With Nacer Bouhanni out of the race and Geoffrey Soupe dropped, Christophe Laporte got a chance to sprint for Cofidis in stage 15 of the Tour de France. Despite suffering from a virus, he took a fine 7th place.

I am especially surprised to be good because I was sick for three days," he said. "After that, it's no surprise to be here because I am part of the Nacer Bouhanni's train and it is normal that I am part of the finale action. At the exit of the last corner, I got a swerve and suddenly, I had to stop pedaling just before the line. It's a shame. But a big thank goes to Julien [Simon] and Kenneth [Vanbilsen] for their trust and the did a great job to put me and put me in the best condition for this sprint.

"After the stage to Plateau de Beille, I caught cold. I immediately had a sore throat. Before yesterday, I was really not good. Last night, I had 39 ° of fever. This morning, the temperature was down but I still had a sore throat. It was a difficult stage but the legs were there

"I'll see day to day. I already look forward to the rest day. There has been no easy stage yet. I knew the Tour was hard but not to that extent ..