Geniez wins as Vuelta visits France

After a nightmare stage yesterday the peloton was relieved to find the Pyrénées a little more inviting on the long 225 km stage 15 to Peyragudes in France. A big breakaway of 27 riders went clear and from that group Alexandre Geniez of FDJ attacked on the penultimate climb, the Port de Báles, to set himself up for a solo win as the favorites rode a bit defensively behind. On the final climb he held his tempo admirably to prove what a climbing talent he is, not dropping that much time even as the favorites attacked each other to gain time.

The one major play for GC gains was made by Saxo's Nicholas Roche who lost time as he suffered with the wet and cold conditions yesterday. Saxo had two men, Zaugg and Majka, in the breakaway who were able to drop back and aid their captain as he attacked near the top of Port de Bales. Zaugg aided on the descent and Majka on the first half of the final climb to help Roch stay ahead of the other favorites. In the end he only gained 17 seconds but he showed he hasn't given up in this race yet.

All the favorites tried a few jabs on the Peyresourde but with little result. Most active were Katusha's J-Rod and Moreno and Thibaut Pinot who tried repeatedly. For Pinot this only resulted in him getting dropped by the raised tempo of Horner and Nibali in the final kms of the stage.

The only change in the jerseys today was Nicholas Edet who used the breakaway to grab the climbers jersey that Ratto took yesterday with his exploits in the breakaway.

Top 10 stage 15

General Classification