1 min readToday’s 114-mile stage from Champagnole to Brison featured 12,959 feet of climbing, with four categorized climbs, including a Hors Categorie finish on the Plateau de Solaison. A second straight day with over 12,000 feet of climbing, the stage sets the table for the men’s Tour final weeks in the Alps. Two-time Tour de France Champion Jonas Vingegaard, who was second in the General Classification at the day’s start, crashed on a right-hand corner and was forced to abandon the 2026 Tour.Bicycling’s expert staff discussed the importance of being aware of your surroundings on rides and calling out turns, potholes, and debris on the roadways to other cyclists on a group ride.
Watch to see how Bicycling’s expert staff uses one of the Tour’s biggest climbing days—and worst crashes so far this year—to discuss the importance of rider safety, a proper night’s sleep before big rides, and what to do in the unfortunate event of a crash.
Today’s stage was won by Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), who attacked within a few hundred meters of the finish line to claim the stage victory ahead of Tour leader, Tadej Pogačar. With Vingegaard’s withdrawal, Evenepoel moves into second in the overall standings.
Stage 15 Podium
1. Remco Evenepoel
2. Tadej Pogačar
3. Isaac De Toro
GC After Stage 15
1. Tadej Pogačar – 55h 41m 31s
2. Remco Evenepoel +5m
3. Isaac De Toro +5m 58s
4. Paul Seixas +6m 23s
5. Florian Lipowitz +6m 48s
As Deputy Editor, Tara Seplavy leads Bicycling’s product test team; after having previously led product development and sourcing for multiple bike brands, run World Championship winning mountain bike teams, wrenched at renowned bicycle shops in Brooklyn, raced everything from criteriums to downhill, and ridden bikes on six different continents (landing herself in hospital emergency rooms in four countries and counting). Based in Easton, Pennsylvania, Tara spends tons of time on the road and trail testing products. A familiar face at cyclocross races, crits, and bike parks in the Mid Atlantic and New England, on weekends she can often be found racing for the New York City-based CRCA/KruisCX team. When not riding a bike, or talking about them, Tara listens to a lot of ska, punk, and emo music, and consumes too much social media.
Molly writes about cycling, nutrition and training with an emphasis on bringing more women into sport. She’s the author of nine books including the Shred Girls series and is the founder of Strong Girl Publishing. She co-hosts The Consummate Athlete Podcast and spends most of her free time biking and running on trails, occasionally joined by her mini-dachshund.