Tour de France 1997, July 5-26

Stage 15, Courcheval - Morzine, 208.5 kms:


  1. Marco Pantani (Ita) MER                     5.57.16 (avs. 35,015 km/h)  
  2. Richard Virenque (Fra) FES                     1.17 
  3. Jan Ullrich (Ger) TEL                          1.17 
  4. Beat Zberg (Swi) MER                           1.59 
  5. Francesco Casagrande (Ita) SAE                 1.59 
  6. Bobby Julich (USA) COF                         1.59 
  7. Fernando Escartin (Spa) KEL                    1.59 
  8. Bjarne Riis (Den) TEL                          2.06 
  9. Jose Maria Jimenez (Spa) BAN                   2.37 
 10. Oskar Camenzind (Swi) MAP                      3.29 
 11. Abraham Olano (Spa) BAN                        3.29 
 12. Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) PLT                     3.29 
 13. Udo Bolts (Ger) TEL                            3.45 
 14. Laurent Roux (Fra) TVM                         3.49 
 15. Manuel Beltran (Spa) BAN                       4.02 
 16. Laurent Madouas (Fra) LOT                      4.02 
 17. Roberto Conti (Ita) MER                        4.08 
 18. Angel Casero (Spa) BAN                         5.02 
 19. Pascal Chanteur (Fra) CSO                      5.11 
 20. Stephane Heulot (Fra) FDJ                      5.50 
 21. Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel) MAP                  6.01 
 22. Daniele Nardello (Ita) MAP                     6.19 
 23. Michael Boogerd (Ned) RAB                      6.21 
 24. Peter Luttenberger (Aut) RAB                   6.21 
 25. Laurent Brochard (Fra) FES                     6.54 
 26. Jean-Cyril Robin (Fra) USP                     6.54 
 27. Benont Salmon (Fra) LOT                        7.01 
 28. Santiago Blanco (Spa) BAN                      8.32 
 29. Fabrice Gougot (Fra) CSO                       8.41 
 30. Massimo Podenzana (Ita) MER                    8.41 
 31. Massimiliano Lelli (Ita) SAE                   9.36 
 32. Alberto Elli (Ita) CSO                         9.36 
 33. Christophe Moreau (Fra) FES                   10.58 
 34. Laurent Dufaux (Swi) FES                      10.58 
 35. Gianluca Valoti (Ita) PLT                     10.58 
 36. Kevin Livingston (USA) COF                    10.58 
 37. Inigo Cuesta (Spa) ONC                        10.58 
 38. Maximilian Sciandri (G-B) FDJ                 13.36 
 39. Andrea Peron (Ita) FDJ                        13.36 
 40. Davide Rebellin (Ita) FDJ                     13.36 
 41. Pascal Herve (Fra) FES                        13.36 
 42. Georg Totschnig (Aut) TEL                     13.36 
 43. Hernan Buenahora (Col) KEL                    13.36 
 44. Orlando Rodrigues (Por) BAN                   13.36 
 45. Jaime Gonzalez (Col) KEL                      13.47 
 46. Maarten Den Bakker (Ned) TVM                  15.18 
 47. Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) FES                  20.52 
 48. Javier Pascual (Spa) KEL                      20.52 
 49. Rolf Aldag (Ger) TEL                          20.52 
 50. Francisco Benitez (Spa) KEL                   20.52 
 51. Andrea Tafi (Ita) MAP                         21.20 
 52. Peter Farazijn (Bel) LOT                      23.06 
 53. Jens Heppner (Ger) TEL                        23.06 
 54. Cedric Vasseur (Fra) GAN                      23.09 
 55. Thierry Bourguignon (Fra) BIG                 23.09 
 56. Jon Odriozola (Spa) BAT                       23.09 
 57. Giuseppe Tartaggia (Ita) BAT                  23.09 
 58. Christophe Mengin (Fra) FDJ                   23.09 
 59. Marcello Siboni (Ita) MER                     23.09 
 60. Joona Laukka (Fin) FES                        23.09 
 61. Erik Breukink (Ned) RAB                       23.09 
 62. Gilberto Simoni (Ita) MAG                     23.09 
 63. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) ONC                    23.09 
 64. Miguel Arroyo (Mex) BIG                       23.09 
 65. Frangois Simon (Fra) GAN                      23.09 
 66. Neil Stephens (Aus) FES                       23.09 
 67. Viatcheslav Djavanian (Rus) ROS               23.09 
 68. Jose de los Angeles (Spa) KEL                 23.09 
 69. Dominique Rault (Fra) MUT                     23.09 
 70. Flavio Vanzella (Ita) FDJ                     23.09 
 71. Peter Meinert (Den) USP                       23.09 
 72. David Delrieu (Fra) MUT                       23.09 
 73. Jesper Skibby (Den) TVM                       23.09 
