Tour de France: Magnus Cort wins stage 15 in Carcassonne

22 July 2018 04:00
Magnus Cort (Astana) took the second consecutive stage win for Astana Sunday at the Tour de France, winning the sprint of a three-man group in the 15th stage to Carcassonne. Ion Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) took second, with Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) third. Part of the large break that got away some 40km into the day, Cort made the selection on the day's only first category climb - the Pic de Nore, which peaked 41.5km from the line. As Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe) detonated the group with an attack midway up the mountain, Cort banded together with Mollema to keep in touch some 30 seconds back. Several groups of the fractured break came together shortly after the descent, making a lead group of eight men, including Cort's teammate Michael Valgren. When the attacks for the stage win began, Cort made it to the lead group of three, just having to wait for the sprint to easily outclass the two men with him.ADVERTISEMENT "It's amazing. It's what I've been dreaming of even before I started riding a bike," Cort said after the stage. "It's my first year here at the Tour and I'm so happy to take a victory. I have to thank my team a lot for giving me this chance and really believing in me - especially also with Michael [Valgren] in the final." "It really was perfect and my sports directors had a really big belief in me. THey were the ones who came with this tactic many days ago, they already said that this is the stage for me. Everything worked out perfectly and I'm so happy." The Team Sky-led peloton rolled in 13:11 down having enjoyed a largely drama-free day. The overall general classification remains unchanged heading into Monday's rest day, while Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) once again nabbed more points to add to their respective points and mountain classification leads. How it happened You can read more at Cyclingnews.com.read full article

Source: Cycling News