2015 Tour de France

MTN–Qhubeka's Eritrean riders Daniel Teklehaimanot and Merhawi Kudus, seen here on stage nineteen, became the first black Africans to compete in the Tour de France.

Twenty-two teams participated in the 2015 edition of the Tour de France.[1] The race was the 18th of the 28 events in the UCI World Tour,[2] and all of its seventeen UCI WorldTeams were automatically invited, and obliged, to attend the race.[3] On 14 January 2015, the organiser of the Tour, Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), announced the five second-tier UCI Professional Continental teams given wildcard invitations,[4] one of which, MTN–Qhubeka, was to become the first African-registered trade team to participate in the race's history.[5][lower-alpha 1] The team presentation – where the members of each team's roster are introduced in front of the media and local dignitaries – took place at Lepelenburg Park in Utrecht, the Netherlands, on 2 July, two days before the opening stage held in the city. Each team arrived in small boats along the Oudegracht canal.[6]

Each squad was allowed a maximum of nine riders, therefore the start list contained a total of 198 riders.[7] Of these, 45 were riding the Tour de France for the first time.[8] The riders came from 32 countries; France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Australia, Germany, Great Britain and Switzerland all had 10 or more riders in the race.[7] Eritrean riders Daniel Teklehaimanot and Merhawi Kudus, both of MTN–Qhubeka, became the first black Africans to compete in the Tour de France.[9] Riders from nine countries won stages during the race; German riders won the largest number of stages, with six.[10] The average age of riders in the race was 29.67 years, ranging from the 21-year-old Kudus to 41-year-old Matteo Tosatto (Tinkoff–Saxo).[11] Of the total average ages, Cofidis was the youngest team and Trek Factory Racing the oldest.[12]

The teams entering the race were:[1]

The 'big four' general classification favourites. Left-to-right from upper left: Chris Froome, Alberto Contador, Nairo Quintana and Vincenzo Nibali.

In the lead up to the Tour, the main contenders for the general classification, known in the media as the 'big four', were Chris Froome (Team Sky), Alberto Contador (Tinkoff–Saxo), Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team) and Vincenzo Nibali (Astana).[13][14][15][16][17] All had won at least one Grand Tour, amassing a total of twenty Grand Tour podiums.[18] Former Tour de France winners Froome (2013) and Contador (2007 and 2009) returned to the race having crashed out of the 2014 edition.[16][18] The other riders considered contenders were Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing Team), Thibaut Pinot (FDJ), Joaquim Rodríguez (Team Katusha), followed by AG2R La Mondiale's Jean-Christophe Péraud and Romain Bardet.[13][15][17][19][20]

Froome had shown his form during the season with overall victories at the Vuelta a Andalucía and the Critérium du Dauphiné,[18] a race considered to be the warm-up for the Tour.[21] Contador had earlier in the season won the Giro d'Italia and was aiming to become the first rider since Marco Pantani in 1998 to achieve the Giro-Tour double. He was also aiming to hold all three Grand Tour titles simultaneously, having won the 2014 Vuelta a España.[22] Thirteen days before the start of the Tour, Contador won the Route du Sud, defeating Quintana by seventeen seconds.[23] Quintana placed second in the 2013 Tour, winning the mountains and young rider classifications.[24] He was absent in 2014 as he concentrated on the Giro d'Italia, which he won.[18] His major victory of the 2015 season was the Tirreno–Adriatico.[24] The defending champion Nibali was considered a contender, although his best result of the season was tenth in the Tour de Romandie, and placed thirteenth at the Dauphiné.[25]

The sprinters considered favourites for the points classification and wins on the flat or hilly bunch sprint finishes were Alexander Kristoff (Team Katusha), Mark Cavendish (Etixx–Quick-Step), André Greipel (Lotto–Soudal), Peter Sagan (Tinkoff–Saxo) and John Degenkolb (Team Giant–Alpecin).[26][27][28][29][30][31] Kristoff and Cavendish both showed their form during the season coming into the Tour, with eighteen and twelve wins, respectively.[26] Greipel was also a contender, spearheaded by his sprint train, much like Cavendish.[29] Three-time consecutive winner of the points classification Sagan was expected to have a hard time repeating as winner due to the changes in the classification's point structure and also due to the fact he had to ride in support of Contador.[32] Degenkolb, who won the one-day classic races Milan–San Remo and Paris–Roubaix in the season, would take the lead of the Team Giant–Alpecin team due to the absence of the 2014 Tour's four-stage winner Marcel Kittel,[33] who was not selected due to lack of fitness.[34]

