Tim Wellens of Team UAE won a baking and hilly stage 15 of the Tour de France at Carcassonne on Sunday after a 45km solo rampage towards the walled citadel.
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Overall leader Tadej Pogacar held on to the overall lead with a 4min 13sec advantage on Jonas Vingegaard, who had to fight to catch up when caught behind an early mass fall.
Wellens had been part of an early break that was whittled down to five before the Belgian champion' sudden acceleration caught the others napping.
🤩 It took until his 6th Tour de France, but 🇧🇪@Tim_Wellens finally got his stage win!
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 20, 2025
🤩 Il aura fallu attendre son 6ème Tour de France, mais 🇧🇪@Tim_Wellens tient enfin sa victoire d'étape !#TDF2025 pic.twitter.com/DnHa5y9cIP
This was a fifth win for Team UAE with Pogacar previously having won four on a thoroughly dominant Tour for the team.
Wellens was so far ahead at the finish line he had time to high five dozens of Belgian fans on the run in on the eve of the Belgian national holiday.
Wellens has also won stages on the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a Espana.
🗣️ "I wanted a big gap to fully enjoy it and maybe put my bike in the air after the finish, but I was so happy to win I forgot to do it." - 🇧🇪 @Tim_Wellens
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 20, 2025
Hear from Stage 15 winner, Tim Wellens after an epic solo victory ⤵️
🗣️ « Je voulais faire un grand écart pour en profiter… pic.twitter.com/ouMvWGcEqv
The remaining 167 riders embarked towards Carcassonne Sunday on yet another nervy stage.
After a mass fall early on with Florian Lipowitz and Vingegaard involved, the Pogacar group raced on, leaving two-time winner Vingegaard and a clique of 30 riders to exhaust themselves catching up.
Pogacar entered the Pyrenees on Thursday tucked in at second to surprise yellow jersey Ben Healy but emerged with two more stage wins and a four minutes advantage atop the overall standings in his bid for a fourth Tour de France title.
Monday is a the final rest day before the 2025 edition soars into the Alps on Tuesday's stage 16 with the 15.8km ascent of Mont Ventoux at 7.9 per cent gradient to its 1901m high summit.
STAGE 15 RESULTS
1. Tim Wellens (BEL) UAE Team Emirates - XRG 3:34:09
2. Victor Campenaerts (BEL) Team Visma - Lease a Bike +1:28
3. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Tudor Pro Cycling Team +1:36
4. Wout van Aert (BEL) Team Visma - Lease a Bike "
5. Axel Laurance (FRA) INEOS Grenadiers "
6. Aleksandr Vlasov () Red Bull - BORA - "
hansgrohe
7. Jasper Stuyven (BEL) Lidl - Trek "
8. Jordan Jegat (FRA) TotalEnergies "
9. Michael Valgren (DEN) EF Education - EasyPost "
10. Valentin Madouas (FRA) Groupama - FDJ "
11. Harold Tejada (COL) XDS Astana Team "
12. Thibau Nys (BEL) Lidl - Trek "
13. Pascal Eenkhoorn (NED) Soudal Quick-Step "
14. Iván Romeo (ESP) Movistar Team "
15. Santiago Buitrago (COL) Bahrain Victorious "
16. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education - EasyPost "
17. Warren Barguil (FRA) Team Picnic PostNL "
18. Andreas Leknessund (NOR) Uno-X Mobility "
19. Carlos Rodríguez (ESP) INEOS Grenadiers "
20. Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet Groupama - FDJ "
(FRA)
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - XRG 54:20:44
2. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) Team Visma - Lease a Bike +4:13
3. Florian Lipowitz (GER) Red Bull - BORA - +7:53
hansgrohe
4. Oscar Onley (GBR) Team Picnic PostNL +9:18
5. Kévin Vauquelin (FRA) Arkéa - B&B Hotels +10:21
6. Primož Roglic (SLO) Red Bull - BORA - +10:34
hansgrohe
7. Felix Gall (AUT) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale +12:00
Team
8. Tobias Johannessen (NOR) Uno-X Mobility +12:33
9. Carlos Rodríguez (ESP) INEOS Grenadiers +18:26
10. Ben Healy (IRL) EF Education - EasyPost +18:41