Campenaerts and Van Aert attack and ride to top placings in transitional stage
After three brutal days in the Pyrenees, the peloton faced a so-called transitional stage today, with a rest day looming tomorrow. The route featured several climbs, making it a perfect day for attackers. Campenaerts and Van Aert seized the opportunity to go up the road.
With 30 kilometers remaining, Tim Wellens launched a sharp acceleration from a group of eight that included Campenaerts. The Belgian tried to follow but had no answer to his compatriot’s fierce attack. Wellens quickly built a gap of over a minute. Just as Van Aert rejoined Campenaerts’ group, the latter dug deep one more time to secure second place. Van Aert sprinted from the chase group to finish fourth.
“We had a plan today to get multiple riders in the break,” Campenaerts said afterward. “Luckily, that worked out. But it was a really hard day. Cycling in 2025 is so different compared to a few years ago. Nowadays, the finale starts more than 100 kilometers from the finish. Once we finally made it into the break, there was no time to recover.”
Campenaerts also praised the stage winner. “Tim played it smart and was very strong. When he went, we quickly realized we wouldn’t bring him back. Just as Wout made it back to our group, he told me in the radio to go for second place. That was the maximum for us today.”
Dit bericht op Instagram bekijken Een bericht gedeeld door Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@teamvisma_leaseabike)
“I wanted to give everything today, and I did”
Wout van Aert
“It was already a tough task just to make the right break,” Van Aert added. “In the end, it was a good situation having Victor there with me. I didn’t feel great at first, but it got better toward the end. I told the team it had to come from Victor today. I was surprised I could still rejoin the chasing group; that was a big effort. Second and fourth is a solid result, but of course we hoped to win. I wanted to give everything today, and I did. There are definitely more chances coming in the final week.”
Tour de France
Stage 15
Result
Rankings
Result
1
Tim Wellens
UAE Team Emirates – XRG
03:34:09
2
Victor Campenaerts
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:01:28
3
Julian Alaphilippe
Tudor Pro Cycling Team
+00:01:36
4
Wout van Aert
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:01:36
39
Edoardo Affini
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:06:07
40
Jonas Vingegaard
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:06:07
42
Matteo Jorgenson
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:06:07
43
Sepp Kuss
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:06:07
132
Tiesj Benoot
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:22:42
149
Simon Yates
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:22:42
Rankings
1
Tadej Pogačar
UAE Team Emirates – XRG
54:20:44
2
Jonas Vingegaard
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:04:13
3
Florian Lipowitz
Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe
+00:07:53
15
Matteo Jorgenson
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:32:09
17
Sepp Kuss
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:43:30
23
Simon Yates
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+01:02:24
34
Victor Campenaerts
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+01:27:14
58
Tiesj Benoot
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+01:54:14
65
Wout van Aert
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+02:01:58
122
Edoardo Affini
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+03:04:55
Powered by Pro Cycling Stats
Subjects
Cycling – World Tour men
Wout van Aert
Victor Campenaerts
1
Tour de France
