Tour de France: Alexandre Vinokourov wins stage 15
{{date|July 23, 2007}}__noTOC__
{{Tour de France 2007}}[[Image:Tour 2007 - 15.PNG|thumb|left|250px|Stage 15 profile]]
[[w:Alexandre Vinokourov|Alexandre Vinokourov]] of [[Kazakhstan]] has won stage 15 of the [[w:2007 Tour de France|2007 Tour de France]] in a time of 5h 34' 28".

[[w:Michael Rasmussen|Michael Rasmussen]] of [[Denmark]] kept his overall lead by 2' 23' over [[w:Alberto Contador|Alberto Contador]] of [[Spain]]. The two extend their lead on [[w:Cadel Evans|Cadel Evans]] of [[Australia]] by 1' 37", and more on the rest of the contenders.

Today's 196 [[w:Kilometre|km]] stage is one of the major stages of the Tour, with no fewer than five major mountain passes - including the [[w:Col de Port|Col de Port]], the [[w:Col de Portet d'Aspet|Col de Portet d'Aspet]] (5.7 km climb at 6.9%), the [[w:Col de Menté|Col de Menté]] (7.0 km climb at 8.1%), the [[w:Port de Balès|Port de Balès]] (19.5 km at 6.2%), (the first time this climb has featured in the Tour), and finally the [[w:Col de Peyresourde|Col de Peyresourde]] (9.7 km climb at 7.8%) with a downhill finish in [[w:Loudenvielle|Loudenvielle]].

Tomorrow is a rest day for the Tour.

==Post-stage statements==
{{CQuote|Yesterday, I admit, was a terrible day. It really affected my mind and that’s one of the reason I finished so far behind the peloton at Plateau de Beille. When I got back to the hotel last night I realized that the hope of victory in the Tour de France was over for me. The team asked me if I wanted to abandon but I told them I’d never give up. I spoke with the guys and they all said they’d support me with my new goal, a stage victory. 
“Since the crash, I haven’t been able to fully recover but I’m always optimistic. Today was indeed a good day. It’s no time for regrets about the general classification I just had a bit of bad luck but that’s race.|Alexandre Vinokourov, Astana Team}}
{{CQuote|It was a good day for me. It turned out to be a spectacular stage and I wanted to manage a good place. Other than what happened in front, it ended well for me. I tried to attack and I hoped to be able to drop Rasmussen but he continues to prove that he’s really strong. 
Each time I attacked he was able to come back to me, but I have to take inspiration from the last two days because we have taken time out of the time trial specialists and Rasmussen and I have a good lead in the general classification and there’s still another very tough mountain stage yet to come. This is my first Tour and it was meant to be a learning experience but I’ve had great support from my team. It’s an honor to ride for Discovery Channel because I always admired the way they controlled the race. 
My hero is Lance Armstrong because of the way he won seven Tours but also because of the way he beat cancer. I had an operation on my brain a few years ago and there was a lot of doubt about how I would be but now I’m back on the bike and that’s when I’m happiest.|Alberto Contador, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team}}
{{CQuote|My team was fantastic today and I owe a lot to them all but especially to Michael Boogerd who was exceptional. I can’t thank my team enough. To have Menchov in the escape at the start and then come back to help was a great display of commitment from the whole Rabobank squad. The pace Boogerd set on the last two climbs made it difficult for anyone to attack me until Alberto Contador took charge. And when he went, nobody could respond and I certainly had a tough job just staying on his wheel. 
My big objective today was to control the race today and stay with Contador if he attacked, which is something we’ve learned that he’s likely to do. 
He attacked multiple times and each time it was really, really fast. He has a fantastic acceleration which I could not follow but I was able to fight my way back each time but he had a bit of an advantage because he was so fast that he caught the motorbikes a couple of times at the top of the Col de Peyresourde which made it even more difficult for me. In the end, I managed to stay with him until the top but if I hadn’t, I would have been in trouble because Contador had the benefit of having Hincapie waiting for him at the top of the final climb. 
Contador has the best acceleration in the whole peloton and I was under pressure but I still stayed with him and I’m happy with that effort. 
We still have the hardest stage of the entire race remaining. On Wednesday we finish on top of the Col d’Aubisque so nothing is final yet.|Michael Rasmussen, Rabobank}}