 74. Zenon Jaskula (Pol  MAP                       23.09 
 75. Christophe Agnolutto (Fra) CSO                23.09 
 76. Jose Luis Arrieta (Spa) BAN                   23.09 
 77. Marino Alonso (Spa) BAN                       24.00 
 78. Henk Vogels (Aus) GAN                         24.09 
 79. Erik Zabel (Ger) TEL                          27.11 
 80. Frederic Guesdon (Fra) FDJ                    29.53 
 81. Inigo Chaurreau (Spa) PLT                     29.53 
 82. Didier Rous (Fra) FES                         29.53 
 83. Marco Zen (Ita) ROS                           29.53 
 84. Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) USP                  29.53 
 85. Daniele Sgnaolin (Ita) ROS                    29.53 
 86. Roberto Sierra (Spa) ONC                      29.53 
 87. Marco Saligari (Ita) CSO                      29.53 
 88. Patrick Jonker (Aus) RAB                      29.53 
 89. Oscar Pellicioli (Ita) MER                    29.53 
 90. Aitor Garmendia (Spa) ONC                     29.53 
 91. Jose Angel Vidal (Spa) KEL                    29.53 
 92. Wilfried Peeters (Bel) MAP                    29.53 
 93. Thierry Gouvenou (Fra) BIG                    29.53 
 94. Paul Van Hyfte (Bel) LOT                      29.53 
 95. Giorgio Furlan (Ita) SAE                      29.53 
 96. Marco Artunghi (Ita) MER                      29.53 
 97. Laurent Genty (Fra) BIG                       29.53 
 98. Rolf Sorensen (Den) RAB                       29.53 
 99. Nicola Loda (Ita) MAG                         29.53 
100. Christophe Rinero (Fra) COF                   29.53 
101. Johan Museeuw (Bel) MAP                       29.53 
102. Luca Scinto (Ita) MAG                         29.53 
103. Francisco Cabello (Spa) KEL                   29.53 
104. Frankie Andreu (USA) COF                      29.53 
105. Peter Van Petegem (Bel) TVM                   29.53 
106. Javier Mauleon (Spa) ONC                      29.53 
107. Mario Traversoni (Ita) MER                    30.06 
108. Gianluca Pierobon (Ita) BAT                   30.30 
109. Christian Henn (Ger) TEL                      32.33 
110. Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) TEL                   32.33 
111. Mauro Gianetti (Swi) FDJ                      39.26 
112. Adriano Baffi (Ita) USP                       39.26 
113. Pascal Derame (Fra) USP                       39.26 
114. Eros Poli (Ita) GAN                           39.26 
115. Frederic Moncassin (Fra) GAN                  39.26 
116. Stuart O'Grady (Aus) GAN                      39.26 
117. Erik Dekker (Ned) RAB                         39.26 
118. Bruno Cenghialta (Ita) BAT                    39.26 
119. Dariusz Baranowski (Pol  USP                  39.26 
120. Tyler Hamilton (USA) USP                      39.26 
121. Serguei Outschakov (Ukr) PLT                  39.26 
122. Marty Jemison (USA) USP                       39.26 
123. George Hincapie (USA) USP                     39.26 
124. Arnaud Pretot (Fra) GAN                       39.26 
125. Lauri Aus (Est) CSO                           39.26 
126. Torsten Schmidt (Ger) ROS                     39.26 
127. Nicola Minali (Ita) BAT                       39.26 
128. Matteo Tosatto (Ita) MAG                      39.26 
129. Gerrit De Vries (Ned) PLT                     39.26 
130. Servais Knaven (Ned) TVM                      39.26 
131. Robbie McEwen (Aus) RAB                       39.26 
132. Carlo Finco (Ita) MAG                         39.26 
133. Ludovic Auger (Fra) BIG                       39.26 
134. Alexandre Gontchenkov (Rus) ROS               39.26 
135. Philipp Buschor (Swi) SAE                     39.26 
136. Philippe Gaumont (Fra) COF                    39.26 
137. Bart Voskamp (Ned) TVM                        39.26 
138. Tristan Hoffman (Ned) TVM                     39.26 
139. Mikel Zarrabeitia (Spa) ONC                   39.26 
140. Jeroen Blijlevens (Ned) TVM                   39.26 
141. Marcelino Garcia (Spa) ONC                    39.26 
142. Rossano Brasi (Ita) PLT                       39.26 
143. Mirco Crepaldi (Ita) PLT                      39.26 
144. Stephane Cueff (Fra) MUT                      39.26 
145. Laurent Desbiens (Fra) COF                    39.26 
146. Gian Matteo Fagnini (Ita) SAE                 39.26 
147. Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) COF                    39.26 
148. Arturas Kasputis (Lit  CSO                    40.23 
149. Rolf Jaermann (Swi) CSO                       41.57
   
