Froome holds on to yellow jersey despite scare

▶ Mollema beats Team UAE’s Ulissi to win the 15th stage

Bauke Mollema beat UAE Team Emirates’ Diego Ulissi to win Stage 15 of the Tour de France yesterday, even as Chris Froome survived a scare to retain the yellow jersey.

Ulissi’s second-place finish is the UAE team’s best at the Tour this year.

Meanwhile, the back wheel of three-time Tour champion Froome broke at the worst possible time, just as the AG2R team of close rival Romain Bardet was picking up the pace ahead of the last big climb of the day, an 8.3-kilometre slog up the steep Col de Peyra Taillade — scaled for the very first time by the Tour.

By the time Froome had stopped, taken a wheel off his teammate Michal Kwiatkowski and got going again, Bardet’s group was already way ahead — about one minute ahead of him down the road.

Aside from Bardet, other top riders were also in that group, including Fabio Aru and Rigoberto Uran — all within 30 seconds of Froome in the overall standings. Froome had two choices: catch them or lose the overall race lead and the famed yellow jersey that goes with it.

He hared after them and, helped first by teammates Mikel Nieve and then by Mikel Landa, Froome worked furiously on the climb to reel in Bardet’s group.

“It was a stressful moment,” Froome said. “I thought I might not get back to the front.”

The main group of contenders marked each other over the rolling final kilometres. German Tony Martin tried his luck with a long-range attack, but after the Katusha-Alpecin man was caught on the Peyra Taillade, there were a series of attacks and counter-attacks.

Mollema attacked on the descent of the Peyra Taillade, and held off a chasing group of Ulissi, Warren Barguil, Primoz Roglic and Tony Gallopin over the final categorised climb, the Cote de Saint-Vidal, to ride to the finish alone.

“Mollema started at the top of the climb and we left him too much space,” Ulissi said.

“Someone skipped some change and he went away. We tried to chase him but honestly, he had great legs and he was strong. He deserves the win.

“It’s a shame I got second place but I performed to my maximum. I will try again to get a victory.”

Mollema, a top-10 finisher at the Tours of 2013, 2014 and 2015, worked like a coal miner over the last 30 kms to stay out in front of a group of four riders who laid chase.

They could not catch the Trek-Segafredo rider.

“It’s really amazing,” Mollema said. “I’m so happy to win a stage at the Tour de France. I’ve worked for it so hard in the last few years. That was a big goal for me.

“I just gave it a try in the last 30km. It was a long time riding alone.

“It was close to the chases at the end. But I made it.

“This is the biggest win of my career so far. The Tour de France has always been my dream. I’m incredibly happy.”

Froome now has an 18-second lead heading into today’s rest day, the last of two on the Tour, ahead of a crucial last week of racing in the Alps and with a time trial in Marseille.

Ulissi’s second-place finish is the UAE team’s best at the Tour this year