Stage twenty, the penultimate stage, concluded with the 13.8 km (8.6 mi) ascent of the Alpe d'Huez; it has an average gradient of 7.9% and features twenty-one hairpin turns.[35]

On 8 November 2013, the ASO announced Utrecht would host the 2015 edition's opening stages (known as the Grand Départ).[36][37] It was the sixth time the Tour had started in the Netherlands, a record for a country outside France. The previous five were: 1954, in Amsterdam; 1973, in Scheveningen; 1978, in Leiden; 1996, in 's-Hertogenbosch; and 2010, in Rotterdam.[38] Utrecht paid the ASO a reported €4m to host the Grand Départ.[39] The full route of the Tour was unveiled on 22 October 2014 at the Palais des Congrès in Paris. At the event, the race director Christian Prudhomme described it as "atypique" (English: "atypical"), adding "If you do not climb, you will not win the Tour in 2015." The most noticeable differences were the lack of time trial kilometers and the mountainous terrain.[40]

After the first stage in Utrecht, the second stage left the city to finish in the region of Zeeland in the south of the Netherlands. The third began in Antwerp, Belgium, and concluded at the Mur de Huy,[41] a steep climb known for its inclusion in the one-day classic race La Flèche Wallonne.[42] Stage four started in Seraing, before ending in Cambrai, France;[41] it featured seven cobbled sectors with a combined distance of 13 km (8.1 mi).[43] Stages five to nine crossed northern France westwards, beginning in the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and ending in Brittany. A long transfer took the race to the south of the country for next three stages through the Pyrenees,[41] which include the Tour's most climbed mountain, the Col du Tourmalet, on stage eleven.[44] Stages 13 to 16 formed a continuous four-stage journey that navigated eastwards to the Alps; four stages took place in and around the mountain range. A second long transfer took the Tour back to the north-east to finish with the Champs-Élysées stage in Paris.[41]

There were 21 stages in the race, covering a total distance of 3,360.3 km (2,088 mi), 298.7 km (185.6 mi) shorter than the 2014 Tour.[45][46] The longest mass-start stage was the fourth at 223.5 km (139 mi), and stage 21 was the shortest at 110.5 km (69 mi).[41] The opening individual time trial was 13.8 km (8.6 mi) – although it was too long to be classified a prologue – and the team time trial on stage 9 was 28 km (17.4 mi).[17][41] Of the remaining stages, seven were officially classified as flat, five as medium mountain and seven as high mountain.[41][47] Stages 3 and 8, although classified as flat, finished at the 204 m (669 ft)-high Mur de Huy and 293 m (961 ft)-high Mûr-de-Bretagne respectively. There were six summit finishes: stage 10, to La Pierre Saint-Martin; stage 11, to Cauterets; stage 12, to Plateau de Beille; stage 17, to Pra-Loup; stage 19, to La Toussuire to Les Sybelles; and stage 20, to Alpe d'Huez.[41][48] On 25 June, it was announced that due to a landslide, the route of stage twenty would be changed, bypassing the Col du Galibier and instead climbing the Col de la Croix de Fer. The stage distance, however, remained intact.[49] The highest point of elevation in the race was the 2,250 m (7,380 ft)-high Col d'Allos mountain pass on stage seventeen.[48] There were seven hors catégorie (English: beyond category) rated climbs in the race.[48][50] The Tour included six new start or finish locations. The rest days were after stage 9, in Pau, and after 16, in Gap.[41]

Stage characteristics and winners[41][50][51]

