2015 Tour de France Ends Without Fulcrum; Martens, Perichon on Cusps

An even number of riders finished the 2015 Tour de France on the streets of Paris, so a Point d’Appui can’t be awarded this year. Because of the rain and a likely heightened danger if the entire peloton charged the oily cobbles of the Champs, race officials declared all riders to have the same time for the day, meaning that the two riders on the cusp of the fulcrum after Stage 20 retained their position.

Paul Martens of Team LottoNL-Jumbo and Pierre-Luc Perichon of Bretagne-Séché Environnement are Les Cuspides for the 2015 Tour.

The leader of the race, Christopher Froome of Sky, and the last rider in, Sébastien Chavanel of FDJ, remained in their respective positions as well. Sylvain Chavanel of IAM Cycling, possibly riding his last tour, had the time closest to the median of all racers.

Twelve riders held the Point d’Appui during the course of the race, an average number for the Tour.

The stage-by-stage general classification:

  • Stage 1 – No fulcrum.
  • Stage 2 – No fulcrum.
  • Stage 3 – No fulcrum.
  • Stage 4 – Adriano Malori of Movistar.
  • Stage 5 – Armindo Fonseca of Bretagne-Séché Environnement.
  • Stage 6 – No fulcrum.
  • Stage 7 – No fulcrum.
  • Stage 8 – Haimar Zubeldia of Trek Factory Racing.
  • Stage 9 – Serge Pauwels of MTN-Qhubeka
  • Stage 10 – Daniele Bennati of Tinkoff-Saxo, who took a hard fall the next day and had to abandon.
  • Stage 11 – Rohan Dennis of BMC.
  • Stage 12 – Wouter Poels of Team Sky.
  • Stage 13 – Wouter Poels of Team Sky.
  • Stage 14 – No fulcrum.
  • Stage 15 – Angelo Tulik of Team Europcar.
  • Stage 16 – Paul Voss of Bora-Argon 18.
  • Stage 17 – Brice Feillu of Bretagne-Séché Environnement.
  • Stage 18 – Perrig Quemeneur of Team Europcar.
  • Stage 19 – No fulcrum.
  • Stage 20 – No fulcrum.
  • Stage 21 – No fulcrum.

Voss Gains Point d’Appui as Peloton Reaches Second Rest Day

Paul Voss

Paul Voss

The peloton of the 2015 Tour de France is down to 169 riders, and Paul Voss of Bora-Argon 18 found the fulcrum at the end of Stage 16, while the previous holder, Angelo Tulik of Team Europcar, dropped three spots but is still within striking distance.

The German Voss, who is keeping a journal during the Tour, wrote: “So far I’m not totally satisfied with my performance. I’ve tried several times to be in the breakaway but sometimes it was missing luck or timing.” However, he is looking forward to the Alps and the attacks in the mountains. He began riding in a bike club at age 13 and has been improving each year. He won the Cinturó De L’empordà in 2011 and finished 4th in the 2010 Giro d’Italia. He also finished 50th in last year’s Tour de France.

Voss’s teammate, Sam Bennett, continues to hold the Lanterne Rouge, and Christopher Froome of Team Sky continues in the yellow jersey, more than 3 minutes ahead of his next rival.

On spot behind Voss, Damiano Caruso of BMC Racing Team holds the median time among the racers.