July 19, 2009 (Verbier, France) – Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana was all smiles following his win of the tough Stage 15 from Pontarlier to Verbier, 207.5km, to claim the yellow jersey as Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank placed second and Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas took third. Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana now in second overall finished 9th on the stage. Canada’s Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Slipstream placed 44th and moved up to 57th overall.

The Tour held a moment of silence in Pontarlier before the start of today’s stage in honour of the 61-year-old woman spectator who was tragically killed yesterday when hit by a police motorcycle during Stage 14. A release on the Tour de France web site reads, “Deeply affected by this tragic accident, the Gendarmerie, the Garde Republicain and the Tour de France organization offer their condolences to the families and friends of the victim and promise their full support to those who were injured.” More on this story (in French) here and at CBC here.

Results

1. Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 5:03:58
2. Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:43
3. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 1:03
4. Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 1:06
5. Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin-Slipstream
6. Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo TestTeam
7. Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto 1:26
8. Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 1:29
9. Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 1:35
10. Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia-HTC 1:55
11. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 2:06
12. Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia-HTC 2:13
13. Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha
14. Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team Columbia-HTC 2:23
15. Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des Jeux 2:32
16. Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2:33
17. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Silence-Lotto
18. Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram 2:36
19. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
20. José Angel Gomez Marchante (Spa) Cervelo TestTeam
21. Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2:41
22. Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
23. Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux
24. Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Silence-Lotto 2:52
25. Brice Feillu (Fra) Agritubel 3:14
26. Christophe Kern (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
27. Stéphane Goubert (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
28. Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 3:17
29. Pierre Rolland (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 3:24
30. Maxime Bouet (Fra) Agritubel 3:36
31. Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 3:43
32. Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Team Katusha
33. Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Cervelo TestTeam
34. Yury Trofimov (Rus) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
35. Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 3:54
36. George Hincapie (USA) Team Columbia-HTC 4:06
37. Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank
38. Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram
39. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step
40. Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank 4:10
41. Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram
42. Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank 4:14
43. Christophe Moreau (Fra) Agritubel 4:20
44. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Slipstream 4:23
45. Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 4:38
46. Sylvain Calzati (Fra) Agritubel 4:43
47. Charles Wegelius (GBr) Silence-Lotto 4:58
48. Laurens ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank 5:07
49. David Loosli (Swi) Lampre-NGC 5:21
50. Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 5:24
51. Joan Horrach Rippoll (Spa) Team Katusha
52. Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 5:30
53. Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Agritubel
54. Laurent Lefevre (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
55. Luis Pasamontes Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 5:49
56. Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Team Katusha
57. Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Skil-Shimano 5:52
58. Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 6:22
59. Haimar Zubeldia Aguirre (Spa) Astana
60. Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
61. Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank
62. Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin-Slipstream
63. Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux
64. Mickael Delage (Fra) Silence-Lotto
65. Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 6:27
66. Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Astana 6:53
67. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Caisse d’Epargne
68. Stijn Devolder (Bel) Quick Step 6:57
69. Nikolai Troussov (Rus) Team Katusha 7:26
70. Simon Spilak (Slo) Lampre-NGC
71. Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 7:41
72. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Astana 7:56
73. Iñigo Cuesta Lopez De Castro (Spa) Cervelo TestTeam
74. Koen de Kort (Ned) Skil-Shimano
75. Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Agritubel
76. Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Cervelo TestTeam
77. Hayden Roulston (NZl) Cervelo TestTeam
78. Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Team Katusha
79. Jens Voigt (Ger) Team Saxo Bank 8:22
80. Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Team Saxo Bank 8:39
81. Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Caisse d’Epargne 0:11:31
82. Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Team Katusha 0:12:11
83. Marco Bandiera (Ita) Lampre-NGC
84. Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne
85. Juan Manuel Garate Cepa (Spa) Rabobank
86. Thierry Huppond (Fra) Skil-Shimano
87. Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank
88. Bert Grabsch (Ger) Team Columbia-HTC
89. Alan Perez Lezaun (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
90. Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
91. Simon Geschke (Ger) Skil-Shimano
92. Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
93. Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
94. Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre-NGC
95. Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Silence-Lotto
96. Alexandre Pichot (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
97. David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
98. Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
99. Sebastian Lang (Ger) Silence-Lotto
100. Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Columbia-HTC
101. José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne
102. Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Milram
103. David Millar (GBr) Garmin-Slipstream
104. David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
105. Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française des Jeux
106. Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Team Milram
107. Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Silence-Lotto
108. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence-Lotto
109. Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-NGC 0:13:11
110. Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre-NGC
111. Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step
112. Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 0:13:15
113. Bingen Fernandez Bustinza (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
114. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Team Saxo Bank
115. Danny Pate (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
116. David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 0:13:35
117. Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank 0:14:13
118. Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Rabobank
119. Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Skil-Shimano 0:14:15
120. Marcus Fothen (Ger) Team Milram
121. Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram 0:14:46
122. Grégory Rast (Swi) Astana 0:18:12
123. Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo TestTeam
124. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas
125. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Team Columbia-HTC
126. Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas
127. Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quick Step
128. William Bonnet (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
129. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Team Columbia-HTC
130. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia-HTC
131. Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana
132. Thomas Voeckler (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
133. Brian Vandborg (Den) Liquigas
134. Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Quick Step
135. Saïd Haddou (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
136. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
137. Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
138. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
139. Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
140. Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quick Step
141. Brett Lancaster (Aus) Cervelo TestTeam
142. José Luis Arrieta Lujambio (Spa) AG2R La Mondiale
143. Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
144. Anthony Geslin (Fra) Française des Jeux
145. Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Team Katusha
146. Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas
147. Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
148. Julian Dean (NZl) Garmin-Slipstream
149. Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram
150. Cycril Lemoine (Fra) Skil-Shimano
151. Marcin Sapa (Pol) Lampre-NGC
152. Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank
153. Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas
154. Andreas Klier (Ger) Cervelo TestTeam
155. Frederik Willems (Bel) Liquigas
156. Albert Timmer (Ned) Skil-Shimano 0:18:24
157. Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre-NGC
158. Benoït Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux
159. Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:24
160. Steven de Jongh (Ned) Quick Step 0:33:32
161. Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Française des Jeux
162. Kenny Robert van Hummel (Ned) Skil-Shimano 0:45:43
DNF Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale
DNS Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step