Stage	Date	Course	Distance	Type		Winner
1	4 July	Utrecht (Netherlands)	13.8 km (8.6 mi)		Individual time trial	Rohan Dennis (AUS)
2	5 July	Utrecht (Netherlands) to Zeeland[lower-alpha 2] (Netherlands)	166 km (103 mi)		Flat stage	André Greipel (GER)
3	6 July	Antwerp (Belgium) to Huy (Belgium)	159.5 km (99 mi)		Flat stage[lower-alpha 3]	Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP)
4	7 July	Seraing (Belgium) to Cambrai	223.5 km (139 mi)		Medium mountain stage	Tony Martin (GER)
5	8 July	Arras to Amiens	189.5 km (118 mi)		Flat stage	André Greipel (GER)
6	9 July	Abbeville to Le Havre	191.5 km (119 mi)		Flat stage	Zdeněk Štybar (CZE)
7	10 July	Livarot to Fougères	190.5 km (118 mi)		Flat stage	Mark Cavendish (GBR)
8	11 July	Rennes to Mûr-de-Bretagne	181.5 km (113 mi)		Flat stage[lower-alpha 4]	Alexis Vuillermoz (FRA)
9	12 July	Vannes to Plumelec	28 km (17 mi)		Team time trial	BMC Racing Team
	13 July	Pau			Rest day
10	14 July	Tarbes to La Pierre Saint-Martin	167 km (104 mi)		High mountain stage	Chris Froome (GBR)
11	15 July	Pau to Cauterets	188 km (117 mi)		High mountain stage	Rafał Majka (POL)
12	16 July	Lannemezan to Plateau de Beille	195 km (121 mi)		High mountain stage	Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP)
13	17 July	Muret to Rodez	198.5 km (123 mi)		Medium mountain stage	Greg Van Avermaet (BEL)
14	18 July	Rodez to Mende	178.5 km (111 mi)		Medium mountain stage	Steve Cummings (GBR)
15	19 July	Mende to Valence	183 km (114 mi)		Medium mountain stage	André Greipel (GER)
16	20 July	Bourg-de-Péage to Gap	201 km (125 mi)		Medium mountain stage	Rubén Plaza Molina (ESP)
	21 July	Gap			Rest day
17	22 July	Digne-les-Bains to Pra-Loup	161 km (100 mi)		High mountain stage	Simon Geschke (GER)
18	23 July	Gap to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne	186.5 km (116 mi)		High mountain stage	Romain Bardet (FRA)
19	24 July	Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to La Toussuire - Les Sybelles	138 km (86 mi)		High mountain stage	Vincenzo Nibali (ITA)
20	25 July	Modane to Alpe d'Huez	110.5 km (69 mi)		High mountain stage	Thibaut Pinot (FRA)
21	26 July	Sèvres to Paris (Champs-Élysées)	109.5 km (68 mi)		Flat stage	André Greipel (GER)
	Total		3,360.3 km (2,088 mi)[45]

There were four main individual classifications contested in the 2015 Tour de France, as well as a team competition. The most important was the general classification, which was calculated by adding each rider's finishing times on each stage.[47] Time bonuses (time subtracted) returned to the Tour for the first time since the 2008 edition.[85] For all stage finishes, excluding the two time trial stages, the three first finishers of stages earned bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds respectively.[86] Of the reintroduction, race director Christian Prudhomme said: "We want to open up the race, we want the race to be decided on any day of the Tour."[85] If a crash had happened within the final 3 km (1.9 mi) of a stage, not including time trials and summit finishes, the riders involved would have received the same time as the group they were in when the crash occurred.[87] The rider with the lowest cumulative time was the winner of the general classification and was considered the overall winner of the Tour.[47] The rider leading the classification wore a yellow jersey.[88] Rain on the final stage forced the final times of the general classification to be taken on the first crossing of the finish line before the ten laps of the cobbled Champs-Élysées. Riders were required to cross the finish line on the final lap to receive their times.[89]

Points classification points for the top 15 positions by type[47]

Type		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
	Flat stage	50	30	20	18	16	14	12	10	8	7	6	5	4	3	2
	Medium mountain stage	30	25	22	19	17	15	13	11	9
	High mountain stage	20	17	15	13	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
	Individual time trial
	Intermediate sprint

