Pogacar wins Stage 15 as Roglic ‘retains’ lead
GRAND COLOMBIER, France, Sept 13, (AP): Tadej Pogacar beat yellow jersey-holder Primoz Roglic in a dramatic mountaintop finish to Stage 15 on Sunday as the Tour de France became all about the fight between its two star Slovenian riders.
Last year’s winner Egan Bernal plummeted down the standings, as did his fellow Colombian Nairo Quintana, leaving Pogacar the only challenger within 90 seconds of Roglic in the overall standings.
“At the moment, Roglic seems unstoppable,” Pogacar said. “But today Bernal cracked and maybe one day myself or Primoz will crack too. There are still a lot of opportunities ahead.”
Pogacar stayed with Roglic on the long and brutal Grand Colombier climb despite Roglic having backing from four teammates on his ascent. They drew on their last reserves to sprint for the summit finish, Pogacar taking his second stage win by a bikelength.
Pogacar and Roglic were given the same time. As the stage winner, Pogacar was awarded 10 bonus seconds in the general classification against Roglic’s six for second place. Roglic leads Pogacar by 40 seconds overall.
Last year’s winner Bernal dropped off the lead group on the Grand Colombier climb and appeared to lose any chance of retaining the title as he dropped to 13th overall, 8 minutes 25 seconds off the yellow jersey.