GC after Stage 15

1. Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 63:17:56
2. Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 1:37
3. Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin-Slipstream 1:46
4. Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 2:17
5. Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 2:26
6. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 2:30
7. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 2:51
8. Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia-HTC 3:07
9. Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des Jeux 3:09
10. Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 3:25
11. Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo TestTeam 3:52
12. Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 3:59
13. George Hincapie (USA) Team Columbia-HTC 4:05
14. Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto 4:27
15. Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team Columbia-HTC 4:38
16. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 4:40
17. Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia-HTC 5:05
18. Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 5:27
19. Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 5:37
20. Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha 5:56
21. Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux 6:33
22. Brice Feillu (Fra) Agritubel 7:04
23. Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram 7:58
24. Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram 8:20
25. Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Team Katusha 8:37
26. Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank 8:42
27. Stéphane Goubert (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:12
28. Haimar Zubeldia Aguirre (Spa) Astana 0:10:30
29. Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 0:11:23
30. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Silence-Lotto 0:12:04
31. Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank 0:12:06
32. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Astana 0:12:10
33. Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram 0:12:25
34. Pierre Rolland (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 0:13:17
35. José Angel Gomez Marchante (Spa) Cervelo TestTeam 0:15:02
36. Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Team Saxo Bank 0:15:32
37. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step 0:15:48
38. Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 0:17:41
39. Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Cervelo TestTeam 0:18:27
40. Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Astana 0:19:06
41. David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 0:19:47
42. Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:20:28
43. Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:21:18
44. Yury Trofimov (Rus) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 0:22:32
45. Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:23:14
46. Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas 0:24:26
47. Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:24:43
48. Luis Pasamontes Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 0:29:21
49. Laurent Lefevre (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 0:30:44
50. Laurens ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank 0:30:47
51. Jens Voigt (Ger) Team Saxo Bank 0:31:18
52. Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 0:31:19
53. Christophe Moreau (Fra) Agritubel 0:32:12
54. Juan Manuel Garate Cepa (Spa) Rabobank 0:32:39
55. Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Silence-Lotto 0:35:22
56. Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Team Katusha 0:35:37
57. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Slipstream 0:36:19
58. Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 0:36:23
59. David Millar (GBr) Garmin-Slipstream 0:40:34
60. Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank 0:40:53
61. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Caisse d’Epargne 0:40:55
62. Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 0:41:20
63. José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 0:41:45
64. Charles Wegelius (GBr) Silence-Lotto 0:41:46
65. Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:41:49
66. Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:42:57
67. Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 0:44:30
68. Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Agritubel 0:47:09
69. Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Quick Step 0:47:54
70. Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Milram 0:47:56
71. Maxime Bouet (Fra) Agritubel 0:49:32
72. Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Agritubel 0:49:36
73. Frederik Willems (Bel) Liquigas 0:52:57
74. David Loosli (Swi) Lampre-NGC 0:53:43
75. Christophe Kern (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 0:54:57
76. Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 0:56:08
77. Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Cervelo TestTeam 0:56:31
78. Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 0:57:13
79. Hayden Roulston (NZl) Cervelo TestTeam 0:58:42
80. Sylvain Calzati (Fra) Agritubel 0:59:06
81. David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:59:32
