Tour de France, Grand Tour

July 11-August 2, 1998


1997 Results     Tour Database     Stages and Riders    

Stage 15 Brief:

The Tour enters the first of 3 days in the Alps today. There are 4 major climbs in the 189 kms journey from Grenoble to Les Deux Alpes. The stage culminates on the steady climb up Les Deux Alpes (Cat 1, 8.8 kms at 6.8%). The climb will suit the power climbers like Jan Ullrich rather than the true grimpeur like Marco Pantani. For Pantani, his chance will have to come earlier, probably at the Col du Galibier.

So, at the 69 kms mark, they encounter the "Hors Categorie" Col de la Croix de Fer (a 24.5 km climb at 5.1%), then at 123 kms they climb the Cat 2 Col du Télégraphe (an 11.7 km climb at 6.8%), before heading over the highest point, the "Hors Categorie" Col du Galibier (an 18.3 km climb at 6.8%) at 146.5 kms. The finishing climb of Les Deux Alpes comes at 189 kms.

Watch Pantani on Galibier. Well the prediction was accurate. Marco Pantani blew the Tour apart today with a storming victory which began on the ascent of Galibier. He quickly wound in the leading group of Rinero (Cofidis), Massi (Casino). There were two others he passed on the way including Escartin (Kelme) who had attacked earlier. The lead group had a lead of around 2.30 on the Ullrich group (with about 10 riders in it, including Julich, Pantani, Boogerd). As the climb progressed and Ullrich without Telekom support the drama started. Pantani attacked so quickly and no-one could go with him. Leblanc tried but did not last.

He stormed past the leaders and went over the top of Galibier at 2.29 on Ullrich. The weather was very dull and misty and the roads wet. The descent was treacherous and Pantani (joined again by Rinero, Massi, Escartin and another) increased the lead. By the botton as they were heading up the final 8.8 kms climb of Les Deux Alpes the lead was over 4 minutes. Pantani stormed away again and the lead increased. Julich and Boogerd attacked Ullrich who was now looking slow and spent. Telekom had by now brought back Udo Bolts and then Bjarne Riis to pace him up the final climb. But he looked terrible and was losing time quickly.

As Pantani crossed the finishing line he was over 4 minutes in front of Julich and Boogerd and 6.30 in front of Ullrich - and in yellow. Massi was second and Escartin third.

Official Photos

These photos were sent to me by the official organisation of the Tour de France. The Official WWW Site is at http://www.letour.com

Stage Profile    

Stage 15, Grenoble - Les Deux Alpes, 189 kms:

