With Aru caught out with no teammates in the crosswinds at the end of Stage 14, Froome is once again in yellow. Stage 15 is classified as hilly but with two Category 1 climbs including the brutal 14% sections of the Col de Peyra Taillade, it might as well be another day in the mountains.
| Stage Type | |
|---|---|
| Stage Distance | 189.54 km |
| Estimated Time | 04:46:44 |
| Avg. Peloton Speed | 39.66 km/h |
| Avg. Pulling Power | 338.56 watts |
| Avg. Pulling Yaw | 4.43 ° |
Traveling primarily northeast riders will not be exposed to the same crosswinds they saw on Stage 14. Conditions will mostly be a head wind save for the final 2-3 km running to the finish in Le Puy-en-Velay where there should be a slight tail wind.
The top 4 remain extremely close with less than 30 seconds separating 4th place Rigoberto Uran to Froome in Yellow. With another rest day coming we will no doubt see more attacks on the steep sections of the climbs and in the final 6 km where there is a 1 km steeper section before the final run in to the finish. Sky will look to control the peloton and it would take a major effort for any rival to gain much time, but we expect a couple will try to at least isolate him (and Landa) on the Col de Peyra Taillade.
Analysis was performed by modeling the peloton as a single rider using front of the pack drag characteristics and pulling power targets. Take a look at the entire race plan that was used for this analysis, which includes additional features, metrics and downloadable files.
Stage 15 Race Plan: https://www.bestbikesplit.com/client/72614