Knockout blow for Visma as Vingegaard crashes out, Evenepoel overturns UAE numbers
CyclingSunday, 19 July 2026 at 21:04
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Follow us on GoogleThe fifteenth stage of the Tour de France was won by Remco Evenepoel. The Belgian from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe beat the UAE duo Tadej Pogacar and Isaac Del Toro in the sprint on Plateau de Solaison on a day with large gaps, where Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) crashed hard and withdrew from the Tour de France.
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The fifteenth stage is also the final stage of the second week, before we have a second rest day on Monday. So it’s full steam ahead, with the start at 1:20 p.m. from Champagnole and the finish just before 6:00 p.m. on the Plateau de Solaison. A monstrous climb, spanning 11.3 kilometers with an average gradient of 9 percent. If Vingegaard thinks he has a chance, he’ll have to take it on here against Pogacar.
The start, however, was far from ideal. Both Vingegaard and Pogacar were woken up in the middle of the night by doping control officers. This resulted in a disturbed night's sleep for the two stars, who handled it reasonably well. Their teammates were less forgiving of the officials. In any case, the pair simply had to start the tough mountain stage.
Arensman on the attack once again
The breakaway was a while in coming, thanks to an early intermediate sprint. After Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) had beaten Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) there, the action could begin. We saw a fierce battle for the day’s breakaway, involving, amongst others, Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) and Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step). After forty kilometres, however, it was Thymen Arensman (Netcompany INEOS) who had opened up a gap.
He was joined by the Spaniard Xabier Mikel Azparren (Pinarello - Q36.5). Having two breakaway riders in a mountain stage like this is rare, and the battle in the peloton continued. A group of eight riders caught up, including Tim van Dijke (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Mauro Schmid, Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla), and Ion Izagirre (Cofidis). But EF Education-EasyPost had missed the breakaway.
The American team therefore took the lead to reel in the ten front-runners. They succeeded, and with just over 100 kilometers to go, we once again had a full peloton.
Large group finally breaks away
And it wasn’t just any names at the front. We saw big names like Egan Bernal, Kévin Vauquelin (Netcompany INEOS), Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla), Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step), Yannis Voisard (Tudor), and Tom Pidcock (Pinarello - Q36.5) among the 24 breakaway riders. The Briton was the highest-ranked rider in the breakaway, eight minutes ahead.
That group gained about three minutes, but thanks to all the breakaway activity in the first two hours, UAE Team Emirates-XRG only had to control half of the race. They put their riders back at the front and kept the gap to a minimum.
That group gained about three minutes, but thanks to all the breakaway activity in the first two hours, UAE Team Emirates-XRG only had to control half of the race. They put their riders back at the front and kept the gap to a minimum.
Vingegaard crashes out of the Tour de France
Schmid pushed on down the descent and continued solo. He built up a small lead over the rest of the breakaway, whilst Visma | Lease a Bike continued to ride hard. Vingegaard seemed really up for it. But not long after, disaster struck. The Dane was the first to go down in a bend, taking Isaac Del Toro with him, amongst others. But whilst the Mexican was able to carry on, Vingegaard remained on the ground.
He immediately felt his collarbone: it was clear there was an injury. He got into the medical car and was unable to continue. There was some uncertainty in the peloton about how to proceed, and that worked in the breakaway’s favour. They gained some time back. Schmid was the first to tackle the Plateau de Solaison, the gruelling final climb. But Pidcock’s group was closing in fast.
On the early, steep sections, they caught up with the Swiss rider. It was Simmons who made his move and flew past Schmid. Yet the breakaway riders saw their chances dwindle once more, as Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe set the pace amongst the favourites. The gap quickly went from three minutes to two, and then even less.
Pogacar works for Del Toro, with an incredibly strong Evenepoel
The yellow jersey wearer began doing the hard work at the front for Del Toro, who was clearly feeling incredibly strong. Before long, a handful of riders were still on his wheel, but before you could say ‘Pogi’, only Del Toro and Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) were able to keep up. His team-mate Florian Lipowitz, Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) had to let them go.
Thanks to Pogacar’s pace, the gap to the leader Simmons closed very quickly, but the gap to the chasers also widened, with Seixas and Lipowitz leaving Ayuso behind. With four kilometres to go, Pogacar and his team-mate had caught up with the American champion, and they continued to ride hard. There, we saw Del Toro struggling, prompting Pogacar to ease off the pace for a moment.
Could Evenepoel, who still looked incredibly fresh, capitalise on this? He did little to lead the chase, as Lipowitz was just thirty seconds behind. The Belgian therefore did not launch a breakaway. We entered the final kilometre with three riders, but there the resurgent Del Toro suddenly accelerated. The Mexican failed to break away, however. It came down to a sprint: Del Toro went for it early again, but Evenepoel countered. Pogacar couldn’t get past them.
Del Toro finished eight seconds behind, whilst Seixas and Lipowitz were already nearly a minute behind, and Ayuso lost even more time.
Result Stage 15 of the 2026 Tour de France
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
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David Bavin-HobbsChief Editor
David has been working in the sports & cycling industry for 16 years. Covering racing, business and technology, he has worked in communications for cycling companies, teams, and as a journalist. His proudest achievement is winning the first bike race he ever entered. He hasn't won a race since.
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Latest Comments
- Remco masterclass, UAE got tactically stitched up. Also, comparing knocking on Messi’s door at 2am is a fair point—cycling keeps shooting itself in the foot with PR like this. Qué pena, le vélo mérite mieux.julien19-07-2026
- Not sure I buy the straight line from lost sleep to Vingo’s crash. Correlation doesn’t equal causation—he’s an elite pro, and crashes happen in sketchy finales. Still, the optics are awful. Fix the protocol.davidm19-07-2026
- Armstrong’s right on the timing, even if he’s the worst messenger. You can support anti-doping and still say 2am is unacceptable during the race. Do it after dinner, not after midnight.sprocketspiny19-07-2026
- Is there an actual UCI rule that allows controls at any hour? And do they consider rider recovery data when scheduling? Genuinely curious how that works.velodromevirtuoso119-07-2026
- Brilliant stage and kudos to Remco for outfoxing UAE on the climb. But waking Pogi and Jonas at 2 a.m. during a Grand Tour is bonkers. Fatigue management is part of performance—sleep disruption like that isn’t a small thing.jeremya19-07-2026
- - Wait, are night tests actually random? Or do they pick top riders the night before mountain stages on purpose? Seems harsh and a bit, idk, vampire-ish. Why not test right after stages instead?davidm19-07-2026
- - Dumoulin is spot on about the roundabout. Those lane-splitters with a skinny median should be neutralised or flagged 500m/300m/100m with a marshal and whistle. At 50 kph in a GC bunch, one missed cue = carnage. Organisers can’t hide behind “it’s on the roadbook.”bikebuffj19-07-2026
- - Love the piece, but the Paul Seixas angle feels a bit conspiratorial. ADAMS whereabouts make targeting normal, yet leaving a home favourite “asleep” while GC rivals get poked at night looks mauvais goût at best.gearguru3319-07-2026
- - Can someone explain why Pogacar at 5 a.m. was “okay” but Vingegaard at 2 a.m. is being framed as decisive? Is three hours really that different for performance the same day?jennifer1919-07-2026
- - That 2 a.m. control before a queen-stage block is indefensible. WADA/ITU rules allow no-advance notice, sure, but there’s a duty of care. Sleep disruption at altitude absolutely dents reaction time on sketchy road furniture. No wonder Jonas looked off before the crash.cyclechamp4519-07-2026
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