After making his move inside the final 30 kilometers, Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) was able to hold off the rest of the field and solo to a resounding victory on Stage 15 at the 104th Tour de France.
A ten-man break quickly developed off the front of the pack at the departure from the small Aveyron town of Laissac-Severac l'Eglise, made up of Warren Barguil (Team Sunweb), Marcel Sieberg (Lotto Soudal), Dylan van Baarle (Cannondale-Drapac), Angel Mate (Cofidis), Tony Martin (Katusha-Alpecin), Marcus Burghardt (Bora-Hansgrohe), Giampaolo Caruso (BMC), Serge Pauwels (Dimension Data), Tsgabu Grmay (Bahrain-Merida), and Robert Kiserlovski (Katusha-Alpecin).
Warren Barguil added to his lead in the mountains classification, gaining 10 points to his place in the polka dot jersey atop the summit of Montee de Naves d'Aubrac for being the first rider to reach the crest.
With 80 kilometers left to go on the stage, a large group of 28 riders had built a 7' gap on the chase pack, and sought to hold on to their massive cushion over the peloton.
Barguil once again displayed his climbing form on the penultimate ascent of the day to the summit of the Col de Peyra Taillade, as the French rider reeled in Tony Martin and proceeded to take home 10 more points in the King of the Mountains competition.
With 25 kilometers remaining to the finish in Le Puy-en-Velay, Bauke Mollema made his move, as the Dutch rider surged ahead of the nine-man lead pack before reaching the final climb of the day at the category 4 Cote de Saint-Vidal.
Ultimately, Mollema was able to hold off a charging four-man chase group consisting of Warren Barguil, Tony Gallopin (Lotto Soudal), Primoz Roglic (Lotto NL-Jumbo), and Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) at the finish to capture an emphatic victory on Stage 15 at the 104th Tour de France.
Chris Froome (Team Sky) was able to keep the Maillot Jaune, as little changed among the top general classification standings, except for a surge by Dan Martin (Quick-Step Floors) inside the final 10 kilometers that helped the Irish rider gain back 14'' on the top four riders and move into fifth place in the general classification.
Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors) retained his hold on the green points classification jersey, while Warren Barguil padded his lead in the polka dot jersey as King of the Mountains to go 78 points clear of second place Primoz Roglic.
Simon Yates (Orica-Scott) kept the white jersey as best young rider after Stage 15, as the young British rider finished with the same time as Louis Meintjes (UAE Team Emirates) who currently sits in second place in the best young rider classification, 3'07'' behind Yates.
Team Sky will once again sit atop the team classification, despite second place team AG2R La Mondiale taking over 9' out of their lead.
Stage 16 will resume after a rest day in Le Puy-en-Velay, with the field covering 165 kilometers from Le Puy-en-Velay to the Rhone-Alps city of Romans-sur-Isere.
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