2015 Tour de France results and standings, Stage 17: Simon Geschke snags career-first stage victory

Simon Geschke built a big lead early and couldn’t be caught after he beat the field to the summit of Col d’Allos and held on to win Stage 17 at the 2015 Tour de France.

The German managed to avoid mistakes during the nasty descent down the summit, but the same can’t be said for the rest of the field. Thibaut Pinot was one of the few that kept within striking distance of Genschke, but a tumble late in the stage forfeited a chunk of time. Eventually it proved costly when Andrew Talansky and Rigoberto Urán Urán pulled away on a counter attack in the final kilometers.

Another rider who went down on Wednesday was the United States’ best rider, Tejay Van Garderen, although the stage wasn’t the reason. Van Garderen abandoned the Tour after headaches made it a struggle for the American to keep up with peloton. Instead, it’s now Talansky who leads all American riders after the first 17 stages.

Talansky made a run at Genschke during the final climb in Pra-Loup, but it wasn’t enough to cut into a lead that was well over a minute with fewer than 10 kilometers remaining.

The win is Geschke’s first stage victory of the Tour and first of his career.