2015 Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team, 2015 regular season
After a slow start, the Commodores easily qualified for the 2015 Southeastern Conference tournament, where they finished second to the Florida Gators. They then played host to the 2015 NCAA Nashville Regional, where they defeated Lipscomb University, The University of Indiana and Radford University, the last opponent by a record-tying shutout score of 21-0. The Commodores then faced the University of Illinois in the NCAA Superegional, defeating them in a two-game sweep and advancing to the College World Series.


2015 Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team, 2015 regular season
In 65 games in his junior year for the team, Rhett Wiseman hit .318/.419/.566 with 66 runs (2nd in the Southeastern Conference), 39 walks (tied for 6th), and 14 home runs (tied for 6th). He was named an All-American.


2015 Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team, 2015 NCAA College World Series
In their opening-round game in the 2015 College World Series, Vanderbilt defeated Cal State Fullerton, 4–3, on a walkoff home run in the bottom of the ninth in a game that had been suspended due to rain the night before, advancing into the winners' bracket. In their second-round game, Vanderbilt defeated the number 7 national seed TCU, 1–0. Zander Wiel hit a home run in the 7th inning to score the lone run of the game and break up a no-hitter.


2015 Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team, 2015 NCAA College World Series
Behind an offensive outburst and dominating performance behind the arm of Walker Buehler, the Commodores beat TCU 7–1 to advance to their second straight College World Series Championship Series. Commodores outfielder Rhett Wiseman was hit in his neck by an 89 mph fastball while batting during the game, and was hit so hard it left a red mark that even showed the outlines of the baseball's laces on his neck. He stayed in the game (telling their coach "it's the College World Series, baby. You're not taking me out of this game"). Wiseman went on to hit a home run innings later.


2015 Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team, 2015 NCAA College World Series
In game 1 of the championship series Vanderbilt defeated Virginia 5–1 thanks to an outing by Carson Fulmer. Virginia held Vanderbilt scoreless (3-0) for just the second time all year, forcing a winner-take-all third game for the national championship. The Cavaliers beat Vanderbilt 4–2 to win their first baseball national championship in program history.


2015 Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team, Rankings
^ Collegiate Baseball ranks 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season. † NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season. * New poll was not released for this week so for comparison purposes the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.


2015 Vanderbilt Commodores football team
The 2015 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University during the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Commodores played their home games at Vanderbilt Stadium at Dudley Field in Nashville, Tennessee, which has been Vanderbilt football's home stadium since 1922. Derek Mason coached the Commodores for his second year. They are members of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Commodores finished with a losing record for the second year in a row with an overall record of 4–8 and 2–6 in SEC play.


2015 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Schedule
Vanderbilt announced their 2015 football schedule on October 14, 2014. The 2015 schedule consist of 6 home and away games in the regular season. The Commodores will host SEC foes Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, and Texas A&M, and will travel to Florida, Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Tennessee.


2015 Varsity Cup
The 2015 Varsity Cup was contested from 9 February to 13 April 2015. The tournament (also known as the FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-university rugby union competition featuring eight South African universities.


2015 Varsity Cup
The tournament was won by  UFS Shimlas, who beat  NWU Pukke 63–33 in the final played on 13 April 2015. No team was relegated to the second-tier Varsity Shield competition for 2016.


2015 Varsity Cup, Competition rules and information
There were eight participating universities in the 2015 Varsity Cup. These teams played each other once over the course of the season, either home or away.


2015 Varsity Cup, Competition rules and information
Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by seven points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2015 Varsity Cup, Competition rules and information
The top four teams qualified for the title play-offs. In the semi-finals, the team that finished first had home advantage against the team that finished fourth, while the team that finished second had home advantage against the team that finished third. The winners of these semi-finals played each other in the final, at the home venue of the higher-placed team.


2015 Varsity Cup, Competition rules and information
There was no relegation to the Varsity Shield at the end of the season.


2015 Varsity Cup, Competition rules and information
The 2015 Varsity Cup used a different scoring system than the common scoring system. Tries were worth five points as usual, but conversions were worth three points instead of two, while penalties and drop goals were only worth two points instead of three.


2015 Varsity Cup, Competition rules and information
All Varsity Cup games also had two referees officiating each game, props' jerseys featured a special gripping patch to ensure better binding, intended to reduce collapsing scrums and the mark was extended to the entire field.


2015 Varsity Cup, Competition rules and information
The Varsity Cup also reintroduced the White Card system from 2015. Under this system, either team's coach or captain could refer incidents for further review, similar to the Umpire Decision Review System used in cricket. They could have incidents reviewed that they believed were either given incorrectly or went unnoticed by the on-field referees. Each team was entitled to one review in each half of the match; if a review proved successful, the team retained their white card review for that half, but if it was unsuccessful, they lost the right to further reviews for the remainder of the half.


2015 Varsity Cup, Teams
The following teams took part in the 2015 Varsity Cup competition:


2015 Varsity Cup, Standings
The final league standings for the 2015 Varsity Cup were:


2015 Varsity Cup, Standings
The top four teams qualify to the semi-finals. The first-placed team will host the fourth-placed team and the second-placed team will host the third-placed team. The higher-ranked semi-final winner will then host the lower-ranked semi-final winner in the final.


2015 Varsity Cup, Standings
Points breakdown:* 4 points for a win* 2 points for a draw* 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less* 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match


2015 Varsity Cup, Standings, Round-by-round
The table below shows each team's progression throughout the season. For each round, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets:


2015 Varsity Cup, Honours
The honour roll for the 2015 Varsity Cup was as follows:


2015 Varsity Cup, Players, Player statistics
The following table contain points which have been scored in games in the 2015 Varsity Cup season:


2015 Varsity Cup, Players, Discipline
The following table contains all the cards handed out during the tournament:


2015 Varsity Cup, Players, Dream Team
After the 2015 Varsity Cup, a Varsity Cup Dream Team was announced. This team would play against the South Africa Under-20s in Stellenbosch on 21 April 2015. The head coach of the champions  UFS Shimlas, Franco Smith, was appointed as the coach of the side and  UP Tuks lock Reniel Hugo was appointed as captain. Inny Radebe, who played for the 2015 Varsity Shield champions  UKZN Impi was also named in the squad.


2015 Varsity Cup, Players, Dream Team
Dan Kriel and Jaco Visagie were originally selected in the 2015 Varsity Cup Dream Team, but subsequently replaced by Johan Deysel and Elandré Huggett respectively.