Abandoned:

Fabio Baldato (Ita) MAG                      
Marco Fincato (Ita) ROS                      
Giusvan Piovaccari (Ita) MER                 
Jean-Philippe Dojwa (Fra) MUT                
Pascal Lino (Fra) BIG                        

Did not start:

Anthony Morin (Fra) BIG 

GC after Stage 15

  1. Jan Ullrich (Ger) TEL                       76.58.59 
  2. Richard Virenque (Fra) FES                      6.22 
  3. Marco Pantani (Ita) MER                        10.13 
  4. Bjarne Riis (Den) TEL                          11.55 
  5. Fernando Escartin (Spa) KEL                    16.05 
  6. Abraham Olano (Spa) BAN                        16.40 
  7. Francesco Casagrande (Ita) SAE                 17.14 
  8. Jose Maria Jimenez (Spa) BAN                   23.42 
  9. Roberto Conti (Ita) MER                        28.20 
 10. Laurent Dufaux (Swi) FES                       29.46 
 11. Oskar Camenzind (Swi) MAP                      30.21 
 12. Beat Zberg (Swi) MER                           31.39 
 13. Peter Luttenberger (Aut) RAB                   32.04 
 14. Manuel Beltran (Spa) BAN                       43.15 
 15. Jean-Cyril Robin (Fra) USP                     47.14 
 16. Michael Boogerd (Ned) RAB                      48.59 
 17. Daniele Nardello (Ita) MAP                     50.27 
 18. Laurent Madouas (Fra) LOT                      54.06 
 19. Bobby Julich (USA) COF                         57.33 
 20. Hernan Buenahora (Col) KEL                   1.00.07 
 21. Christophe Moreau (Fra) FES                  1.00.37 
 22. Stephane Heulot (Fra) FDJ                    1.00.54 
 23. Udo Bolts (Ger) TEL                          1.04.34 
 24. Alberto Elli (Ita) CSO                       1.07.08 
 25. Laurent Roux (Fra) TVM                       1.07.50 
 26. Joona Laukka (Fin) FES                       1.12.18 
 27. Santiago Blanco (Spa) BAN                    1.12.55 
 28. Massimo Podenzana (Ita) MER                  1.13.49 
 29. Laurent Brochard (Fra) FES                   1.14.55 
 30. Pascal Chanteur (Fra) CSO                    1.15.21 
 31. Kevin Livingston (USA) COF                   1.15.41 
 32. Cedric Vasseur (Fra) GAN                     1.24.45 
 33. Angel Casero (Spa) BAN                       1.24.46 
 34. Marcello Siboni (Ita) MER                    1.25.17 
 35. Frangois Simon (Fra) GAN                     1.27.55 
 36. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) ONC                   1.33.17 
 37. Pascal Herve (Fra) FES                       1.34.48 
 38. Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) FES                 1.35.26 
 39. Thierry Bourguignon (Fra) BIG                1.35.44 
 40. Orlando Rodrigues (Por) BAN                  1.38.07 
 41. Peter Farazijn (Bel) LOT                     1.38.30 
 42. Didier Rous (Fra) FES                        1.38.33 
 43. Georg Totschnig (Aut) TEL                    1.39.18 
 44. Javier Pascual (Spa) KEL                     1.39.41 
 45. Peter Meinert (Den) USP                      1.42.16 
 46. Rolf Aldag (Ger) TEL                         1.42.51 