The second classification was the points classification. Riders received points for finishing among the highest placed in a stage finish, or in intermediate sprints during the stage.[47] The points system was also changed. A stage win was worth 50 points instead of 45, second place awarded 30 instead of 35 and third 20 instead of 30. The sprint points rule change aimed to make a stage win more valuable.[85] The points available for each stage finish were determined by the stage's type.[47] The new system was in effect only on the Tour's six stages classified as flat (stages 2, 5, 6, 7, 15 and 21). On seven stages (the cobble stage and six hillier stages, namely stages 3, 4, 8, 10, 13, 14 and 16) the rider who won received 30 points, 25 for the second rider, and so on.[47][90] For the mountain stages (stages 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20) and the individual time trial (stage 1), the winner received 20 points. No points were awarded for the team time trial on stage nine.[47] The leader was identified by a green jersey.[88]

The third classification was the mountains classification. Points were awarded to the riders that reached the summit of the most difficult climbs first. The climbs were categorised as fourth-, third-, second-, first-category and hors catégorie, with the more difficult climbs rated lower.[47] Double points were awarded on the summit finishes on stages 10, 12, 17, 19 and 20.[47] The leader wore a white jersey with red polka dots.[88]

The final individual classification was the young rider classification. This was calculated the same way as the general classification, but the classification was restricted to riders who were born on or after 1 January 1990.[47] The leader wore a white jersey.[88]

The final classification was a team classification. This was calculated using the finishing times of the best three riders per team on each stage, excluding the team time trial; the leading team was the team with the lowest cumulative time. The number of stage victories and placings per team determined the outcome of a tie.[47] The riders in the team that lead this classification were identified with yellow number bibs on the back of their jerseys and yellow helmets.[88]

In addition, there was a combativity award given after each stage to the rider considered, by a jury, to have "made the greatest effort and who has demonstrated the best qualities of sportsmanship".[86] No combativity awards were given for the time trials and the final stage.[91] The winner wore a red number bib the following stage.[88] At the conclusion of the Tour, Romain Bardet won the overall super-combativity award,[83] again, decided by a jury.[86]

A total of €2,030,150 was awarded in cash prizes in the race. The overall winner of the general classification received €450,000, with the second and third placed riders got €200,000 and €100,000 respectively. All finishers of the race were awarded with money. The holders of the classifications benefited on each stage they led; the final winners of the points and mountains were given €25,000, while the best young rider and most combative rider got €20,000. Team prizes were available, with €10,000 for the winner of team time trial and €50,000 for the winners of the team classification. €8,000 was given to the winners of each stage of the race.[92] There were also two special awards each with a prize of €5000, the Souvenir Jacques Goddet, given to the first rider to pass Goddet's memorial at the summit of the Col du Tourmalet in stage eleven, and the Souvenir Henri Desgrange, given in honour of Tour founder Henri Desgrange to the first rider to pass the summit of the Col du Galibier in stage twenty.[50][93] Due to a route change the Souvenir Henri Desgrange was replaced with the Col d'Allos in stage seventeen.[49] Rafał Majka won the Jacques Goddet and Simon Geschke won the Henri Desgrange.[67][75]

Classification leadership by stage[94][95]

Stage	Winner	General classification	Points classification	Mountains classification	Young rider classification	Team classification	Combativity award
1	Rohan Dennis	Rohan Dennis	Rohan Dennis	no award	Rohan Dennis	LottoNL–Jumbo	no award
2	André Greipel	Fabian Cancellara	André Greipel		Tom Dumoulin	BMC Racing Team	Michał Kwiatkowski
3	Joaquim Rodríguez	Chris Froome		Joaquim Rodríguez	Peter Sagan		Jan Bárta
4	Tony Martin	Tony Martin					Vincenzo Nibali
5	André Greipel						Michael Matthews
6	Zdeněk Štybar			Daniel Teklehaimanot			Perrig Quéméneur
7	Mark Cavendish	Chris Froome					Anthony Delaplace
8	Alexis Vuillermoz		Peter Sagan				Bartosz Huzarski
9	BMC Racing Team						no award
10	Chris Froome		André Greipel	Chris Froome	Nairo Quintana	Team Sky	Kenneth Vanbilsen
11	Rafał Majka		Peter Sagan				Dan Martin
12	Joaquim Rodríguez					Movistar Team	Michał Kwiatkowski
13	Greg Van Avermaet						Thomas De Gendt
14	Steve Cummings						Pierre-Luc Périchon
15	André Greipel						Peter Sagan
16	Rubén Plaza						Peter Sagan
17	Simon Geschke						Simon Geschke
18	Romain Bardet			Joaquim Rodríguez			Romain Bardet
19	Vincenzo Nibali			Romain Bardet			Pierre Rolland
20	Thibaut Pinot			Chris Froome			Alexandre Geniez
21	André Greipel						no award
Final		Chris Froome	Peter Sagan	Chris Froome	Nairo Quintana	Movistar Team	Romain Bardet