2015 Varsity Cup, Players, Dream Team
The Dream Team made the early running in the match, with two first-half tries – a penalty try and a try by full-back Rhyno Smith – giving them a 12–10 half-time lead over the South African Under-20s. Second-half tries by Dillon Smit and Elandré Huggett proved to not be enough, with the South African Under-20s running out 31–24 winners.


2015 Varsity Cup, Referees
The following referees officiated matches in the 2015 Varsity Cup:


2015 Varsity Football
The 2015 Varsity Football challenge is the third season of a South African university association football competition. It involves some of the top football playing universities in the country, which belong to the University Sports Company. The tournament is run by Varsity Sports SA, and is endorsed by the South African Football Association and University Sport South Africa.


2015 Varsity Football, History
The Varsity Cup tournament was founded in 2008, featuring the rugby teams of eight universities. Varsity Sports was expanded in 2012 to include other sporting codes. University Sport South Africa discussed the Varsity Football proposal at its 2012 annual general meeting. The idea was initially rejected, as it was seen to split the member institutions. However, it was later accepted, and 2013 was the inaugural season of Varsity Football, with an 8 team men's tournament. A four team women's tournament is also being played.


2015 Varsity Football, Participating Teams
The eight teams competing in the men's Varsity Football challenge are:


2015 Varsity Football, Participating Teams, Qualification
Qualification was based on the 2014 University Sports South Africa National Club Championships. In order to qualify, men's teams need to be one of the eight highest placed teams associated with Varsity Sports. Walter Sisulu University did not finish in the top 8, but was invited as the best finishing member of Varsity Sports. The University of Zululand, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Central University of Technology, Berea College and Durban University of Technology were all overlooked, as they are not members of Varsity Sports.


2015 Varsity Football, Format
The tournament begins with a round robin stage, in which all teams play each other once. After the round robin stage, the top 4 teams will advance to the knock-out stage. The teams ranked 1 and 2 will host the semi-finals, against the teams ranked 4 and 3 respectively. The winners will advance to the final, to be hosted by the highest ranking finalist. All matches are played on Mondays. The league scoring system follows a standard scoring system and awards 3 points are awarded for a win, and 1 point for a draw. Teams are separated first on points, and then on goal difference.


2015 Varsity Football, Round robin stage
The 2015 season began with the round robin stages on 20 July, which will end on 3 September.


2015 Varsity Football, Knockout stage
The top four placed men's teams progressed to the knockout stage, as did all four women's teams. The semi-finals for both men and women were played on 10 September and the finals on 24 September.


2015 Varsity Rugby
2015 Varsity Rugby was the 2015 edition of four rugby union competitions annually played between several university teams in South Africa. It was contested from January to April 2015 and was the eighth edition of these competitions.


2015 Varsity Rugby, Rules
All four 2015 Varsity Rugby competitions used a different scoring system to the regular system. Tries were worth five points as usual, but conversions were worth three points, while penalties and drop goals were only worth two points.


2015 Varsity Rugby, Rules
All Varsity Cup games also had two referees officiating each game, props' jerseys featured a special gripping patch to ensure better binding, intended to reduce collapsing scrums and the mark was extended to the entire field.


2015 Varsity Rugby, Varsity Cup
The following teams competed in the 2015 Varsity Cup:  Maties,  NMMU Madibaz,  NWU Pukke,  UCT Ikey Tigers,  UFS Shimlas,  UJ,  UP Tuks and  CUT Ixias, who took part in this competition for the first time following their promotion from the 2014 Varsity Shield. The tournament was won by  UFS Shimlas, who beat  NWU Pukke 63–33 in the final. There was no relegation at the end of 2015.


2015 Varsity Rugby, Varsity Shield
The following teams competed in the 2015 Varsity Shield:  TUT Vikings,  UFH Blues,  UKZN Impi,  UWC and  Wits, who have been relegated from the 2014 Varsity Cup. The tournament was won by  UKZN Impi, who beat  Wits 29–24 in the final. There was no promotion at the end of 2015.


2015 Varsity Rugby, Young Guns, Competition Rules
There were eight participating universities in the 2015 Young Guns competition. These teams were divided into two pools and each team played every team in the other pool once over the course of the season, either home or away.


2015 Varsity Rugby, Young Guns, Competition Rules
Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by seven points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2015 Varsity Rugby, Young Guns, Competition Rules
The top two teams overall qualified for the title play-off final.


2015 Varsity Rugby, Young Guns, Standings
The final league standings for the 2015 Varsity Cup Young Guns were:


2015 Varsity Rugby, Young Guns, Fixtures and results
The 2015 Varsity Cup Young Guns fixtures were as follows:


2015 Varsity Rugby, Koshuis Rugby Championship, Competition Rules
There were eight participating teams in the 2015 Koshuis Rugby Championship competition, the winners of the internal leagues of each of the eight Varsity Cup teams. These teams were divided into two pools and each team played every team in the other pool once over the course of the season, either home or away.


2015 Varsity Rugby, Koshuis Rugby Championship, Competition Rules
Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by seven points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2015 Varsity Rugby, Koshuis Rugby Championship, Competition Rules
The top two teams overall qualified for the title play-off final.


2015 Varsity Rugby, Koshuis Rugby Championship, Standings
The final league standings for the 2015 Koshuis Rugby Championship were:


2015 Varsity Shield
The 2015 Varsity Shield was contested from 2 February to 6 April 2015. The tournament (also known as the FNB Varsity Shield presented by Steinhoff International for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth season of the Varsity Shield, an annual second-tier inter-university rugby union competition featuring five South African universities.


2015 Varsity Shield
The tournament was won by  UKZN Impi for the first time; they beat  Wits 29–24 in the final played on 6 April 2015. No team was promoted to the top-tier Varsity Cup competition for 2016.


2015 Varsity Shield, Competition rules and information
There were five participating universities in the 2015 Varsity Shield. These teams played each other twice over the course of the season, once at home and once away.


2015 Varsity Shield, Competition rules and information
Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by seven points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2015 Varsity Shield, Competition rules and information
The top two teams qualified for the title play-offs. The team that finished first had home advantage against the team that finished second.


2015 Varsity Shield, Competition rules and information
There was no promotion/relegation between the Varsity Cup and the Varsity Shield at the end of 2015.


2015 Varsity Shield, Competition rules and information
The 2015 Varsity Shield used a different scoring system than the common scoring system. Tries were worth five points as usual, but conversions were worth three points instead of two, while penalties and drop goals were only worth two points instead of three.


