Sprinters' teams unwilling to work on Tour stage 15

Orica-GreenEdge and Lotto-Belisol played poker today during the 15th stage of the 2012 Tour de France to Pau and neither won. The stalemate saw an escape get enough time and end the sprinters' chance of winning.

"We can't put our guys on the front day in and day out. It's 35 degrees and it's really hot. If we use three guys to ride, then we have three less guys to use in the final," Orica's Matt Goss explained. He recovered in the shade of the team's bus in a parking lot in Pau's centre.

"The teams with the complete teams would then come over us, and chances are we are not going to win the stage anyway. We played the first week well, we rode with Lotto quite a lot but in this middle week, no one wants to take a bit of responsibility. We took our chances at just saying 'no' today."

Lotto-Belisol looked to Orica-GreenEdge, but found only blank faces. Orica was down one man with today's abandon of Brett Lancaster, who crashed a few days ago and suffered from a chest infection. Goss can still rely on Daryl Impey for lead-outs - he has taken two third places and one second so far - but decided to play poker.

André Greipel led Lotto to three stage wins in this Tour. Mark Cavendish (Sky) and Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) won the other sprints. Their teams, however, are thinking about the overall classification with Jurgen Van den Broeck (Lotto), Bradley Wiggins (Sky) and Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas).

After tomorrow's rest day, they face the race's final mountain legs to Bagnères-de-Luchon and Peyragudes. So, the 158.5km from Samatan to Pau today just became a western-style showdown with no shots fired.

With 11km remaining, the time advantage of the leading six shot up to 11-40 minutes. Sky patrolled the peloton just to keep Wiggins in front, where it wants him to finish in Paris on Sunday.

"Their big goal is to win the Tour de France," Goss continued. "They've won a stage with Mark and I fully understand why they are not putting guys on the front. If we were here to win the Tour, I wouldn't expect to have half the team riding for me on the front. They have a big goal and hats off to them; they are sitting in a good position at the moment."

Goss remains without a win. He's slightly bitter due to a race jury decision to regulate him in a sprint, costing him important green jersey points, and because Lotto benefited from Orica's work on the 13th stage to Cap d'Agde on Saturday.

Two more possible sprint stages remain before the end, Brive-la-Gaillarde on Friday and the final day in Paris.

"We have to pick and choose," Goss added. "We can't ride ourselves to death every day."

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Tour de France 2012: Teams, riders, start list

Tour 2012: Who will win?

Tour de France 2012 provisional start list

Tour de France 2012 team list

Tour de France 2012: Stage reports

Stage 15: Fedrigo wins, day off for peloton

Stage 14: Sanchez solos to Foix victory to save Rabobank's Tour

Stage 13: Greipel survives climb and crosswinds to win third Tour stage

Stage 12: Millar wins Tour stage nine years from his last

Stage 11: Wiggins strengthens Tour lead as Evans slips back

Stage 10: Voeckler wins and saves his Tour

Stage nine: Wiggins destroys opposition in Besancon TT

Stage eight: Pinot solos to Tour win as Wiggins fights off attacks

Stage seven: Wiggins takes yellow as Froome wins stage

Stage six: Sagan wins third Tour stage

Stage five: Greipel wins again as Cavendish fades

Stage four: Greipel wins stage after Cavendish crashes

Stage three: Sagan runs away with it in Boulogne

Stage two: Cavendish takes 21st Tour stage victory

Stage one: Sagan wins at first attempt

Prologue: Cancellara wins, Wiggins second

Tour de France 2012: Comment, analysis, blogs

Analysis: What we learned at La Planche des Belles Filles

Analysis: How much time could Wiggins gain in Tour's time trials

CW's Tour de France podcasts

Blog: Tour presentation - chasing dreams and autographs

Comment: Cavendish the climber

Tour de France 2012: Photo galleries

Stage 14 by Graham Watson

Stage 13 by Graham Watson

Stage 12 by Graham Watson

Stage 11 by Graham Watson

Stage 10 by Graham Watson

Stage nine by Graham Watson

Stage eight by Graham Watson

Stage seven by Graham Watson

Stage six by Graham Watson

Stage five by Graham Watson

Stage four by Graham Watson

Stage three by Graham Watson

Stage two by Andy Jones

Stage two by Graham Watson

Stage one by Graham Watson

Prologue photo gallery by Andy Jones

Prologue photo gallery by Roo Rowler

Prologue photo gallery by Graham Watson

Tour de France 2012: Team presentation

Sky and Rabobank Tour de France recce

Tour de France 2012: Live text coverage

Stage 10 live coverage

Stage nine live coverage

Stage six live coverage

Stage five live coverage

Stage four live coverage

Stage three live coverage

Cycling Weekly's live text coverage schedule

Tour de France 2012: TV schedule

ITV4 live schedule

British Eurosport live schedule

Tour de France 2012: Related links

Brits in the Tours: From Robinson to Cavendish

Brief history of the Tour de France

Tour de France 2011: Cycling Weekly's coverage index

1989: The Greatest Tour de France ever