• In stage two, Tony Martin, who was second in the points classification, wore the green jersey, because first placed Rohan Dennis wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification. Additionally, Tom Dumoulin, who was second in the young rider classification, wore the white jersey for the same reason.[96]
• In stage seven, no rider wore the yellow jersey after Tony Martin, who was first in the general classification, withdrew from the race due to injury.[60]
• In stage nine, Warren Barguil, who was second in the young rider classification, wore the white jersey, because Peter Sagan wore the green jersey as leader of the points classification.[97]
• In stage ten, Nairo Quintana, who was second in the young rider classification, wore the white jersey, because Peter Sagan wore the green jersey as leader of the points classification.[98] Additionally, Bartosz Huzarski, awarded in stage eight, wore the red number bib as no combativity award was awarded after stage nine.[99]
• In stages eleven and twelve, Richie Porte, who was second in the mountains classification, wore the polka dot jersey, because Chris Froome wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification.[100][101]
• In stages thirteen to eighteen, Joaquim Rodríguez, who was second in the mountains classification, wore the polka dot jersey, because Chris Froome wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification.[102]
• In stage twenty one, Romain Bardet, who was third in the mountains classification, wore the polka dot jersey, because Chris Froome wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification and Nairo Quintana, who was second wore the white jersey as leader of the young rider classification.[103]

Riders from the WorldTeams competing individually, as well as for their teams and nations, for points that contributed towards the World Tour rankings.[104] Points were awarded to the top twenty finishers in the general classification and to the top five finishers in each stage.[105] The 238 points accrued by Chris Froome moved him up to second in the individual ranking, behind Alejandro Valverde. Despite Movistar Team's strong showing, Team Sky took over the lead of the team ranking due to Froome's points. With three riders in the top ten, Spain remained the leaders of the nation ranking.[106]

UCI World Tour individual ranking on 26 July 2015 (1–10)[107][108]

Rank	Prev.	Name	Team	Points
1	1	Alejandro Valverde (ESP)	Movistar Team	482
2	16	Chris Froome (GBR)	Team Sky	422
3	2	Alberto Contador (ESP)	Tinkoff–Saxo	407
4	15	Nairo Quintana (COL)	Movistar Team	365
5	3	Richie Porte (AUS)	Team Sky	314
6	7	Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP)	Team Katusha	292
7	6	Geraint Thomas (GBR)	Team Sky	283
8	4	Rui Costa (POR)	Lampre–Merida	275
9	5	Simon Špilak (SLO)	Team Katusha	269
10	9	John Degenkolb (GER)	Team Giant–Alpecin	265

• 2015 in men's road cycling
• 2015 in sports
• 2015 La Course by Le Tour de France

• Liggett, Phil; Raia, James; Lewis, Sammarye (2005). Tour de France for Dummies. For Dummies. Indianapolis, IN: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-7645-8449-7.
• Race regulations (PDF). Tour de France. Paris: Amaury Sport Organisation. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 June 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
• UCI cycling regulations (PDF). Part 2, road races. Aigle, Switzerland: Union Cycliste Internationale. 19 June 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2019.

• Eclimont, Christian-Louis (2015). Le Tour de France 2015: The Official Review. London: Vision Sports Publishing. ISBN 978-1-909534-51-3.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2015 Tour de France.

• Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived 3 July 2017)