2015 Varsity Shield, Teams
The following teams took part in the 2015 Varsity Shield competition:


2015 Varsity Shield, Standings
The final league standings for the 2015 Varsity Shield were:


2015 Varsity Shield, Standings
The top two teams qualify to the final, with the higher-placed team having home advantage.


2015 Varsity Shield, Standings, Round-by-round
The table below shows each team's progression throughout the season. For each round, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets:


2015 Varsity Shield, Fixtures, Round One
The  TUT Vikings hooker and captain Hamish Herd scored two tries to help his side to a 21–16 victory over  UFH Blues in Pretoria to initially end the round in second spot. However, this result was later expunged and the fixture was awarded as a win to  UFH Blues, with a scoreline of 0–0. This meant that  UFH Blues moved into topped the log after Round One.


2015 Varsity Shield, Fixtures, Round One
The  UKZN Impi moved into second spot on the log following a 16–5 victory over  UWC in Cape Town, with fly-half Inny Radebe scoring a try and two conversions for the away side, ahead of joint-third sides  TUT Vikings and newly relegated  Wits who had a bye in this round. UWC were bottom of the log after the first round.


2015 Varsity Shield, Fixtures, Round Two
A hat-trick from centre Marcel Coetzee helped  UKZN Impi to a comprehensive 68–5 victory over  TUT Vikings to increase their lead at the top of the log to four points, with TUT dropping to bottom of the log. Wits played their first match of the campaign and ran out comfortable 39–24 winners over  UFH Blues, with braces by Ish Nkolo and Constant Beckerling for the side from Johannesburg. Wits moved into second place on the log while UFH dropped down to third after suffering their first defeat of the season. UWC had a bye this round and remained in fourth spot on the log.


2015 Varsity Shield, Fixtures, Round Three
Braces from Constant Beckerling and Tommy Damba helped  Wits emerge victorious from the top-two clash against  UKZN Impi, with a comprehensive 56–13 win – their second away win in a row – to move them to the top of the log and with a game in hand over UKZN. UWC moved up to third on the log by beating bottom side  TUT Vikings 21–18 in Pretoria, with a two-try haul from Damian Stevens proving decisive. UWC leap-frogged  UFH Blues, who dropped to fourth spot after a bye in Round Three.


2015 Varsity Shield, Fixtures, Round Four
The top-versus-bottom match between  Wits and  TUT Vikings went according to form, with Wits running out 71–36 winners to extend their lead at the top to six points. They ran in ten tries, with Tommy Damba, Ferdinand Kelly and Luxolo Ntsepe getting a brace each, while fly-half Brandan Hewitt scored one of their tries and slotted seven conversions. In the other match,  UWC moved level on points with second-placed  UKZN Impi who had a bye round, securing an eight-try victory over  UFH Blues and running out 49–34 winners with James Verity-Amm grabbing a hat-trick of tries. Both of the losing sides, UFH Blues and TUT Vikings, picked up a bonus point for scoring five tries in their matches, but remained in fourth and fifth respectively.


2015 Varsity Shield, Fixtures, Round Five
League leaders  Wits dropped their first points of the season after they were held to a 37–all draw by third-placed  UWC in Johannesburg. Wits were leading 37–16 after 55 minutes, but UWC responded with three more tries late in the game to level things up, with winger James Verity-Amm scoring a second consecutive hat-trick after also getting one in Round Four against  UFH Blues. UKZN Impi took advantage of their main rivals drawing to secure a 21–13 victory over UFH, which saw them remain in second, but closed the gap to league leaders Wits to five points. UWC finished Round Five a further point behind UKZN, with UFH Blues remaining in fourth spot and  TUT Vikings, who did not play this round, staying in fifth at the halfway point of the regular season.


2015 Varsity Shield, Fixtures, Round Six
With top-placed side  Wits having a bye weekend, they saw their lead at the top reduced to just a single point from  UKZN Impi, who ran out 21–5 winners over third-placed  UWC. UFH Blues secured their second victory of the season, beating  TUT Vikings 29–18 in Alice to also pick up a bonus point for scoring four tries. Their log positions remained unchanged, however, with UFH Blues still in fourth and TUT Vikings in last place with two log points.


2015 Varsity Shield, Fixtures, Round Seven
After their bye in Round Six, leaders  Wits returned to form in spectacular style, running in twelve tries in a 93–0 demolition of  UFH Blues in Johannesburg. Luxolo Ntsepe scored a hat-trick, while Constant Beckerling and Josh Jarvis got two tries apiece and fly-half Brandan Hewitt scored one try and nine conversions for a personal points tally of 32 points. Second-placed  UKZN Impi kept the pressure on Wits however, scoring nine tries in their 66–41 victory over  TUT Vikings to remain just one point behind Wits on the log. Marius Louw grabbed a hat-trick in their victory and Spa Dube contributed 21 points with the boot. UWC remained in third place in the league with their bye, while TUT's four-try bonus point wasn't enough to move them ahead of fourth-placed UFH Blues.


2015 Varsity Shield, Fixtures, Round Eight
Hosts  Wits emerged victorious in the match between the top two teams in the league, beating  UKZN Impi 40–26 to extend their lead at the top of the log to four points. Both teams picked up a four-try bonus point in the match that was only settled with a last-minute Tommy Damba try. This result also meant that Wits secured their place in the final of the competition. UWC kept up their attempt to clinch the other spot in the final by beating  TUT Vikings 63–10 in Cape Town.


2015 Varsity Shield, Fixtures, Round Eight
They ran in nine tries, with Quaid Langeveldt, James Verity-Amm and Gordon-Wayne Plaatjes getting a brace each. This result saw them close the gap to second-placed UKZN to six points, with a game in hand. A bye round for  UFH Blues saw them remain in fourth spot, well clear of bottom side TUT Vikings.


2015 Varsity Shield, Fixtures, Round Nine
With their sixth win of the season,  Wits ensured that they would finish the regular season top of the log, which meant that the final would be played in Johannesburg. They ran out 50–5 winners over  TUT Vikings with two tries apiece from Tommy Damba and Koch Marx. The identity of their opposition in the final was still unknown, since second-placed  UKZN Impi had a bye, which saw  UWC reduce the gap to just one point.


2015 Varsity Shield, Fixtures, Round Nine
UWC ran out 58–8 winners over  UFH Blues with James Verity-Amm getting his third hat-trick of the season and take his try tally up to eleven in just six appearances. That result also ensured that UFH Blues would finish the season in fourth spot with TUT Vikings guaranteed to finish bottom of the log.


