Tim Wellens takes out Tour de France stage, as Julian Alaphilippe comes third and thinks he's won
The French showman, who is loved by fans for his aggressive, attacking riding, won a bunch sprint, beating another Belgian, Wout van Aert, and France's Axel Laurance.
He sat up and punched the air in triumph on the line, not realising he had finished one minute, 36 seconds behind Wellens and eight seconds behind second-placed Victor Campenaerts.
Alaphilippe, who had been involved in a big crash early on the stage, smiled at his mistake after the race.
"Of course, you have to take it in a funny way," Alaphilippe told reporters after the end of the stage.
"Even after the line, Wouty [Wout van Aert] said to me 'no, no, there is people in the front [ahead of us].
"Yeah, after the crash, my radio didn't work, so I have to take it in a funny way.
"I did it on Liège–Bastogne–Liège, now I did it on the Tour, so it's part of the game."
In 2020, Alaphilippe looked to have won the Belgian one-day cycling classic Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and sat up on the line, raising his arms in triumph, only to be pipped by the fast-finishing Primož Roglič.
Wellens, one of defending champion and overall leader Tadej Pogačar domestiques, jumped away from a leading group of six some 43 kilometres from the finish and never looked back, beating compatriot Campenaerts by 1:28.
"It's a very special victory, everybody wants to ride the Tour but not everybody wins on the Tour de France," Wellens said.
"Suddenly there was a big crash … I followed one move and I was in the breakaway.
"I had an opportunity, I took it and I had legs to finish it."
Wellens's master, Pogacar, still leads Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard by 4:13 in the overall standings, edging 169.3 kilometres closer to a fourth Tour title after the hilly ride between Muret and Carcassonne.
German Florian Lipowitz sits in third place, 7:53 off the pace.
"I'm actually happier than for any of my wins," said Pogačar, who added he was recovering from a sore throat.
Selected overall standings after Stage 15
"With all the ice we're having [to cool down from the heat] and the air conditioning, half of the peloton has a sore throat. It's a pain."
The top riders stayed quiet all day, Pogačar slowing down after Lipowitz and Vingegaard were caught up behind an early crash.
It was a hectic stage with relentless attacks from riders looking to capitalise on the rare opportunity of a victory as flat and mountain stages are the exclusive domain of top sprinters and general classification contenders.
The group who would fight for the win took shape after more than 100 kilometres and Wellens was not only the stronger rider, he was also the smartest.
Having done very little in the breakaway — one of the perks of riding for the yellow jersey holder — Wellens attacked on a slightly uphill section, catching everyone off guard.
The 34-year-old attacked and the chasing group quickly disappeared into the background as he sped to his maiden Tour de France win to complete his grand tour stage victory collection after prevailing in the Giro d'Italia in 2016 and 2018 and in the Vuelta a Espana in 2020.
Monday is a rest day on the Tour de France, in Montpellier.
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