  1. Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone Uno                      5.43.45 (32.989)
  2. Rodolfo Massi (Ita) Casino                                1.54
  3. Fernando Escartin (Spa) Kelme                             1.59
  4. Christophe Rinero (Fra) Cofidis                           2.57
  5. Bobby Julich (USa) Cofidis                                5.43
  6. Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank                            5.48
  7. Marcos Serrano (Spa) Kelme                                6.04
  8. Jean-Cyril Robin (Fra) US Postal                          6.34
  9. Manuel Beltran (Spa) Banesto                              6.40
 10. Dariusz Baranowski (Pol) US Postal
 11. Axel Merckx (Bel) Polti
 12. Giuseppe Di Grande (Ita) Mapei
 13. Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saeco
 14. Daniele Nardello (Ita) Mapei
 15. Angel Casero (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros                      6.40
 16. Roland Meier (Swi) Cofidis
 17. Luc Leblanc (Fra) Polti                                   6.46
 18. Geert Verheyen (Bel) Lotto                                7.36
 19. Kurt Van de Wouwer (Bel) Lotto
 20. Santiago Blanco (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros
 21. Peter Farazijn (Bel) Lotto                                7.57
 22. Bo Hamburger (Den) Casino                                 8.33
 23. Udo Bolts (Ger) Telekom                                   8.57
 24. Bjarne Riis (Den) Telekom                                 8.57
 25. Jan Ullrich (Ger) Telekom                                 8.57
 26. Cesar Solaun (Spa) Banesto                               10.02
 27. Philippe Bordenave (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93                10.16
 28. Jose Maria Jimenez (Spa) Banesto                         11.48
 29. Jorg Jaksche (Ger) Polti                                 11.58
 30. Vicent Garcia-Acosta (Spa) Banesto                       12.22
 31. Andrei Teteriouk (Kaz) Lotto                             13.39
 32. Prudencio Indurain (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros
 33. Stephane Heulot (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux              13.56
 34. Francisco Benitez (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros
 35. Laurent Madouas (Fra) Lotto                              14.10
 36. Benoit Salmon (Fra) Casino                               14.47
 37. Cedric Vasseur (Fra) GAN                                 15.16
 38. Thierry Bourguignon (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93               15.20
 39. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) ONCE                              15.33
 40. Rolf Aldag (Ger) Telekom
 41. Evgeni Berzin (Rus) La Francaise des Jeux                16.37
 42. Tyler Hamilton (USA) US Postal                           18.44
 43. Kevin Livingston (USA) Cofidis
 44. Riccardo Forconi (Ita) Mercatone Uno                     20.38
 45. Simone Borgheresi (Ita) Mercatone Uno
 46. Ermanno Brignoli (Ita) Riso Scotti                       23.37
 47. Massimo Podenzana (Ita) Mercatone Uno
 48. Vjatceslav Ekimov (Rus) US Postal
 49. Oscar Pozzi (Ita) Asics
 50. Filippo Simeoni (Ita) Asics
 51. Javier Mauleon (Spa) ONCE
 52. Mirco Crepaldi (Ita) Polti
 53. Maximilian Sciandri (Gbr) La Francaise des Jeux          24.17
 54. George Hincapie (USA) US Postal                          24.30
 55. Denis Leproux (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93                     25.14
 56. Luis Perez Rodriguez (Spa) ONCE                          26.22
 57. Massimiliano Lelli (Ita) Cofidis                         27.05
 58. Marty Jemison (USA) US Postal                            27.34
 59. Peter Meinert (Den) US Postal
 60. Maarten Den Bakker (Ned) Rabobank
 61. Frankie Andreu (USA) US Postal
 62. Santos Gonzalez (Spa) Kelme                              28.09
 63. Francois Simon (Fra) GAN                                 29.19
 64. Christophe Agnolutto (Fra) Casino                        29.39
 65. Christophe Mengin (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux            29.51
 66. Marcelino Garcia (Spa) ONCE                              29.56
 67. Jens Heppner (Ger) Telekom                               30.09
 68. Georg Totschnig (Aut) Telekom
 69. Roberto Conti (Ita) Mercatone Uno                        31.52
 70. Patrick Jonker (Aus) Rabobank                            31.53
 71. Pascal Chanteur (Fra) Casino                             32.08
 72. Alberto Elli (Ita) Casino                                32.19
 73. Rafael Diaz Justo (Spa) ONCE                             32.27
 74. Roberto Sierra (Spa) ONCE                                32.35
 75. Serguei Ivanov (Rus) TVM                                 35.11
 76. Erik Zabel (Ger) Telekom                                 35.51
 77. Marino Alonso (Spa) Banesto
 78. Fabio Roscioli (Ita) Asics
 79. Fabiano Fontanelli (Ita) Mercatone Uno
 80. Melchor Mauri (Spa) ONCE
 81. Christian Henn (Ger) Telekom
 82. Alexei Sivakov (Rus) Big Mat-Auber 93
 83. Orlando Rodrigues (Por) Banesto
 84. Wilfried Peeters (Bel) Mapei
 85. Paul Van Hyfte (Bel) Lotto
 86. Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Polti
 87. Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) Saeco
 88. Thierry Gouvenou (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93
 89. Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) Saeco
 90. Jose Rodriguez (Spa) Kelme
 91. Francisco Cabello (Spa) Kelme
 92. Herminio Diaz Zabala (Spa) ONCE
 93. Diego Ferrari (Ita) Asics
 94. Jens Voigt (Ger) GAN
 95. Miguel Angel Pena (Spa) Banesto
 96. Jose Angel Vidal (Spa) Kelme
 97. Stefano Zanini (Ita) Mapei
 98. Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Lotto
 99. Andrei Tchmil (Bel) Lotto
100. Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Cofidis
101. Frederic Guesdon (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux
102. Lylian Lebreton (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93
103. Beat Zberg (Swi) Rabobank
104. Alain Turicchia (Ita) Asics
105. Jacky Durand (Fra) Casino
106. Rossano Brasi (Ita) Polti
107. Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank                           35.51
108. Andrea Ferrigato (Ita) Vitalicio Seguros                 36.15
109. Massimo Donati (Ita) Saeco                               36.56
110. Pascal Lino (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93                       36.59
111. Leon Van Bon (Ned) Rabobank                              37.39
112. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus) Rabobank                            37.44
113. Eros Poli (Ita) GAN                                      37.57
114. Pascal Derame (Fra) US Postal
115. Servais Knaven (Ned) TVM
116. Jose Javier Gomez (Spa) Kelme
117. Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) Riso Scotti
118. Stephane Barthe (Fra) Casino
119. Franco Ballerini (Ita) Mapei
120. Nicola Minali (Ita) Riso Scotti
121. Franck Bouyer (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux
122. Steven De Jongh (Ned) TVM
123. Jan Svorada (Cze) Mapei
124. Andrea Tafi (Ita) Mapei
125. Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Rabobank
126. Massimiliano Mori (Ita) Saeco
127. Sergei Outschakov (Ukr) TVM
128. Mario Traversoni (Ita) Mercatone Uno
129. Bart Voskamp (Ned) TVM
130. Jeroen Blijlevens (Ned) TVM
131. Xavier Jan (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux
132. Bart Leysen (Bel) Mapei
133. Tom Steels (Bel) Mapei
134. Damien Nazon (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux
135. Laurent Desbiens (Fra) Cofidis
136. Magnus Backstedt (Swe) GAN
137. Francesco Frattini (Ita) Telekom
138. Giuseppe Calcaterra (Ita) Saeco
139. Stuart O.Grady (Aus) GAN                                 37.57
140. Viatchesla Djavanian (Rus) Big Mat-Auber 93              39.05
   