2015 Varsity Shield, Fixtures, Round Ten
The final line-up was completed as  UKZN Impi joined already-qualified  Wits in the final. A hat-trick from centre Marius Louw secured a 42–0 victory for UKZN over fourth-placed  UFH Blues in Durban to ensure the side finished second on the log. Meanwhile, log leaders  Wits and third-placed  UWC played out their second draw of the season, with their match finishing 21–all in Cape Town after drawing 37–all in their Round Five match in Johannesburg. TUT Vikings had a bye round and finished bottom of the log.


2015 Varsity Shield, Fixtures, Final
The 2015 Varsity Shield was won by  UKZN Impi, who won their first ever title after handing  Wits their first defeat of the season; a 29–24 defeat in the match played in Johannesburg. UKZN Impi took the lead fifteen minute in through captain Lwazi Ngcungama and didn't relinquish it for the remainder of the match. Fly-half Inny Radebe was the top scorer in the match with eleven points.


2015 Varsity Shield, Honours
The honour roll for the 2015 Varsity Shield was as follows:


2015 Varsity Shield, Players, Player statistics
The following table contain points which were scored in the 2015 Varsity Shield:


2015 Varsity Shield, Players, Discipline
The following table contains all the cards handed out during the tournament:


2015 Varsity Shield, Referees
The following referees officiated matches in the 2015 Varsity Shield:


2015 Vattenfall Cyclassics
The 2015 Vattenfall Cyclassics was a one-day classic cycling race that took place in Northern Germany on 23 August. It was the 20th edition of the Vattenfall Cyclassics one-day cycling race, and was the twenty-third race of the 2015 UCI World Tour. The race started in Kiel and ended in Hamburg. The course was mainly flat; the race generally suits sprinters, such as the defending champion, Alexander Kristoff (Team Katusha).


2015 Vattenfall Cyclassics
Despite several attacks in the late part of the race, the outcome was decided in a sprint finish. Pre -race favourite Marcel Kittel (Team Giant–Alpecin) was dropped on the final climb, while Mark Cavendish (Etixx–Quick-Step) was caught up in a crash with 3 kilometres (2 mi) remaining. Kristoff started the sprint, but André Greipel (Lotto–Soudal) was able to follow him and come past to take his first victory in a one-day World Tour race. With Kristoff finishing second, third place was taken by  Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek Factory Racing).


2015 Vattenfall Cyclassics, Route and background
The Vattenfall Cyclassics was the only UCI World Tour race held in Germany during the 2015 season. To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the race, the organizers picked a new route, starting on board of the ferry MS Stena Scandinavica in the harbour of Kiel, and heading in a southwesterly direction towards Hamburg. The overall distance was shortened from 247.2 kilometres (153.6 mi) in the previous year to 221.3 kilometres (137.5 mi). The final kilometers inside the city remained the same, with the finish line on Mönckebergstrasse. The course was largely flat, thereby suiting sprinters.


2015 Vattenfall Cyclassics, Route and background
However, the 0.7 kilometres (0.4 mi) Waseberg with a gradient of up to 15% was to be climbed three times. The first ascent of the Waseberg came with 68.9 kilometres (42.8 mi) left to ride, the second and third at 28.3 kilometres (17.6 mi) and 15.5 kilometres (9.6 mi) respectively. Race director Roland Hofer said of the course: "Although the race profile may appear more suitable for the sprinters, it can ultimately be won by all types of great rider, and it’s exactly this kind of race that’s needed for a well-balanced WorldTour."


2015 Vattenfall Cyclassics, Route and background
The World Tour came to Germany in the midst of a "renaissance" in German cycling, with the latest successes rejuvenating the country's interest in the sport after a series of setbacks during the past, doping-stricken years. For the first time since 2008, German public broadcaster ARD decided to provide live footage of the race. The route from Kiel to Hamburg was also chosen to boost the two cities' joint bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics. This was the last time the race ran under the name of Vattenfall Cyclassics, as Vattenfall announced that they would not extend their sponsorship.


2015 Vattenfall Cyclassics, Route and background
The energy provider had a significant role in the establishment of the race in 1996, under its earlier name HEW. The event was forced to search for a new sponsor to provide the estimated 800,000 Euro previously supplied by Vattenfall, about a third of the race's budget. From 2016 onward, the race was known as the EuroEyes Cyclassics in a two-year deal signed in July 2016.


2015 Vattenfall Cyclassics, Teams
All 17 UCI WorldTeams are automatically entered and obliged to send a team to the race. Three UCI Professional Continental teams were also invited as wildcards. All twenty teams entered eight riders each, meaning that 160 riders took to the course.


2015 Vattenfall Cyclassics, Pre-race favourites
Given the nature of the course, a large number of sprint specialists came to the race, including local favourites Marcel Kittel (Team Giant–Alpecin) and André Greipel (Lotto–Soudal). Greipel came to the Cyclassics after having recently won a career-best four stages at the Tour de France, and another stage win at the Eneco Tour. Meanwhile, Kittel rode as captain for Team Giant–Alpecin, while his teammate, 2013 winner John Degenkolb, went to compete in the Vuelta a España. Kittel had returned to competition after an illness just a week earlier at the Tour de Pologne, winning a stage.


2015 Vattenfall Cyclassics, Pre-race favourites
He would race with the support of his sprinter teammates Nikias Arndt and Ramon Sinkeldam. Both Greipel and Kittel gave hope to the local fans for a German victory. Since the event was renamed from HEW Cyclassics into Vattenfall Cyclassics in 2006, Degenkolb had been the only German winner, in 2013. Coming into the race carrying his good form from the Tour de France, Greipel was seen as the more likely contender for race victory than Kittel.


2015 Vattenfall Cyclassics, Pre-race favourites
Gerald Ciolek (MTN–Qhubeka) and Rick Zabel (BMC Racing Team) were two more sprinters considered to have ambitions to win the race, while an attack by Tony Martin (Etixx–Quick-Step) was deemed "a distinct possibility". For Martin, it was the first race after he broke his collarbone while wearing the yellow jersey at the Tour de France.


2015 Vattenfall Cyclassics, Pre-race favourites
The main non-German favourites for the win were the previous year's winner Alexander Kristoff, (Team Katusha) and Mark Cavendish (Etixx–Quick-Step). While Kristoff came from a "disappointing Tour de France", Cavendish could count on the support of teammates Mark Renshaw and Tom Boonen, who was preparing for the Road World Championships in late September. Arnaud Démare (FDJ), who had won the race in 2012, was competing, as was 2011 winner Edvald Boasson Hagen (MTN–Qhubeka).


