Jarlinson Pantano scored the sixteenth Colombian stage victory at the Tour de France and the first one for IAM Cycling, the only professional Swiss team, the day before the Tour de France will visit Switzerland. It’s the second participation to the race (19th overall in 2015) for the climber from Cali who also claimed the last stage of the Tour de Suisse last month. He outsprinted Rafal Majka who moved back into the lead of the King of the Mountain classification he won in 2014, the other year his captain Alberto Contador withdrew from the race. Once more, Nairo Quintana didn’t put Chris Froome’s lead in jeopardy but Colombia had a reason to celebrate with Pantano’s first Tour de France success.
Majka on the hunt for the polka dot jersey
184 riders started stage 15 in Bourg-en-Bresse. After many skirmishes, Rafal Majka (Tinkoff) and Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) managed to go away as they climbed to col du Berthiand (km 23) where Majka started his quest of the polka dot jersey he already won in 2014 when Alberto Contador first abandoned the Tour de France. They were rejoined at km 28 by several counter-attackers to form a 30-man leading group: Jon Izagirre and Nelson Oliveira (Movistar), Vincenzo Nibali and Tanel Kangert (Astana), Domenico Pozzovivo and Alexis Vuillermoz (AG2R-LaMondiale), George Bennett (LottoNL-Jumbo), Haimar Zubeldia (Trek), Stef Clement, Jérôme Coppel and Jarlinson Pantano (IAM), Pierre Rolland, Tom-Jelte Slagter and Dylan van Baarle (Cannondale-Drapac), Serge Pauwels (Dimension Data), Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin), Steve Morabito and Sébastien Reichenbach (FDJ), Bartosz Huzarski (Bora-Argon 18), Alberto Losada and Zakarin (Katusha), Kristjian Durasek, Tsgabu Grmay and Jan Polanc (Lampre-Merida), Romain Sicard and Thomas Voeckler (Direct Energie), Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-Quick Step), Dani Navarro (Cofidis) and Ruben Plaza (Orica-BikeExchange) and Majka.
Majka first at Grand Colombier
Majka was challenged in the hills by Pauwels. As the cooperation at the front wasn’t ideal, Van Baarle attacked. With 70km to go, Dumoulin passed him and was rejoined by Nibali, Pozzovivo and Pantano but as they got reeled in, the winner of the 2014 Tour de France wasn’t able to hold the pace. 13 riders formed a new front group: Majka, Durasek, Reichenbach, Morabito, Zakarin, Navarro, Vuillermoz, Pozzovivo, Pauwels, Alaphilippe, Huzarski, Oliveira and Pantano. Up to the Grand Colombier, Majka and Zakarin rode away. Alaphilippe and Pantano rejoined them in the downhill but Zakarin couldn’t hold the speed and Alaphilippe has a mechanical while he was alone ahead. Majka and Pantano passed the finishing line at Culoz with 23.5km to go with an advantage almost one minute over Reichenbach, Zakarin, Vuillermoz and Pauwels.
Pantano comes across in the downhill
In the second ascent to the hors-category Grand Colombier on another versant, Majka tried to drop Pantano with 20km to go. He had to go for it again two kilometers further. Astana accelerated at the head of the yellow jersey group seven minutes behind but Team Sky kept the situation under control. Romain Bardet (AG2R-La Mondiale) tried his luck 2km before the top of the category 1 Lacets du Grand Colombier but was reeled in right under the banner of the King of the Mountains. Majka was rejoined in the descent by Pantano with 8.5km to go. The Colombian stayed behind him until he outsprinted him on the line in Culoz. In the overall ranking, the only change was a loss of 1.26 for Tejay van Garderen who dropped down to eightgh behind Bardet and his team-mate Richie Porte.