 47. Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) PLT                   1.43.03 
 48. Fabrice Gougot (Fra) CSO                     1.44.37 
 49. Erik Breukink (Ned) RAB                      1.47.32 
 50. Jon Odriozola (Spa) BAT                      1.49.27 
 51. Massimiliano Lelli (Ita) SAE                 1.50.20 
 52. Jose de los Angeles (Spa) KEL                1.51.48 
 53. Benont Salmon (Fra) LOT                      1.53.08 
 54. Andrea Peron (Ita) FDJ                       1.54.52 
 55. Neil Stephens (Aus) FES                      1.56.34 
 56. Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) USP                 1.57.50 
 57. Andrea Tafi (Ita) MAP                        1.58.11 
 58. Davide Rebellin (Ita) FDJ                    2.01.21 
 59. Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel) MAP                2.01.38 
 60. Zenon Jaskula (Pol  MAP                      2.02.50 
 61. Marino Alonso (Spa) BAN                      2.03.00 
 62. Christophe Mengin (Fra) FDJ                  2.04.59 
 63. Patrick Jonker (Aus) RAB                     2.05.57 
 64. David Delrieu (Fra) MUT                      2.07.53 
 65. Erik Zabel (Ger) TEL                         2.09.42 
 66. Maarten Den Bakker (Ned) TVM                 2.09.59 
 67. Maximilian Sciandri (G-B) FDJ                2.11.22 
 68. Oscar Pellicioli (Ita) MER                   2.16.08 
 69. Miguel Arroyo (Mex) BIG                      2.17.03 
 70. Jens Heppner (Ger) TEL                       2.20.21 
 71. Tyler Hamilton (USA) USP                     2.21.38 
 72. Inigo Cuesta (Spa) ONC                       2.22.07 
 73. Daniele Sgnaolin (Ita) ROS                   2.23.45 
 74. Giorgio Furlan (Ita) SAE                     2.24.49 
 75. Marco Zen (Ita) ROS                          2.24.53 
 76. Jose Luis Arrieta (Spa) BAN                  2.24.54 
 77. Jaime Gonzalez (Col) KEL                     2.25.03 
 78. Francisco Benitez (Spa) KEL                  2.25.15 
 79. Mikel Zarrabeitia (Spa) ONC                  2.30.43 
 80. Aitor Garmendia (Spa) ONC                    2.31.48 
 81. Rolf Sorensen (Den) RAB                      2.31.58 
 82. Jose Angel Vidal (Spa) KEL                   2.32.41 
 83. Giuseppe Tartaggia (Ita) BAT                 2.35.09 
 84. Inigo Chaurreau (Spa) PLT                    2.35.22 
 85. Roberto Sierra (Spa) ONC                     2.36.26 
 86. Frankie Andreu (USA) COF                     2.36.52 
 87. Marty Jemison (USA) USP                      2.37.12 
 88. Gianluca Valoti (Ita) PLT                    2.37.21 
 89. Henk Vogels (Aus) GAN                        2.39.24 
 90. Dominique Rault (Fra) MUT                    2.39.34 
 91. Alexandre Gontchenkov (Rus) ROS              2.39.59 
 92. Javier Mauleon (Spa) ONC                     2.40.19 
 93. Jesper Skibby (Den) TVM                      2.41.35 
 94. Arturas Kasputis (Lit  CSO                   2.41.36 
 95. Viatcheslav Djavanian (Rus) ROS              2.41.52 
 96. Wilfried Peeters (Bel) MAP                   2.43.14 
 97. Thierry Gouvenou (Fra) BIG                   2.44.16 