82. Thomas Voeckler (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 1:00:11
83. Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:00:18
84. Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:00:35
85. Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-NGC 1:02:26
86. Stijn Devolder (Bel) Quick Step 1:03:05
87. David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 1:03:43
88. Sebastian Lang (Ger) Silence-Lotto 1:04:10
89. Thierry Huppond (Fra) Skil-Shimano 1:05:05
90. Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quick Step 1:06:08
91. Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin-Slipstream 1:07:07
92. José Luis Arrieta Lujambio (Spa) AG2R La Mondiale
93. Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1:08:49
94. Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank 1:08:58
95. Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Rabobank 1:09:00
96. Joan Horrach Rippoll (Spa) Team Katusha 1:09:40
97. Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Silence-Lotto 1:09:54
98. Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre-NGC 1:10:31
99. Iñigo Cuesta Lopez De Castro (Spa) Cervelo TestTeam 1:12:27
100. Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank 1:13:42
101. Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Team Katusha 1:13:51
102. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence-Lotto
103. Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas 1:14:19
104. Bingen Fernandez Bustinza (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 1:14:41
105. Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1:15:54
106. Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quick Step 1:17:40
107. Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française des Jeux 1:18:03
108. Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo TestTeam 1:22:38
109. Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 1:24:19
110. Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step 1:25:19
111. Marcus Fothen (Ger) Team Milram 1:26:08
112. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 1:26:29
113. Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Columbia-HTC 1:26:51
114. Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas 1:30:57
115. Brian Vandborg (Den) Liquigas 1:31:28
116. Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Caisse d’Epargne 1:32:03
117. Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Team Katusha 1:32:44
118. Nikolai Troussov (Rus) Team Katusha 1:33:18
119. Koen de Kort (Ned) Skil-Shimano 1:34:29
120. Simon Spilak (Slo) Lampre-NGC 1:35:29
121. Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank 1:36:19
122. Mickael Delage (Fra) Silence-Lotto 1:36:41
123. Anthony Geslin (Fra) Française des Jeux 1:39:08
124. Alexandre Pichot (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 1:39:25
125. Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre-NGC 1:39:57
126. Simon Geschke (Ger) Skil-Shimano 1:40:51
127. Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre-NGC 1:41:53
128. Julian Dean (NZl) Garmin-Slipstream 1:42:22
129. Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Skil-Shimano 1:42:28
130. Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas 1:42:32
131. Bert Grabsch (Ger) Team Columbia-HTC 1:43:08
132. Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:43:46
133. Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram 1:45:25
134. Benoït Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux 1:46:20
135. Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Team Milram 1:46:21
136. Grégory Rast (Swi) Astana 1:47:03
137. Marco Bandiera (Ita) Lampre-NGC 1:48:16
138. Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Team Katusha 1:48:20
139. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia-HTC 1:49:01
140. Brett Lancaster (Aus) Cervelo TestTeam 1:49:11
141. Alan Perez Lezaun (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1:49:35
142. Marcin Sapa (Pol) Lampre-NGC 1:51:40
143. Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 1:53:03
144. Albert Timmer (Ned) Skil-Shimano 1:53:41
145. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 1:53:51
146. Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Silence-Lotto 1:54:39
147. Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 1:57:03
148. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas 1:57:13
149. Danny Pate (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 1:57:42
150. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Team Columbia-HTC 1:58:11
151. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Team Columbia-HTC 1:58:38
152. Saïd Haddou (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 1:58:50
153. Cycril Lemoine (Fra) Skil-Shimano 1:59:02
154. William Bonnet (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 1:59:43
155. Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram 1:59:56
156. Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana 2:02
157. Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Skil-Shimano 2:01:32
158. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 2:01:39
159. Andreas Klier (Ger) Cervelo TestTeam 2:04:30
160. Steven de Jongh (Ned) Quick Step 2:10:50
161. Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Française des Jeux 2:23:37
162. Kenny Robert van Hummel (Ned) Skil-Shimano 3:02:10