| The 15th stage of the traditional multi-day cycling race “Tour de France” took place. It passed between the cities of Pau and Lavaux in the south of France. Belgian Rick Verbrugge from the Lotto team, who finished first, gave himself a wonderful birthday gift, and after finishing he said that he dedicated his victory to his wife and little daughter. True, his victory did not affect the position in the overall standings: two-time winner of the Great Loop, American Lance Armstrong, continues to lead. He finished in the general group, 15 minutes behind the winner. The top three at the stage also included two Italians, Marco Pinotti from Lampre and Alessandro Petacchi from Fassa Bortolo.
A group of 25 geoscientists worked in isolation throughout the entire stage, but this did not bother the leaders. The stage after a long break was flat, and the fugitives could not count on a big advantage, especially since 24 representatives of the breakaway group lost to Armstrong for more than an hour. So the changes in the overall standings took place mainly far beyond the top twenty. Vladimir ILYIN
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