Simon Gerrans.com: Tour de France – Stage 15: Embrun to Prato Nevoso, 183km – 21 July 2008 By Simon Gerrans

You spend so much time dreaming about winning a Tour de France stage as a professional bike racer that when the moment comes you are not ready for it. I can vouch for that after the most amazing ride of my life – even as I write these words I am still coming down from my win today in the first Alpine stage of this year’s Tour. Sadly, I have to say that I am still coming down literally as well.

It is 8pm – two and a half hours after I crossed the line at the end of the 15th stage from Embrun to Prato Nevoso in Italy – and I am still in a team car slowly edging our way in a traffic jam down the very mountain that I had just raced up on my bike to produce the greatest moment of my cycling career. Unbelievable!

My Credit Agricole teammates have long gone in the team bus, but as I have discovered, the day is a long way from over – especially as the stage winner. As soon as you cross the finish, you are rushed from one thing to the next.It is a whirlwind. You don’t even get the chance to let the joy of winning sink in. To be honest, the idea of winning a Tour stage was one that I had only dreamed about.

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Road Cycling.com: Gerrans Wins Stage 15 of Tour; Frank Schleck Takes Maillot Jaune
Simon Gerrans (Credit Agricole) has won Stage 15 of the 2008 Tour de France. The Australian took a three-up sprint at the end of a day-long break to win the mountainous, 183-km ride from Embrun, France to Prato Nevoso, Italy in 4:50:44. Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel) and Danny Pate (Garmin) finished second and third, respectively, at 0:03 and 0:10. Schleck surged away from Cadel Evans (Silence) in the final km and took the maillot jaune from him. (More in link)