NIMES, France -- Almost at the line, Jack Bauer and Martin Elmiger were exhausted but could see it coming -- their first Tour de France stage victory. Those last 50 metres, however, got in the way. A bunch of sprinters leading the pack came speeding like a runaway train and plowed past the huffing breakaway duo in the final milliseconds. Stage 15 belonged to Norwegian speedster Alexander Kristoff, his second stage victory in this Tour. The 138-mile (222-kilometre) stage went smoothly for overall leader Vincenzo Nibali of Italy. He made sure his main rivals couldnt claw back any time, and he kept his yellow jersey by finishing in the trailing pack. After two days in the Alps, Sundays stage offered some relief over a flat course from Tallard, southeast Frances parachuting capital, toward Nimes, known for its Roman arena and bullfighting. More relief comes Monday -- a second rest day. This ride showed yet again on the Tour how mighty efforts so often go unrewarded. Bauer is a New Zealander who had a better shot of holding off the sprinters than Swiss champion Elmiger. Bauer dropped his bike after the finish line, sat on the ground and cupped his face in his hands, crying. They had led nearly from the starters gun. "Its a fantasy for any cyclist to win a stage at the Tour and especially for a Kiwi cyclist, not many of us turn professional and not many of us get a chance to start the Tour de France," Bauer said. The 29-year-old rider came to the Tour to help Garmin-Sharp leader Andrew Talansky, who dropped out before Stage 12 because of injuries from an earlier crash. The pack perfectly timed its move on the breakaway duo and proved too strong. Bauer was pedaling with his last remaining strength, and when he looked back a last time they were already zooming by. He finished in 10th place, with Elmiger 16th. "I really gave it absolutely everything, and as you can see from my meltdown at the finish I was pretty disappointed to come away empty-handed," Bauer added, noting hes usually a support rider. "I thought I had it, but then I realized in the last 50 metres that I had nothing." The Swiss rider with IAM Cycling took it more in stride. This, after all, wasnt the first breakaway to fail in this Tour. "I am not disappointed because I actually did not have the best legs today," Elmiger said. "Being caught by the pack is not so bad when you are convinced you have given everything. As I have already said three times this Tour after breaks have failed, one of these days the wheels will turn in my favour." Kristoff, a Katusha rider who also won Stage 12, sighed in relief. "It was a little bit late for comfort. It was very close," he said. "I thought I would be second. ... We turned on the gas." "Of course, thats a pity for them, but I dont feel sorry for them," he said. "Normally, the break should never have had a chance, but they did. They were really strong guys. ... That must have been really hard." With about 12 miles (20 kilometres) left, rain briefly doused the riders, though skies brightened by the end. A series of roundabouts and leg fatigue among the sprinters after the Alpine stages gave an advantage to the breakaway pair until the final seconds. Nibali kept his main rivals for the Tour title at bay. He leads Spains Alejandro Valverde by 4:37 while Romain Bardet of France is third, 4:50 behind. American Tejay van Garderen is fifth, 5:49 back. Nibali, the leader of Kazakh team Astana, is in good shape to take the yellow jersey when the three-week race ends next Sunday in Paris. Some of his closest rivals have already said the race is now for second place. The Italian has shown savvy -- gaining time on cobblestone patches in Stage 2 -- and nearly insurmountable dominance on high climbs. He won Stage 13s entree into the Alps and was second a day later, also in the snow-capped mountains. On Sunday, Nibali showed he wasnt leaving any chances to his rivals. With about 39 miles (65 kilometres) left, he sped out of the pack and briefly took the lead. "At that moment, there was a lot of side wind," he said. "I really didnt want to miss the good opportunity and try to move up into position ... because when theres wind, you have to be at the front." More grueling climbs loom in the Pyrenees this week before the only individual time trial of this Tour on Saturday. USA Soccer Jerseys 2020 . And on Sunday against the Houston Astros they were pleased to see his work finally pay off with his first win since May 24. Fake USA Soccer Jerseys . Called on from the college ranks to replace Andy Reid, Kelly implemented a whole new atmosphere in the City of Brotherly Love and now has the Eagles in the playoffs for the first time since 2010. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/ . The Arena das Dunas in the northeastern city of Natal sustained minor damage during the protests, but demonstrators stayed away on Sunday and officials said the stadium passed its first test, with only minor adjustments needed going forward. USA Soccer Shirts . Keenum will make his first appearance in a regular-season game against the rugged defence of the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, where the fans just set a Guinness record as the noisiest outdoor stadium in the world. USA Soccer Store . Heavily-criticized after allowing a dozen goals on 58 shots in two games in Boston, Luongo continued his dominance at home. Hes now allowed two goals in three home games in this series.PINEHURST, N.C. -- The number on the scorecard was the same as Thursday but Graham DeLaet definitely felt as if he played much better at the U.S. Open on Friday than a day earlier. The Canadian, who used 75 strokes to get around Pinehurst No. 2, took 14 of those on just two holes, recording a triple and a double bogey. He also added a penalty shot on a morning that simply didnt go his way. Even with all that adventure and some visits to the newly added native areas, he walked off the course feeling not too badly about his play. "Im not even really disappointed because I felt I was in total control of my game all day," he said. "Three balls in that natural rough and twice I couldnt get a club on it and I made a triple and a double and the other time I went to move some debris next to my ball and my ball moved and that cost me a stroke. Other than that I played well all day." Thats the U.S. Open. So hard to make birdies, so easy to make doubles. DeLaet started his day on the right note, making his first birdie of the competition on the third hole. He cancelled that out with a bogey at six, when his approach shot came up short of the putting surface and he wasnt able to get up and down. On the eighth, however, disaster struck. DeLaets tee shot sailed left and ended up in a troubled lie against some wiregrass. His second to the green also went left and ended up in another almost impossible lie. He hacked it out and the ball ended up behind a tree, so he took an unplayable then chipped it over the green. He lobbed his next shot to 20 feet and, of coursse, dropped the putt for a triple.dddddddddddd Two holes later, another errant drive led to a double as he scrambled around the green, and a hole after that, he incurred the penalty. "I guess its a little disappointing," said DeLaet. "Coming in, I didnt expect to miss the cut. But at the same time I feel like I played well and a lot better than my score but thats the U.S. Open and Im packing." This was DeLaets first time teeing it up in the American championship and the learning curve is steep. Its also the third straight major in which hes failed to make it to the weekend, something thats frustrating for 32-year-old. "I feel like my game should be suited for tough golf courses," he stated, "but my record hasnt shown that quite yet. "Theres a lot more to [the Majors] than golfing your ball. There are all the outside distractions and the mental pressure and everything that goes along with a major championship. Now Ive got my feet wet in all four and Im looking forward to the next one." DeLaet is planning to play the next two events on the PGA Tour as well as the RBC Canada Cup, a special outing in Halifax as part of the new Web.com Tour event there. Hell then take two weeks off before playing a long stretch of what could be eight tournaments in nine weeks, including the RBC Canadian Open. The schedule will be busy, DeLaet said, but it isnt as if hes moving pianos. "Im playing professional golf and going to a lot of cool places," he said. "Overseas, Montreal . . . you cant really complain." ' ' '