Tim Wellens completes set of Grand Tour victories with solo win on stage 15
Tim Wellens had time to high-five fans inside the final kilometre as he soloed to victory on stage 15 of the Tour de France into Carcassonne with his team-mate Tadej Pogacar retaining the yellow jersey.
Wellens, 34, completed his set of Grand Tour stage victories, attacking from a reduced four-man breakaway with 44 kilometres remaining of the 169km stage from Muret.
The Belgian national champion quickly opened a sizeable gap before the long downhill run into the medieval city, where his margin of victory over compatriot Victor Campenaerts was 1:28.
Flo Clifford20 July 2025 17:08
No real change among the top GC riders, but Rodriguez managed to leapfrog Ben Healy on GC despite the best efforts of the Irishman’s EF teammates.
Rodriguez now sits ninth at 18’26” back, with Healy 15 seconds behind him.
Flo Clifford20 July 2025 17:01
General classification after stage 15Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) in 54:20:44Jonas Vingegaard (Visma – Lease a Bike) +4:13 Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe) +7:53 Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) +9:18 Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea – B&B Hotels) +10:21 Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe) +10:34 Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +12:00 Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) +12:33 Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) +18:26Ben Healy (EF Education – EasyPost) +18:41 
(AFP via Getty Images)
Flo Clifford20 July 2025 16:55
‘Beyond happiness’ – Tadej Pogacar
“I’m more happy for him than when I win – beyond happiness,” Tadej Pogacar grins when asked by ITV4’s Matt Rendell about Tim Wellens’ win.
“Normally the Tour second week is easier mountains, more for breakaways, the third week is always hardest. But this week was one of the hardest second weeks of the Tours that I’ve ridden,” – “because of you!” Rendell says, at which he laughs. “Just on the terrain and everything. We still have big, big mountains to come. There’s still seven days or something to Paris and we need to fight until the end.”
(REUTERS)
Flo Clifford20 July 2025 16:48
‘I was so happy I forgot to celebrate’ – Tim Wellens
Let’s hear from a very happy Tim Wellens. “It is a very special victory. Everybody knows the Tour de France but not many people win in the Tour de France so it was very beautiful.
“I felt super good today. On the last climb of the day I felt really good. I knew the others felt really good but I knew I had to go solo. At the top of the climb I found my moment and I felt I had the legs to keep it to the end.
“I knew I had to enjoy the moment and kept riding until the end so I had a big gap to enjoy it and maybe put my bike in the air after the finish – but I was so happy I forgot to do it!”
(REUTERS)
Flo Clifford20 July 2025 16:41
‘We are super proud of Julian’ – Raphael Meyer
Tudor Pro Cycling boss Raphael Meyer has a word with ITV about Alaphilippe’s misfortune: “He had a lot of pain when he crashed, the shoulder was popping out so the race doctor could put it back in.” He will undergo X-rays to discover what the problem is.
“Incredible peformance, the stage was full on. The radio was broken, it didn’t work after the crash,” he explains of the finish, looking pretty crestfallen himself but trying to look at the positives. “That’s the sport, that’s the beauty of cycling. Third after fearing the worst, we are super proud of Julian.”
Flo Clifford20 July 2025 16:34
‘If one rider deserves victory it is Tim’ – Gianetti
UAE Team Emirates-XRG team principal Mauro Gianetti has a chat with media after the race: “If there is one rider in the Tour de France who deserves a victory it is Tim Wellens. He is so dedicated to the team, dedicated to Tadej, always five centimetres from Tadej, in training camp, in race, in morale, in everything.
“Today he was in the break without looking to be in it. He was in a position to not work in the first 50km when it was very hard, the energy he saved in the first part of the breakaway he gave in the final. It was clever, like always, attacking just before the long descent. When he was away the others behind started looking at each other. Another fantastic day for the team and especially for Tim.”
Flo Clifford20 July 2025 16:28
Alaphilippe celebrates too late
An unfortunate moment for Julian Alaphilippe, who celebrated with real vigour when he won the sprint… for third. It appears he didn’t know there were riders up the road. Oops.
(REUTERS)
Flo Clifford20 July 2025 16:23
“Is he looking fabulous?” Pogacar says over the radio, to which UAE say, “he’s looking perfect”. Some nice cheerleading from the team there.
Wellens rode an incredibly clever race: not contributing, surfing the wheel, attacking when the break was already suffering from the toughest climb of the day, and getting the crucial gap over the top of the unclassified Col de Fontbruno.
Flo Clifford20 July 2025 16:16
Stage 15 resultsTim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) in 3:34:09Victor Campenaerts (Visma – Lease a Bike) +1:28Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling) +1:36Wout van Aert (UAE Team Emirates – XRG)Axel Laurance (Ineos Grenadiers)Aleksandr Vlasov (Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe) Paul Penhoet (Groupama FDJ)Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies)Michael Valgren (EF Education-EasyPost)Valentin Madouas (Groupama FDJ), all at same time
(REUTERS)
Flo Clifford20 July 2025 16:12