2015 Vattenfall Cyclassics, Pre-race favourites
Other riders in contention for the victory were Ben Swift, Elia Viviani (both Team Sky), Michael Albasini (Orica–GreenEDGE), Samuel Dumoulin (AG2R La Mondiale), Sacha Modolo (Lampre–Merida), Moreno Hofland (LottoNL–Jumbo), and Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek Factory Racing). Tinkoff–Saxo aimed to defy the odds of a sprint finish, and named Matti Breschel as their captain. Sam Bennett (Bora–Argon 18) was named as a "very strong outsider".


2015 Vattenfall Cyclassics, Race report
Shortly after the peloton left the ferry in Kiel's harbour, an early breakaway formed, including Jan Bárta (Bora–Argon 18), Matteo Bono (Lampre–Merida), Alex Dowsett (Movistar Team), and Martin Mortensen (Cult Energy Pro Cycling). The group was able to establish a lead of up to five minutes, while MTN–Qhubeka controlled the pace in the field for most of the day, before Lotto–Soudal and Etixx–Quick-Step joined them at the front for their respective team captains. 60 kilometres (37.3 mi) from the finish, the lead group had broken up, with only Bono and Mortensen left with a lead of less than one minute.


2015 Vattenfall Cyclassics, Race report
With 43 kilometres (26.7 mi) left to ride, the two were joined by former road race world champion Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing Team), Manuele Boaro (Tinkoff–Saxo), and Matthias Brändle (IAM Cycling), now leading by about half a minute. 20 km from the finish, the peloton had caught the escape group, and a field of about 75 riders was set to ride for the race victory.


2015 Vattenfall Cyclassics, Race report
Another late attack came from Linus Gerdemann (Cult Energy Pro Cycling) and Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx–Quick-Step), but they were unable to build a significant gap, and were reeled back in with 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to go. Meanwhile, favourite Marcel Kittel dropped out of the field at the last ascend of the Waseberg, ruling him out of contention. Mark Cavendish was involved in a crash with 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to go. While the sprint trains fought for the lead of the field, Cavendish touched wheels with another rider and was brought to the ground.


2015 Vattenfall Cyclassics, Race report
He was able to continue and eventually finished 66th, but was unable to compete for the victory. At the finish line, the victory was decided by a bunch sprint. Kristoff was the first to open the sprint, but Greipel was able to get around him to claim his first ever win in a one-day World Tour race. Italian rider Giacomo Nizzolo claimed third for Trek Factory Racing.


2015 Vehbi Emre & Hamit Kaplan Tournament
The 33rd Vehbi Emre & Hamit Kaplan Tournament 2015, was a wrestling event held in Istanbul, Turkey between 4 and 5 January 2015.


2015 Vehbi Emre & Hamit Kaplan Tournament
This international tournament includes competition men's Greco-Roman wrestling. This ranking tournament was held in honor of the Olympic Champion, Hamit Kaplan and Turkish Wrestler and manager Vehbi Emre.


2015 Veikkausliiga
The 2015 Veikkausliiga was the eighty-fifth season of top-tier football in Finland. HJK Helsinki were the defending champions. The season was won by SJK, ending HJK's record streak of six straight titles.


2015 Veikkausliiga, Teams
TPS were relegated to Ykkönen after finishing at the bottom of the 2014 season. Their place was taken by Ykkönen champions HIFK.


2015 Veikkausliiga, Teams
FC Honka and MYPA were not given a license due to the clubs' bad economic situation. The two places were given for KTP, the runner-up of 2014 Ykkönen, and Ilves, which finished third in Ykkönen.


2015 Venetian regional election
The Venetian regional election of 2015 took place in Veneto on 31 May 2015, as part of a big round of regional elections in Italy. Venetian voters elected their President and their Regional Council, whose members had been reduced to 51, including the President.


2015 Venetian regional election
Luca Zaia, incumbent President (elected in 2010 with 60.2% of the vote) and leading member of the Northern League (LN), was re-elected by a reduced majority, due to a split occurred within his party in the run-up of the election, but, despite this, his victory over Alessandra Moretti of the Democratic Party (PD), who fared quite badly, was still a landslide: 50.1% to 22.7%. The election was a personal triumph for Zaia, who was the most voted President among the seven elected on 31 May.


2015 Venetian regional election
Other two candidates, Jacopo Berti of the Five Star Movement (M5S) and Flavio Tosi of the Tosi List for Veneto (LTV), the splinter group from the LN, got more than 10% of the vote and finished both at 11.9%. A fifth, Alessio Morosin of Venetian Independence (IV), and a sixth, Laura Coletti of the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC), won 2.5% and 0.9% of the vote, respectively.


2015 Venetian regional election
Among the parties, the LN, which presented an official list and a list named after Zaia (however composed mainly of party members), improved its 2010's performance, by gaining 40.9% of the vote (combined result of the two lists, which obtained 17.8% and 23.1%, respectively). If the two LN-related lists are counted together, the PD came second with 16.7% of the vote (20.5% if Moretti's personal list is counted) and the M5S third with 10.4%. The combined score of the two lists connected to the LTV was 7.1%, while the once-mighty Forza Italia (heir of The People of Freedom and, before that, the original Forza Italia) stopped at 6.0%.


2015 Venetian regional election
The total score of Venetist and regional parties, a diverse field including the Liga Veneta, the LTV, Venetian Independence, Independence We Veneto, the North-East Union, Autonomous Veneto Project and Veneto Confederal State, was 54.3%, then a record.


2015 Venetian regional election, Electoral law
The new electoral system of Veneto was regulated by the regional law 5/2012. The assembly was made up of 50 councilors (including the candidate for president who came second), plus the president proclaimed elected. After the elimination of the president's list, the distribution of seats remained proportional (with the D'Hont method), but with a variable majority premium: the winning coalition is assigned 29 seats if it manages to exceed 50% of the preferences; 28 seats if he got between 40% and 50% of the votes; only 27 if it remained below 40%. A 3% threshold was set for single lists or lists belonging to coalitions that did not exceed 5% of the votes.


2015 Venetian regional election, Aftermath
Following the election, Luca Zaia formed his second government, composed of ten ministers, nine of Liga Veneta and one of Forza Italia.


