2014 Tour de France Stage 15 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 15 of the 2014 Tour de France! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
Course Preview
Some of the best Tour action of recent years has played out on flat, inconspicuous roads where wily teams have used a jinking route and a stiff wind to blow the race to pieces. Often it’s not just the stage result that’s in the balance but the overall classification too; Chris Froome was taught a valuable lesson last year when Saxo-Tinkoff drilled holes in the Team Sky defence on the road to Saint- Amand-Montrond.
The wide open roads travelling south-west from Tallard to Ni?mes could provide the same theatre this year. Towards the end of the day, the race route crosses the Rho?ne Valley, down which the stiff and uncompromising Mistral often blows.
Directeurs sportifs will be radioing ahead for as much intel on conditions as possible – some looking for a window of attack while others will be processing the information defensively. If the wind does blow, the day will be tense from the start. No one, not least the GC contenders, can afford to be left on dead wheels on such a day. It could turn into as much a test of a team’s brain power as the riders’ strength.
You can bet that whatever the weather conditions Mark Cavendish, a masterful race reader, will be eyeing this up as a potential win.
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