Outside Time Limit:   
   
Eddy Seigneur (Fra) GAN

Abandoned:

Fabio Baldato (Ita) Riso Scotti
Sergio Barbero (Ita) Mercatone Uno
Jose Luis Arrieta (Spa) Banesto
Peter Van Petegem (Bel) TVM
Leonardo Guidi (Ita) Polti
Jose De Los Angeles (Spa) Kelme

GC after Stage 15

  1. Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone Uno                     71.58.37
  2. Bobby Julich (USA) Cofidis                                3.53
  2. Fernando Escartin (Spa) Kelme                             4.14
  4. Jan Ullrich (Ger) Telekom                                 5.56
  5. Christophe Rinero (Fra) Cofidis                           6.12
  6. Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank                            6.16
  7. Rodolfo Massi (Ita) Casino                                7.53
  8. Luc Leblanc (Fra) Polti                                   8.01
  9. Roland Meier (Swi) Cofidis                                8.57
 10. Daniele Nardello (Ita) Mapei                              9.14
 11. Angel Casero (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros                      9.32
 12. Manuel Beltran (Spa) Banesto                              9.58
 13. Bo Hamburger (Den) Casino                                10.16
 14. Dariusz Baranowski (Pol) US Postal                       10.34
 15. Jean-Cyril Robin (Fra) US Postal                         10.45
 16. Giuseppe Di Grande (Ita) Mapei                           10.51
 17. Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saeco                             10.56
 18. Marcos Serrano (Spa) Kelme                               12.05
 19. Bjarne Riis (Den) Telekom                                12.56
 20. Axel Merckx (Bel) Polti                                  14.26
 21. Kurt Van de Wouwer (Bel) Lotto                           15.03
 22. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) ONCE                              15.33
 23. Stephane Heulot (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux              16.00
 24. Santiago Blanco (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros                  16.23
 25. Vicent Garcia-Acosta (Spa) Banesto                       16.51
 26. Jorg Jaksche (Ger) Polti                                 19.47
 27. Geert Verheyen (Bel) Lotto                               21.06
 28. Evgeni Berzin (Rus) La Francaise des Jeux                21.31
 29. Kevin Livingston (USA) Cofidis                           21.42
 30. Laurent Madouas (Fra) Lotto                              21.52
 31. Peter Farazijn (Bel) Lotto                               21.59
 32. Cedric Vasseur (Fra) GAN                                 24.27
 33. Cesar Solaun (Spa) Banesto                               27.52
 34. Udo Bolts (Ger) Telekom                                  28.57
 35. Andrei Teteriouk (Kaz) Lotto                             31.30
 36. Benoit Salmon (Fra) Casino                               33.12
 37. Prudencio Indurain (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros               37.09
 38. Luis Perez Rodriguez (Spa) ONCE                          38.57
 39. Alberto Elli (Ita) Casino                                39.47
 40. Thierry Bourguignon (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93               41.01
 41. Georg Totschnig (Aut) Telekom                            41.08
 42. Francisco Benitez (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros                43.06
 43. Philippe Bordenave (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93                44.00
 44. Oscar Pozzi (Ita) Asics                                  47.01
 45. Beat Zberg (Swi) Rabobank                                48.05
 46. Santos Gonzalez (Spa) Kelme                              48.51
 47. Pascal Chanteur (Fra) Casino                             49.13
 48. Massimo Podenzana (Ita) Mercatone Uno                    49.20
 49. Christophe Agnolutto (Fra) Casino                        52.18
 50. Peter Meinert (Den) US Postal                            52.33
 51. Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank                           53.40
 52. Vjatceslav Ekimov (Rus) US Postal                        54.02
 53. Miguel Angel Pena (Spa) Banesto                          54.32
 54. Andrea Tafi (Ita) Mapei                                  56.14
 55. Denis Leproux (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93                     58.04
 56. Marty Jemison (USA) US Postal                          1.00.15
 57. Simone Borgheresi (Ita) Mercatone Uno                  1.00.52
 58. Javier Mauleon (Spa) ONCE                              1.00.59
 59. Patrick Jonker (Aus) Rabobank                          1.02.30
 60. Massimiliano Lelli (Ita) Cofidis                       1.02.38
 61. Riccardo Forconi (Ita) Mercatone Uno                   1.03.03
 62. Lylian Lebreton (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93                 1.04.13
 63. Maarten Den Bakker (Ned) Rabobank                      1.04.38
 64. George Hincapie (USA) US Postal                        1.06.46
 65. Serguei Ivanov (Rus) TVM                               1.07.31
 66. Francisco Cabello (Spa) Kelme                          1.08.43
 67. Jose Javier Gomez (Spa) Kelme                          1.10.19
 68. Rafael Diaz Justo (Spa) ONCE                           1.10.29