2015 Venezuelan Primera División season
The 2015 Primera División season (Torneo de Adecuación) is the 34rd professional season of Venezuela's top-flight football league.


2015 Venezuelan Primera División season, Torneo de Adecuación
The Torneo de Adecuación will be the tournament of the season. It began on July 12, 2015 and ended on December 13, 2015.


2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Venezuela on 6 December 2015 to elect the 164 deputies and three indigenous representatives of the National Assembly. They were the fourth parliamentary elections to take place after the 1999 constitution, which abolished the bicameral system in favour of a unicameral parliament, and the first to take place after the death of President Hugo Chávez. Despite claims from the opposition of a possible last-minute cancellation, the elections took place as scheduled, with the majority of polls showing the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) holding a wide lead over the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and its wider alliance, the Great Patriotic Pole (GPP).


2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election
The political landscape leading up to the elections was heavily influenced by the severe economic crisis faced by the country, as well as a series of protests that took place in 2014, after which former Chacao mayor and leader of Popular Will, Leopoldo López, was detained and sentenced to 14 years in prison. The scarcity of basic goods and high inflation were the central topics of discussion, with each party blaming their opponent as the cause. Introducing economic policies to counter the crisis, as well as granting amnesty to political prisoners, was the main campaign pledge of the MUD. The ruling PSUV, on the other hand, ran a campaign focused on overcoming what they called an "economic war" led by the right-wing against the Venezuelan people, as well as defending the legacy of Chávez and the social policies introduced during his presidency.


2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election
The result was a decisive defeat for the PSUV, which lost control of the Assembly for the first time since 1999. The MUD, composed of politicians opposed to the government of both Chávez and his successor, won 109 seats, and with the support of the three indigenous representatives, gained a supermajority of 112 seats against 55 won by the GPP. In terms of popular vote, the MUD received 7.7 million votes, an increase of 2.4 million from the 2010 elections, becoming the most voted party in Venezuelan electoral history. In comparison, the GPP only managed to gain an additional 200,000 votes, to total 5.6 million votes.


2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election, Background
Since the 1999 Constitutional Assembly elections, the National Assembly was dominated by alliances supportive of President Hugo Chávez. In the 2005 parliamentary elections, most opposition parties decided to withdraw, resulting in all seats being won by the Fifth Republic Movement and other parties supportive of Chávez. For the 2010 elections, an alliance of opposition parties was formed by the Democratic Unity Roundtable to contest the elections, and managed to win 64 seats.


2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election, Background
The PSUV, which was an alliance formed by Chávez from the Fifth Republic Movement and a number of smaller parties, won 96 seats, maintaining their majority, but lost their two-thirds and three-fifths supermajority. Fatherland for All, a small left-wing party, won two seats. After Chávez's death in 2013, his hand-picked successor Maduro was narrowly elected president, continuing Chávez' ideological influence. In 2015, the Democratic Unity Roundtable alliance aimed to improve its result from last time and end the incumbent PSUV government, while Maduro said he had faith in the voters giving the government a large majority.


2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election, Background, Protests
In 2014, a series of protests and demonstrations began in Venezuela. The protests have been attributed to inflation, violence and shortages in Venezuela. The protests have been largely peaceful, though some have escalated and resulted in violence from both protesters and government forces. The government has accused the protests of being motivated by 'fascists' opposition leaders, capitalism and foreign influence, and has itself been accused of censorship, supporting groups called colectivos using violence against protesters and politically motivated arrests.


2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election, Electoral system
Starting from 2015, the 167 members of the National Assembly were elected by a mixed majoritarian system; 113 members were elected by First-past-the-post voting in 87 constituencies. A total of 51 seats were elected by closed list proportional representation based on the 23 states and the Capital District. Seats were allocated using the d'Hondt method. The remaining three seats were reserved for indigenous peoples, and were elected by the community.


2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election, Electoral system
The opposition coalition held primaries on 17 May in 33 of the 87 electoral districts, choosing candidates for 42 seats; 125 additional candidates were expected to be hand-picked by 'consensus' among party leaders, though the rules were later changed to require 40% of opposition candidates to be women and barred some popular opposition candidates from running, a move that experts called unconstitutional. The PSUV held primaries in all 87 electoral districts on 28 June with the Bolivarian government stating there was a participation of 3,162,400 voters, though some observing the primaries noticed a large decrease of voters to less than 1 million participating, or about 10% of PSUV members.


2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election, Opinion polls
Poll results are listed in the tables below in chronological order and using the date the survey's fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. If such date is unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed in bold, and the background shaded in the leading party's colour.


2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election, Conduct
Leading up to the elections, serious issues have been raised about its fairness and credibility. On 10 October 2015, Brazil pulled out of a UNASUR electoral mission to observe the Venezuelan election over what it said a lack of guarantees by the socialist government and its veto of the choice to head the delegation.


2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election, Conduct
In a statement on 10 November 2015, Secretary General of the Organization of American States Luis Almagro condemned Venezuela's electoral process, explaining that the ruling party, PSUV, has an unfair advantage with its ability to use public assets, media access, creating dubious voting sheets and by disqualifying opposition politicians, stating that "It's worrying that ... the difficulties only impact the opposition parties".


2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election, Conduct
After the election, the opposition MUD coalition was accused of vote-buying in the state of Amazonas. The Supreme Court suspended all four Amazonas delegates (one socialist and three opposition). As of May 2018, these claims have not been proven.


2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election, Results
The MUD won 109 of the 164 general seats and all three indigenous seats, which gave them a supermajority in the National Assembly, while the GPP won the remaining 55 seats. Voter turnout was just over 74 percent.


2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election, Results
The Great Patriotic Pole coalition led by the PSUV received 5,625,248 votes (40.92%) in the party-list vote. A total of 29 parties were members of the coalition, although six of them ran separately in some states.


2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election, Reactions, Domestic
According to the Associated Press, celebrations and fireworks could be heard in the streets of Caracas following the MUD victory. In a speech following the results, President Maduro acknowledged his party's defeat, saying that, despite these "adverse results", Venezuela's democracy and constitution had triumphed; while calling for peace, re-evaluation, he attributed the opposition's victory to an intensification of the "economic war". A defiant Maduro said he would give no quarter to the Venezuelan opposition in spite of his own party's crushing defeat in last weekend's mid-term parliamentary elections. Maduro vowed to block "the counter-revolutionary right" from taking over the country. "We won't let it," he said. The leader of the MUD, Jesús Torrealba, told supporters after their party's victory that "The country wants change and that change is beginning today". Henrique Capriles Radonski, a leading opposition politician, stated "The results are as we hoped. Venezuela has won. It's irreversible".