 98. Dariusz Baranowski (Pol  USP                 2.45.14 
 99. Erik Dekker (Ned) RAB                        2.45.41 
100. Flavio Vanzella (Ita) FDJ                    2.46.46 
101. Nicola Loda (Ita) MAG                        2.47.49 
102. Francisco Cabello (Spa) KEL                  2.48.49 
103. Bruno Cenghialta (Ita) BAT                   2.48.52 
104. Marco Artunghi (Ita) MER                     2.49.22 
105. Paul Van Hyfte (Bel) LOT                     2.49.41 
106. Christophe Agnolutto (Fra) CSO               2.49.59 
107. Stuart O'Grady (Aus) GAN                     2.51.08 
108. Gilberto Simoni (Ita) MAG                    2.51.29 
109. Johan Museeuw (Bel) MAP                      2.52.35 
110. Frederic Guesdon (Fra) FDJ                   2.53.05 
111. Mario Traversoni (Ita) MER                   2.53.39 
112. Frederic Moncassin (Fra) GAN                 2.55.17 
113. Christophe Rinero (Fra) COF                  2.56.24 
114. Peter Van Petegem (Bel) TVM                  2.56.55 
115. Robbie McEwen (Aus) RAB                      2.57.13 
116. Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) TEL                  2.57.21 
117. Gian Matteo Fagnini (Ita) SAE                2.57.54 
118. Laurent Genty (Fra) BIG                      2.58.24 
119. Arnaud Pretot (Fra) GAN                      2.58.33 
120. Christian Henn (Ger) TEL                     2.59.10 
121. Mauro Gianetti (Swi) FDJ                     3.00.54 
122. George Hincapie (USA) USP                    3.01.37 
123. Nicola Minali (Ita) BAT                      3.01.43 
124. Gerrit De Vries (Ned) PLT                    3.01.49 
125. Jeroen Blijlevens (Ned) TVM                  3.02.00 
126. Marcelino Garcia (Spa) ONC                   3.02.33 
127. Luca Scinto (Ita) MAG                        3.03.13 
128. Servais Knaven (Ned) TVM                     3.03.56 
129. Adriano Baffi (Ita) USP                      3.04.46 
130. Mirco Crepaldi (Ita) PLT                     3.04.46 
131. Rolf Jaermann (Swi) CSO                      3.04.51 
132. Laurent Desbiens (Fra) COF                   3.06.26 
133. Carlo Finco (Ita) MAG                        3.08.27 
134. Tristan Hoffman (Ned) TVM                    3.09.53 
135. Marco Saligari (Ita) CSO                     3.10.11 
136. Lauri Aus (Est) CSO                          3.10.21 
137. Serguei Outschakov (Ukr) PLT                 3.11.50 
138. Bart Voskamp (Ned) TVM                       3.13.10 
139. Rossano Brasi (Ita) PLT                      3.13.47 
140. Matteo Tosatto (Ita) MAG                     3.14.13 
141. Pascal Derame (Fra) USP                      3.14.22 
142. Eros Poli (Ita) GAN                          3.21.49 
143. Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) COF                   3.24.57 
144. Philipp Buschor (Swi) SAE                    3.25.09 
145. Torsten Schmidt (Ger) ROS                    3.25.23 
146. Stephane Cueff (Fra) MUT                     3.29.31 
147. Gianluca Pierobon (Ita) BAT                  3.36.48 
148. Philippe Gaumont (Fra) COF                   3.37.27 
149. Ludovic Auger (Fra) BIG                      3.44.54