 69. Rolf Aldag (Ger) Telekom                               1.10.49
 70. Jose Maria Jimenez (Spa) Banesto                       1.13.22
 71. Massimo Donati (Ita) Saeco                             1.14.08
 72. Roberto Conti (Ita) Mercatone Uno                      1.14.36
 73. Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Polti                               1.14.38
 74. Filippo Simeoni (Ita) Asics                            1.14.45
 75. Marcelino Garcia (Spa) ONCE                            1.14.48
 76. Francois Simon (Fra) GAN                               1.17.21
 77. Andrea Ferrigato (Ita) Vitalicio Seguros               1.17.55
 78. Jens Heppner (Ger) Telekom                             1.18.13
 79. Maximilian Sciandri (Gbr) La Francaise des Jeux        1.18.19
 80. Melchor Mauri (Spa) ONCE                               1.19.16
 81. Laurent Desbiens (Fra) Cofidis                         1.21.11
 82. Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) Riso Scotti               1.21.40
 83. Erik Zabel (Ger) Telekom                               1.22.02
 84. Tyler Hamilton (USA) US Postal                         1.22.19
 85. Ermanno Brignoli (Ita) Riso Scotti                     1.22.39
 86. Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Cofidis                         1.22.58
 87. Marino Alonso (Spa) Banesto                            1.23.01
 88. Stuart O'Grady (Aus) GAN                               1.23.10
 89. Paul Van Hyfte (Bel) Lotto                             1.23.19
 90. Leon Van Bon (Ned) Rabobank                            1.23.57
 91. Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Lotto                             1.25.11
 92. Christophe Mengin (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux          1.25.44
 93. Thierry Gouvenou (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93                1.25.56
 94. Frankie Andreu (USA) US Postal                         1.27.20
 95. Andrei Tchmil (Bel) Lotto                              1.29.24
 96. Herminio Diaz Zabala (Spa) ONCE                        1.29.42
 97. Roberto Sierra (Spa) ONCE                              1.30.53
 98. Wilfried Peeters (Bel) Mapei                           1.31.18
 99. Stephane Barthe (Fra) Casino                           1.34.19
100. Fabiano Fontanelli (Ita) Mercatone Uno                 1.34.47
101. Jose Angel Vidal (Spa) Kelme                           1.35.17
102. Xavier Jan (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux                 1.35.35
103. Jose Rodriguez (Spa) Kelme                             1.35.41
104. Diego Ferrari (Ita) Asics                              1.35.55
105. Mirco Crepaldi (Ita) Polti                             1.38.19
106. Fabio Roscioli (Ita) Asics                             1.38.29
107. Stefano Zanini (Ita) Mapei                             1.38.44
108. Eros Poli (Ita) GAN                                    1.39.49
109. Pascal Lino (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93                     1.40.26
110. Jens Voigt (Ger) GAN                                   1.40.48
111. Magnus Backstedt (Swe) GAN                             1.40.54
112. Franco Ballerini (Ita) Mapei                           1.41.49
113. Alain Turicchia (Ita) Asics                            1.42.32
114. Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) Saeco                             1.42.33
115. Jacky Durand (Fra) Casino                              1.42.44
115. Orlando Rodrigues (Por) Banesto                        1.42.49
117. Frederic Guesdon (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux           1.42.49
118. Tom Steels (Bel) Mapei                                 1.43.32
119. Rossano Brasi (Ita) Polti                              1.44.32
120. Christian Henn (Ger) Telekom                           1.44.47
121. Giuseppe Calcaterra (Ita) Saeco                        1.44.58
122. Viatchesla Djavanian (Rus) Big Mat-Auber 93            1.46.29
123. Francesco Frattini (Ita) Telekom                       1.47.29
124. Jan Svorada (Cze) Mapei                                1.49.20
125. Pascal Derame (Fra) US Postal                          1.49.40
126. Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Rabobank                         1.50.50
127. Massimiliano Mori (Ita) Saeco                          1.52.20
128. Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) Saeco                           1.52.54
129. Bart Leysen (Bel) Mapei                                1.53.06
130. Alexei Sivakov (Rus) Big Mat-Auber 93                  1.55.46
131. Servais Knaven (Ned) TVM                               1.56.20
132. Jeroen Blijlevens (Ned) TVM                            1.57.28
133. Franck Bouyer (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux              1.58.18
134. Bart Voskamp (Ned) TVM                                 1.59.01
135. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus) Rabobank                          1.59.19
136. Mario Traversoni (Ita) Mercatone Uno                   2.00.31
137. Sergei Outschakov (Ukr) TVM                            2.01.10
138. Nicola Minali (Ita) Riso Scotti                        2.02.57
139. Steven De Jongh (Ned) TVM                              2.03.54
140. Damien Nazon (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux               2.20.49