==Stage 15 results==
{| class="wikitable"
!Rank!!Rider!!Team!!Time
|-
|'''1'''
|'''[[w:Alexander Vinokourov|Alexander Vinokourov]]'''
|'''[[w:Astana Team|Astana Team]]'''
|align=right|    '''5h 34'28"'''
|-
|2
|[[w:Kim Kirchen|Kim Kirchen]]
|[[w:T-Mobile Team|T-Mobile Team]]
|align=right| +51"
|-
|3 
|[[w:Haimar Zubeldia|Haimar Zubeldia]]
|[[w:Euskaltel-Euskadi|Euskaltel-Euskadi]]
|align=right| s.t."
|-
|4 
|[[w:Juan José Cobo|Juan José Cobo]]
|[[w:Saunier Duval-Prodir|Saunier Duval-Prodir]]
|align=right| +58"
|-
|5
|[[w:Juan Manuel Garate|Juan Manuel Garate]]
|[[w:Quick Step-Innergetic|Quick Step-Innergetic]]
|align=right| +2'14"
|-
|6
|[[w:David Arroyo|David Arroyo]]
|[[w:Caisse d'Epargne|Caisse d'Epargne]]
|align=right| +3'23"
|-
|7
|[[w:Bernhard Kohl|Bernhard Kohl]]
|[[w:Team Gerolsteiner|Team Gerolsteiner]]
|align=right| +4'25"
|-
|8 
|[[w:Christian Vandevelde|Christian Vandevelde]]
|[[w:Team CSC|Team CSC]]
|align=right| s.t."
|-
|9
|[[w:Ludovic Turpin|Ludovic Turpin]]
|[[w:AG2R Prévoyance|AG2R Prévoyance]]
|align=right| +5'16"
|-bgcolor=lightblue
|10
|[[w:Alberto Contador|Alberto Contador]]
|[[w:Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team|Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team]]
|align=right| +5'31"
|-

|}

==[[w:Yellow jersey|General classification]] after stage 15==

{| class="wikitable"
!Rank!!Rider!!Team!!Time
|- bgcolor=yellow
|'''1'''
|'''[[w:Michael Rasmussen|Michael Rasmussen]]'''
|'''[[w:Rabobank (cycling)|Rabobank]]'''
|align=right|    '''69h 52' 14"'''
|-bgcolor=lightblue
|2
|[[w:Alberto Contador|Alberto Contador]]
|[[w:Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team|Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team]]
|align=right| +2' 23"
|- 
|3
|[[w:Cadel Evans|Cadel Evans]]
|[[w:Predictor-Lotto|Predictor-Lotto]]
|align=right| +4' 00"
|-
|4
|[[w:Levi Leipheimer|Levi Leipheimer]]
|[[w:Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team|Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team]]
|align=right| +5' 25"
|- 
|5 
|[[w:Andreas Klöden|Andreas Klöden]]
|[[w:Astana Team|Astana Team]]
|align=right| +5' 34"
|-
|6
|[[w:Carlos Sastre|Carlos Sastre]]
|[[w:Team CSC|Team CSC]]
|align=right| +6' 46"
|-
|7
|[[w:Haimar Zubeldia|Haimar Zubeldia]]
|[[w:Euskaltel-Euskadi|Euskaltel-Euskadi]]
|align=right| +7' 27"
|- 
|8 
|[[w:Andrey Kashechkin|Andrey Kashechkin]]
|[[w:Astana Team|Astana Team]]
|align=right| +7' 54"
|-
|9 
|[[w:Kim Kirchen|Kim Kirchen]]
|[[w:T-Mobile Team|T-Mobile Team]]
|align=right| +8' 24"
|- 
|10 
|[[w:Mikel Astarloza|Mikel Astarloza]]
|[[w:Euskaltel-Euskadi|Euskaltel-Euskadi]]
|align=right| +9' 21"
|}

==Sources==
*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/6912419.stm
|title=Vinokourov takes Pyrenean stage
|author=
|pub=BBC Sport
|date=July 23, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/6911410.stm
|title=Stage fourteen - as it happened
|author=Charlie Henderson
|pub=BBC Sport
|date=July 23, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.letour.fr/2007/TDF/LIVE/us/1500/index.html
|title=stage 15 - Foix  Loudenvielle - Le Louron 196 km
|author=
|pub=Tour de France
|date=July 23, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.letour.fr/2007/TDF/LIVE/us/1500/journal_etape.html
|title=Key moments
|author=
|pub=Tour de France
|date=July 23, 2007}}

{{publish}}
{{archived}}

[[Category:Sports]]
[[Category:Cycling]]
[[Category:2007 Tour de France]]
[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:France]]
[[Category:Lance Armstrong]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexandre Vinokourov wins stage 15}}

[[pl:Aleksander Winokurow wygrał 15. etap Tour de France 2007]]
__noTOC__
Stage 15 profile
Alexandre Vinokourov of Kazakhstan has won stage 15 of the 2007 Tour de France in a time of 5h 34' 28".

Michael Rasmussen of Denmark kept his overall lead by 2' 23' over Alberto Contador of Spain. The two extend their lead on Cadel Evans of Australia by 1' 37", and more on the rest of the contenders.

Today's 196 km stage is one of the major stages of the Tour, with no fewer than five major mountain passes - including the Col de Port, the Col de Portet d'Aspet (5.7 km climb at 6.9%), the Col de Menté (7.0 km climb at 8.1%), the Port de Balès (19.5 km at 6.2%), (the first time this climb has featured in the Tour), and finally the Col de Peyresourde (9.7 km climb at 7.8%) with a downhill finish in Loudenvielle.

Tomorrow is a rest day for the Tour.
Sports Cycling 2007 Tour de France Europe France Lance Armstrong