Andre Greipel scores a hat trick of stage wins
Andre Greipel produced a gutsy performance to win the 183km 15th stage from Mende to Valence in this year’s Tour de France on Sunday.
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Riding with three stitches to his left knee following a crash on Saturday, the German rider fended off a strong challenge from John Degenkolb, Alexander Kristoff and Peter Sagan to claim his third stage win of the 2015 race.
The general classification standings remain unchanged with British rider Chris Froome retaining his yellow jersey followed by Colombia’s Nairo Qunitana.
They are followed by Tejay Van Garderen, Alejandro Valverde and Alberto Contador. Defending champion Vincenzo Nibali is 8th in the standings.
Speaking after finishing the stage, Greipel said that he was confident about the sprint and that he just went for it.
"The team supported me to make it possible. They kept me in a good position for the sprint. I also had power in my legs – I'm really happy I finished it off,” he said.
Greipel now has nine stage wins in Tour de France. With his third win this year, he has matched his best performance on the Tour which came in 2012.
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