côte de la Croix Neuve but the canny Englishman dug deep and paced himself beautifully up the climb before making contact with the French pair close to the summit. Seizing the initiative he dove down the inside on the descent to the line and the gap he created was enough to take his and his team’s first stage win in the Tour de France.

How it happened: Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) took out his third stage win of the 2015 Tour de France with a combination of guts and his gorilla strength. The German made it over the category 2 Col de l'Escrinet, where others such as Mark Cavendish (Etixx-QuickStep) didn't. A late attack by Stybar disrupted any semblance of an organised lead-out, and Greipel was left to freelance his way to the finish.

How it happened: Romain Bardet had been in a number of breaks in the Tour but had yet to come away with a stage win to salvage his race. That all changed on stage 18 when the French climber attacked near the crest of the Category Col du Glandon. What followed was a descending masterclass full panache, risk taking and adrenaline enducing speed. The win also moved Bardet into the top ten. There were no major changes inside the top five.

He said what?: “It was a very tricky start today. I think everyone was pretty tired at the start of today, so it was tough for everyone. I’m a good descender so I had just enough energy left at the end to get across the line. I knew the end of this stage really well. We took it on at the end of the Dauphiné as well, so I know this route by heart. The last kilometres, even though I knew them well, were very long.” Romain Bardet.

How it happened: The final battleground of this year’s race saw Pinot claim the biggest win of his career and Froome hold firm in the face of Movistar’s and Quintana’s full might. The Spanish team hit Froome with a series of attacks on the first climb of the Col de la Croix de Fer but Team Sky pulled the race back together before the final ascent to Alpe d’Huez. Once again Quintana and Valverde looked to put Froome on the back foot and they succeeded, with the race leader needing his team to help limit his losses. Despite a valiant effort from Quintana the maillot jaune held firm and finished the stage with 1:12 of his lead intact. For Pinot, who had been on the attack throughout, it was a fabulous win for him, FDJ and France.

Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.