Tour de France 2015 Stage 12 Results, Video Highlights, Classification: Joaquim Rodriguez Wins, Chris Froome Remains in Control
Joaquim Rodriguez wins the Stage 12 of the 2015 Tour de France, while Chris Froome remains in control in general classification after keeping his main rivals in check on Thursday.
Rodriguez claimed his second stage victory in the tour after finishing the 195-kilometer course from Lannemezan to Plateau de Beille -- a stage that featured four categorized climbs, including a Hors Category summit finish.
Rodriguez comfortably took the stage victory as he clocked in five hours, 40 minutes and 14 seconds. The Team Katusha rider finished one minute and 12 seconds ahead of runner-up Jakob Fuglsang of Team Astana and 1 minute and 49 seconds clear of second runner-up Romain Bardet of AG2R La Mondiale.
Gorka Insausti of Movistar and Louis Meintjes for MTN-Qhubeka ended up fourth and fifth, respectively. The top 10 finishers for Thursday's 12th stage are listed below.
- Joaquim Rodriguez (Team Katusha) 5hrs 40mins 14secs
- Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) +1min 12secs
- Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) +1min 49secs
- Gorka Insausti (Movistar) +4mins 34secs
- Louis Meintjes (MTN-Qhubeka) +4mins 38secs
- Jan Barta (Bora-Argon) +5mins 47secs
- Romain Sicard (Team Europcar) +6mins 3secs
- Mikael Cherel (AG2R La Mondiale) +6mins 28secs
- Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +6mins 46secs
- Chris Froome (Team Sky) +6mins 47secs
While Froome finished just 10th on Thursday, the Team Sky rider remained comfortably on top of general classification as he kept his lead over second-running Tejay van Garderen of BMC Racing and third-running Nairo Quintana of Movistar.
Among the top 10 riders in general classification, Alejandro Valverde of Movistar was the only rider who managed to finish ahead of Froome during the 12th stage of the tour, but he took just one second away from Froome's lead.
"It's been a difficult stage with very hard climbs and changes of temperature. The rain hasn't helped. We've tried. We've attacked but the rival [Chris Froome] defended himself very well," Quintana said after the race. "He controlled my attacks, those of Alejandro, Alberto, Vincenzo, but we'll try to dethrone him until the last day."
Below is the list of general classification leaders after 12 stages.
- Chris Froome (Team Sky) 46hrs 50mins 32secs
- Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) +2mins 52secs
- Nairo Quintana (Movistar) +3mins 9secs
- Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +3mins 58secs
- Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) +4mins 3secs
- Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) +4mins 4secs
- Robert Gesink (LottoNL) +5mins 32secs
- Tony Gallopin (Lotto) +7mins 32secs
- Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) +7mins 47secs
- Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek +8mins 2secs
The complete classifications are available on this link, while photos and video highlights of Stage 12 can be seen on this link. The race will continue on Friday, and the peloton will face a 198.5-kilometer ride from Muret to Rodez.
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