2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election, Reactions, Domestic
A little over a week after the elections on 15 December 2015, the outgoing National Assembly created the "National Communal Parliament" with President Maduro stating "I'm going to give all the power to the communal parliament ... This parliament is going to be a legislative mechanism from the grassroots. All power to the Communal parliament". The move was described as an attempt "to sideline and leapfrog the incoming opposition-controlled National Assembly" and that such actions could possibly lead to more instability and polarization in Venezuela for the future.


2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election, Reactions, International
Venezuelan bonds grew across the board about one to three cents after the announcement of MUD's victory in the elections, with one researcher at Exotix brokerage stating, "It's better than we expected. Polls suggested a victory but whether that translated into seats was another question. Also, (the government) seem to have accepted the result".


2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election, Reactions, International
Mauricio Macri, president-elect of Argentina, had announced that he would request to remove Venezuela from Mercosur, as the government was not respecting democratic doctrines. He declined this plan when Maduro acknowledged the defeat of his party. However, a year after the election, on 1 December 2016, Venezuela was suspended from Mercosur.


2015 Verviers police raid
On 15 January 2015, Belgian police carried out a raid on premises in Verviers, Belgium. According to news sources, the raids were an anti-terrorist operation against Islamist radicals.


2015 Verviers police raid, Operations
Two suspects died in the raids, which involved heavy gunfire, with a third being seriously wounded.


2015 Verviers police raid, Operations
Other operations were carried out in Brussels and the nearby communes of Schaerbeek, Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, Vilvoorde, and Zaventem. An armed man was reported to have been arrested in Brussels.


2015 Verviers police raid, Operations
The Belgian prosecutor's office stated that the raids were an operation against a jihadist terrorist cell, reportedly believed to have links to ISIS, on the verge of committing a terrorist attack.


2015 Verviers police raid, Operations
Police are investigating the possibility of links to the Charlie Hebdo shooting in neighbouring France. The men killed in the raid, Redouane Hagaoui and Tarik Jadaoun, were alleged by police to have been planning to attack sellers of the "survivors' issue" of Charlie Hebdo released following the attack in Paris.


2015 Verviers police raid, Response
On 17 January 2015, the Belgian government began a deployment of troops throughout Belgium to defend potential terrorist targets, Operation Vigilant Guardian.


2015 Verviers police raid, Verviers terror cell trial
A trial against 16 members of the terrorist cell dismantled in Verviers began in 2016. Nine of the defendants were still at large and tried in absentia, including two Belgian, five French, one Moroccan and one Dutch national, who were thought to be fighting for the ISIL in Syria, to be in hiding or to be deceased.


2015 Verviers police raid, Verviers terror cell trial
Belgian police said the group was on the verge of a coordinated attack of killing police officers in public roads and in police stations, and police had found "Kalashnikov assault rifles, explosives, ammunition and communications equipment – along with police uniforms that could have been used for the plot" during the raids.


2015 Verviers police raid, Verviers terror cell trial
The cell was found to have been led by Abdelhamid Abaaoud via telephone from Athens, who evaded capture in the Greek capital. A member of the Brussels ISIL terror cell, he later had a leading role in the November 2015 Paris attacks.


2015 Verviers police raid, Verviers terror cell trial
In 2016, members of the cell were sentenced to between 8 and 16 years imprisonment.


2015 Viennese state election
The 2015 Viennese state election was held on 11 October 2015 to elect the members of the Gemeinderat and Landtag of Vienna.


2015 Viennese state election
The election saw losses for the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), the traditional major parties of Austrian politics, and gains for the right-wing populist Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and liberal NEOS – The New Austria (NEOS). The SPÖ recorded its worst result since 1996, while the ÖVP suffered its worst ever result in an Austrian election, placing fourth with just 9.2% of votes.


2015 Viennese state election, Background
The Viennese constitution mandates that cabinet positions in the city government (city councillors, German: Stadtsräten) be allocated between parties proportionally in accordance with the share of votes won by each; this is known as Proporz. The number of city councillors is voted upon by the Landtag after each election, and may legally vary between nine and fifteen. City councillors are divided into two groups – "senior" councillors, who hold a cabinet portfolio, and "non-executive" councillors who do not. Non -executive councillors may vote in cabinet meetings, but do not otherwise hold any government responsibility. In practice, parties seek to form a coalition which holds a majority in both the Landtag and city government. City councillors bound to the coalition become senior councillors, while the opposition are relegated to non-executive status.


2015 Viennese state election, Background
In the 2010 state election, the SPÖ lost its majority. The SPÖ won eight councillors, the FPÖ three, the ÖVP one, and the Greens one. The SPÖ formed a coalition with the Greens.


2015 Viennese state election, Electoral system
The 100 seats of the Gemeinderat and Landtag of Vienna are elected via open list proportional representation in a two-step process. The seats are distributed between eighteen multi-member constituencies. For parties to receive any representation in the Landtag, they must either win at least one seat in a constituency directly, or clear a 5 percent state-wide electoral threshold. Seats are distributed in constituencies according to the Droop quota, with any remaining seats allocated using the D'Hondt method applied to surplus votes at the state level, to ensure overall semiproportionality between a party's vote share and its share of seats.


2015 Viennese state election, Contesting parties
The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag.


2015 Viennese state election, Contesting parties
In addition to the parties already represented in the Landtag, eight parties collected enough signatures to be placed on the ballot.


2015 Viennese state election, Aftermath
In light of the ÖVP's historically poor result, state chairman Manfred Juraczka announced his resignation on election night. He was succeeded by general-secretary Gernot Blümel.


2015 Viennese state election, Aftermath
Ahead of the election, Greens top candidate and deputy mayor Maria Vassilakou stated she would resign if the Greens did not improve on their 2010 result. However, after suffering a loss of 0.8% in the election, Vassilakou reneged on the pledge, instead seeking to renew the coalition with the SPÖ and secure a second term as deputy mayor. She was subject to criticism from the public and her own party, with fellow Greens deputy Johannes Voggenhuber stating her broken promise demonstrated a "loss of reality" within the party leadership. The day after the election, Vassilakou offered her resignation to the Greens state congress, but it was rejected. She was harshly criticised by SPÖ deputy Peko Baxant, who said "I really don't know if you can continue to work with such people."


