Tour de France 2017: Chris Froome retains yellow jersey, Bauke Mollema wins Stage 15

Chris Froome overcame a potentially disastrous setback to retain possession of the yellow jersey, while Bauke Mollema used an aggressive approach to win Sunday's Stage 15 of the Tour de France.

Froome's back wheel punctured just before the final climb of the 117.7-mile stage that ended in Le Puy-en-Velay. As he was losing time and seeing his lead slipping away, he traded wheels with teammate Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) and lost less a minute of time.

Help from teammates Sergio Henao (Colombia) and Mikel Nieve (Spain) led Froome back into the race with a hard push and the Britain led by 18 seconds over Italy's Fabio Aru and 23 over Frenchman Romain Barget in the overall standings at the finish.

"I had a problem with a broken back wheel, my team car was stuck behind so I had to take a wheel from Michal Kwiatkowski," Froome said afterward. "I had to give it my maximum to get back to the front of the race. I panicked a little bit, it was a bit of a stressful moment. I thought perhaps I wouldn't get back to the front."

Meanwhile, Mollema of The Netherlands picked up his first win Tour de France stage win with his pace-pushing ride.

Mollema made his move on the descent of the Peyra Taillade and pulled away from a pack of four other cyclists. He had no challengers at the finish as he rode across the line alone to complete the victory.

"It's really amazing," Mollema said. "I'm so happy to win a stage at the Tour de France. I've worked for it so hard in the last few years. That was a big goal for me. I just gave it a try in the last 30 (kilometers).

"It was a long time riding alone. It was close to the chases at the end. But I made it. This is the biggest win of my career so far. The Tour de France has always been my dream. I'm incredibly happy."