The 15th stage of the Tour de France 2012 took place on July 16, 2012 and led from Samatan to Pau . With a distance of 158.5 km there was a mountain classification in the 3rd and two in the 4th category.
The route led mainly in a westerly direction through the departments of Gers , Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées-Atlantiques . The profile was wavy with numerous small climbs. The intermediate sprint was held in Maubourguet ( 179 m ). On the second half of the route, three mountain ratings had to be mastered, one of which was in the 3rd and two in the 4th category.
Race course
162 of the original 198 drivers started at this stage. Immediately after the start of the race, Jaroslaw Popowytsch attacked , but immediately dropped back. After 5 kilometers a group of six formed at the front, but they did not get away decisively because the field kept the pace consistently high. The outliers were caught after 15 kilometers - with the exception of Dries Devenyns , who launched a counter-attack together with Pierrick Fédrigo and Nicki Sørensen . A little later, five more drivers joined the trio. But at kilometer 24 the field caught up with the group again.
After about 30 kilometers another quintet broke away. It had a maximum advantage of 25 seconds and was caught 30 kilometers later. At km 62, another group was successful with their breakaway attempt. Thomas Voeckler , Christian Vande Velde , Pierrick Fédrigo , Samuel Dumoulin and Dries Devenyns pulled away from the field. A little later, Nicki Sørensen went in pursuit and caught up with the leading group at kilometer 82. In the meantime, the field slowed down noticeably, causing the gap to grow steadily. Sørensen was the first to reach the intermediate sprint; The fastest in the field, which was already more than five minutes behind at this point, was Peter Sagan .
Voeckler won all three mountain ratings of the day. At kilometer 136, the lead of the leading group exceeded the ten-minute mark. About ten kilometers from the finish Sørensen tried to bring about a decision, but was made again by the other outliers. Six kilometers before the end of the stage, Fédrigo launched an attack and left his companions standing; only Vande Velde could keep up with his pace. Behind them Voeckler and Sørensen formed another duo, but couldn't get close. In the sprint for the day's victory, Fédrigo prevailed, who had already won the stage to Pau in the 2010 Tour de France . The field crossed the finish line almost twelve minutes behind, led by André Greipel .
