Tour de France: Valverde chooses second over risking it all to chase victory

Tour de France: Valverde chooses second over risking it all to chase victory



When Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) made that race winning attack on stage 15 of the Tour de France the only rider who even came close to staying with him on the final climb was Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), initially holding his wheel and then keeping the gap down to 20 seconds atop the Col de Beixalis. The American looked like he could be within reach for someone with the descending skills of Valverde, however, the 41 year old decided he’d rather see a potential stage victory ride away, than risk a crash. 

The Spanish veteran of the peloton looked to be making some early inroads as the descent toward the line started but ultimately came across 23 seconds behind the 26-year-old Kuss, comfortably holding at bay all the rest of the riders from the break of the day. The first of them, Wout Poels (Bahrain-Victorious), finished just a little short of a minute later.



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