Foix (AFP)

The Pyrenees, a French affair: Thibaut Pinot dominated the final climb of the 15th stage of the Tour de France, Sunday, above Foix, where Julian Alaphilippe weakened for the first time but saved his yellow jersey.

Second in the stage after his Tourmalet victory, Pinot was only preceded by Simon Yates (Mitchelton). The Briton took his second success in four days in the Pyrenean massif, but outside the fight for the overall standings.

The outgoing winner, Welshman Geraint Thomas, dropped the ballast for the second time in two days. Like the Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk, he gave the Frenchman about 50 seconds.

In the overall standings, Pinot moved up from 6th to 4th place. He was only 3 seconds behind Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk and especially 15 seconds behind Thomas. In the Pyrenees, he erased his pellet stage Albi, early this week, when he had lost 1 min 40 sec on a "border".

"We have to be careful not to give Thibaut Pinot too much time, but he is in great shape but he is not the only one," said Thomas, who came closer to the yellow jersey at 1:35.

For Alaphilippe, the last 5 kilometers leading to the Prat d'Albis, a pastoral site drowned in the rain, were a long suffering. The Frenchman could not follow Pinot, the winner of the Tourmalet the day before, who once again proved the best climber.

Pinot, attacking at 7500 meters from the summit, got rid of his rivals one by one. Colombian Egan Bernal, the last to hold his wheel, let go before the last four kilometers.

The Frenchman joined in the final the Spaniard Mikel Landa, who had counter-attacked from afar, from the wall of Péguère, before the last 40 kilometers.

- Alaphilippe early shemale -

The victory went to Yates, present in the breakaway launched after the first hour in this stage of the Ariège started drumming despite his difficult profile (three climbs of the first category) and its length (185 km).

In the breakaway, the beats of the previous days have regrouped. But neither the Irish Dan Martin nor the Frenchman Romain Bardet, nor the Italian Vincenzo Nibali and the Colombian Nairo Quintana, had the strength to compete with Yates (26).

The winner of the Vuelta 2018 has managed to get out of the Pyrenees as his entry: he won the Bagnères-de-Bigorre stage on Thursday.

"Today, I could not do more," commented Alaphilippe who surpassed himself again to hang the 11th place of the stage and especially limit the loss of time.

"Yesterday (Saturday), I really drew (in my reserves," added the French, about his second place in the Tourmalet.

"Everything I did, everything I give, I start paying for it, I run as I like to run but, with the yellow jersey, there are responsibilities," said the world number one.

Early on in the race, since he himself had to get his supplies in his team car for lack of other riders of the team Deceuninck with him, Alaphilippe projected on the last week, after the day of rest scheduled Monday in Nîmes: "The very high mountain is only beginning In the Alps, it will be a construction site."

Before considering a passage of witness who would reinforce this tour very French: "Thibaut (Pinot) really showed that it was among the strongest of the favorites.It arrives in a third week which sticks to its skin, which corresponds to him well In a good state of freshness, if I lose my shirt, I would like him to be the next one to wear it. "

© 2019 AFP