Points classification:

  1. Erik Zabel (Ger) TEL                      288 pts 
  2. Frederic Moncassin (Fra) GAN              195     
  3. Jeroen Blijlevens (Ned) TVM               168     
  4. Jan Ullrich (Ger) TEL                     132     
  5. Richard Virenque (Fra) FES                129     
  6. Mario Traversoni (Ita) MER                126     
  7. Nicola Minali (Ita) BAT                   121     
  8. Robbie McEwen (Aus) RAB                   119     
  9. Frangois Simon (Fra) GAN                  106     
 10. Bjarne Riis (Den) TEL                      96 

Mountains classification:

  1. Richard Virenque (Fra) FES                517 pts 
  2. Jan Ullrich (Ger) TEL                     324     
  3. Francesco Casagrande (Ita) SAE            250     
  4. Marco Pantani (Ita) MER                   242     
  5. Laurent Brochard (Fra) FES                238     
  6. Laurent Dufaux (Swi) FES                  194     
  7. Pascal Herve (Fra) FES                    158     
  8. Bjarne Riis (Den) TEL                     139     
  9. Fernando Escartin (Spa) KEL               125     
 10. Jose Maria Jimenez (Spa) BAN              115

Team classification:

 
  1. Telekom                               231 h 45.45 
  2. Mercatone Uno                               12.21 
  3. Festina                                     21.51 
  4. Banesto                                     26.31 
  5. Kelme                                     1.34.07 
  6. Mapei                                     1.37.07 
  7. Rabobank                                  2.04.28 
  8. Lotto                                     2.54.23 
  9. Casino                                    3.08.16 
 10. La Frangaise des Jeux                     3.11.06 
 11. US Postal Service                         3.18.10 
 12. Saeco                                     3.26.18 
 13. Big Mat Auber                             3.30.50 
 14. Cofidis                                   3.33.55 
 15. ONCE                                      3.57.50 
 16. TVM                                       4.25.42 
 17. GAN                                       4.26.02 
 18. Roslotto                                  4.28.02 
 19. Mutuelle de Seine-et-Marne                5.14.00 
 20. Polti                                     5.41.10 
 21. Batik                                     6.05.47 
 22. MG                                        6.54.13

Stage 15 Reports

Italian Marco Pantani defied illness on one of the toughest climbs of the Tour de France to clinch his second stage victory in three days on Monday.

Pantani, who complained of a sore throat after winning the Alde d'Huez stage on Saturday and was also uncomfortable on Sunday, finished the 208.5-km Alpine stage one minute 17 seconds clear of his rivals.

The 15th stage included one of the steepest climbs of the Tour.

Frenchman Richard Virenque was second and Jan Ullrich of Germany third, both with the same time after failing to catch Pantani on the eight-km descent into Morzine.

Ullrich retained the overall leader's yellow jersey and his 6:22 advantage over Virenque, winner of Sunday's stage to Courchevel.

Pantani, who attacked on the steep 11.6-km last climb of the Col de Joux Plane and reached the summit 1:02 ahead of Virenque and Ullrich, bounced back into third place overall.

Defending champion Bjarne Riis, who started the day 24 seconds in front of the Italian, came in 2:06 adrift and Pantani is now 1:42 ahead of the fourth-placed Dane.

``I went to the doctor yesterday and began taking precautions,'' Pantani said. ``I had the legs yesterday, the only problem was my breathing.''

The Italian had even announced on Sunday evening that he might pull out of the Tour because of the throat problem.

``Yesterday I was very tired, but I managed to come in only three minutes behind,'' he said.

``Today I felt a bit better at the start. But I was not convinced I could win. On the (earlier) climbs I tried to go easy and rest on the descents.

``It's sure that I'm not breathing to a maximum, but I still managed a good performance,'' said Pantani, who also won two mountain stages on his last Tour in 1995 before a serious accident put him out of cycling for 16 months.

After two tough stages in the Alps, the leading riders were content to stay in the peloton for much of the day.

Frenchman Laurent Jalabert, the world number one who has had a disappointing Tour, made a solo break after 58 kms and at one point was more than three minutes ahead.

Jalabert stayed out in front for 70 kms, finally being caught just short of the 1,618-metre Col de la Colombiere, Spaniard Jose Maria Jimenez reaching the top first.

When the peloton reached the foot of the final ascent, the 1,700-metre Col de Joux Plane, a group of 11 riders, led by German Udo Bolts and his Telekom team mates Riis and Ullrich and including Pantani and Virenque, broke away from the rest.

After Pantani attacked, Dauphine Libere winner Bolts and the rest of the group gradually split up with Riis and Spaniard Fernando Escartin slipping behind Virenque and Ullrich.

Escartin reached the Morzine finish line seventh, seven seconds ahead of Riis, and is now fifth overall.

The Tour moves into Switzerland on Tuesday with the 181-km 16th stage to Fribourg which includes three climbs but ends with a downhill run of 66 kms.