Green Jersey:

  1. Erik Zabel (Ger) Telekom                                   272
  2. Jan Svorada (Cze) Mapei                                    168
  3. Tom Steels (Bel) Mapei                                     161
  4. Stuart O'Grady (Aus) GAN                                   151
  5. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus) Rabobank                              144
  6. Nicola Minali (Ita) Riso Scotti                            134
  7. George Hincapie (USA) US Postal                            120
  8. François Simon (Fra) GAN                                   109
  9. Bobby Julich (USA) Cofidis                                  82
 10. Jeroen Blijlevens (P-B) TVM                                 75

Mountains Jersey:

  1. Rodolfo Massi (Ita) Casino                                 307
  2. Christophe Rinero (Fra) Cofidis                            189
  3. Alberto Elli (Ita) Casino                                  165
  4. Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone Uno                          136
  5. Cédric Vasseur (Fra) GAN                                   126
  6. Fernando Escartin (Spa) Kelme                              100
  7. Jan Ullrich (Ger) Telekom                                   86
  8. Roland Meier (Sui) Cofidis                                  81
  9. Michaël Boogerd (P-B) Rabobank                              76
 10. Bobby Julich (USA) Cofidis                                  75

Teams:

  1. Cofidis                                              215.46.56
  2. Banesto                                                  33.04
  3. Casino                                                   38.36
  4. Polti                                                    43.14
  5. Lotto                                                    44.32
  6. Telekom                                                  45.58
  7. US Postal                                                58.14
  8. Vitalicio Seguros                                      1.02.14
  9. Kelme                                                  1.10.35
 10. Mapei                                                  1.22.43
 11. Rabobank                                               1.26.35
 12. ONCE                                                   1.33.52
 13. Mercatone Uno                                          1.36.21
 14. La Française des Jeux                                  1.48.42
 15. Big Mat Auber                                          1.53.19
 16. Saeco                                                  2.31.19
 17. ASICS                                                  2.51.08
 18. GAN                                                    2.52.30
 19. Riso Scotti                                            4.21.33
 20. TVM                                                    4.42.09