2015 Viennese state election, Aftermath
Post-election, Häupl announced he would seek a coalition with the Greens. He also stated that the SPÖ would be open to abolishing the non-executive councillors, but noted they had "a long way to go" due to the two-thirds Landtag majority required to amend the state constitution. Since the FPÖ won over a third of seats, it was entitled to take one of the two deputy mayor positions; this was filled by Johann Gudenus. He remained a non-executive councillor. The SPÖ and Greens finalised a 150-page coalition agreement on 13 November, which was subsequently approved by both parties. The government was sworn in on 24 November.


2015 Vietnam National Futsal League
It was the sixth season of the Vietnam Futsal League, the Vietnam professional futsal league for association football clubs.


2015 Vietnam Open (tennis)
The 2015 Vietnam Open was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It is the first edition of the tournament which is part of the 2015 ATP Challenger Tour. It takes place in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam between 12 and 18 October 2015.


2015 Vietnam Open (tennis), Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 Vietnam Open (tennis) – Doubles
This was the first edition of the event, and was won by Tristan Lamasine and Nils Langer who beat Saketh Myneni and Sanam Singh in the final 1–6, 6–3, [10–8].


2015 Vietnam Open (tennis) – Singles
This was the first edition of the event, the title was won by Saketh Myneni who beat Jordan Thompson in the final 7–5, 6–3.


2015 Vietnam Open Grand Prix
The 2015 Vietnam Open Grand Prix was the eleventh grand prix gold and grand prix tournament of the 2015 BWF Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. The tournament was held at the Nguyen Du Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on 24–30 August 2015 and had a total purse of $50,000.


2015 Vietnamese Cup
The 2015 National Cup is the 23rd edition of the Vietnamese Cup. It will be sponsored by Kienlongbank, and known as the Kienlongbank National Cup for sponsorship purposes. It began on the 4 April 2015 and will finish on 26 September 2015.


2015 Vietnamese Cup, Teams
Teams in V.League 1 and V.League 2 can enter this cup. There will be a preliminary round, where all 8 teams from V.League 2 and 4 teams in V.League 1: Đồng Nai, Sanna Khánh Hòa, Than Quảng Ninh, and SHB Đà Nẵng will have single-elimination matches to determine the best 6 teams to enter round of 16 with the other 10 teams.


2015 Vietnamese National Football Second League
The 2015 Vietnamese National Football Second League was the 17th season of the Vietnamese National Football Second League


2015 Vietnamese National Football Second League, Team changes
The following teams have changed division since the 2014 season.


2015 Vietnamese National Football Third League
The 2015 Vietnamese National Football Third League was the 11th season of the Vietnamese National Football Third League. The season began on 17 November 2015 and finished on 10 December 2015.


2015 Vietnamese National Football Third League, Rule
In this season, there were 10 teams divided in two groups in qualifying stage according to geographic region. Two best teams in each group qualified to final stage. In final stage, 4 teams played three matches:


2015 Vietnamese National Football Third League, Rule
The winners of three matches promoted to 2016 Vietnamese National Football Second League. But in season 2016, Trẻ Đồng Nai withdrew, so the loser of match 3 also promoted.


2015 Vietnamese National Football Third League, Team changes
The following teams have changed division since the 2014 season.


2015 Vietnamese National Football Third League, Qualifying stage, Group B
All matches played in Thành Long Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City.


2015 Vietnamese National U-17 Football Championship
The 2015 Vietnamese National U17 Football Championship is the 12th edition of the Vietnamese National U17 Football Championship, the annual youth football tournament organised by the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) for male players under-17


2015 Vietnamese National U-17 Football Championship, Venue
Two football stadiums were hosted matches of the football competition:


2015 Viking FK season
The 2015 season was Viking's third full season with Kjell Jonevret as manager. They are competing in the Tippeligaen and the cup.


2015 Viking FK season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Viking FK season, Squad, Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Viking FK season, Transfers, Winter
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Viking FK season, Transfers, Winter
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Viking FK season, Transfers, Summer
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Viking FK season, Transfers, Summer
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Villa Castelli mid-air collision
On 9 March 2015, two Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil helicopters collided mid-air near Villa Castelli, Argentina, killing all ten people on board both aircraft.


2015 Villa Castelli mid-air collision
The helicopters had just departed together from the same spot and collided during the initial climb-out. They were transporting production staff and guests for the French reality TV series Dropped, and among the victims were French sailor Florence Arthaud, swimmer Camille Muffat and boxer Alexis Vastine.


2015 Villa Castelli mid-air collision, Background
The French television channel TF1 was filming an episode of Dropped, a reality TV show that takes celebrities to a hostile environment by helicopter and films their efforts to survive. The cast comprised various Olympic medallists and international sportspeople, including French athletes Alain Bernard, Philippe Candeloro, Jeannie Longo, and Sylvain Wiltord, plus Arthaud, Muffat and Vastine; Swiss athlete Anne-Flore Marxer was also taking part.


2015 Villa Castelli mid-air collision, Background
Filming began in late February 2015 in Ushuaia, in the far south of Argentina, before moving to Northwest Argentina, in the province of La Rioja, about 1,170 kilometres (730 mi) from the capital Buenos Aires. At the time of the accident, Wiltord had already been eliminated from the competition and was back in France.


2015 Villa Castelli mid-air collision, Collision
Each helicopter was carrying four passengers in addition to the pilot. Seconds after taking off together, at about 17:15 local time (20:15 UTC), the two helicopters collided while climbing away at a height of about 100 metres (330 ft), and both crashed to the ground.


2015 Villa Castelli mid-air collision, Collision
A video of the accident appears to show the lower of the two helicopters climbing at a higher rate than the other one, colliding with it from below. Weather conditions at the time were reported as good.


2015 Villa Castelli mid-air collision, Aircraft
The two aircraft involved were both Eurocopter AS350B3 Écureuil; one was registered LQ-CGK, the other LQ-FJQ. LQ-CGK was manufactured in 2010 and was owned by the provincial government of La Rioja. LQ-FJQ was manufactured in 2012 and was owned by the provincial government of Santiago del Estero.


2015 Villa Castelli mid-air collision, Victims
All ten people on board both aircraft were killed in the accident, including French athletes Florence Arthaud, Camille Muffat and Alexis Vastine. The others killed were the two Argentinian pilots and five French members of the production team, Adventure Line Productions. The other show contestants were reported to have been waiting on the ground nearby when the accident occurred.


2015 Villa Castelli mid-air collision, Investigation
The Junta de Investigaciones de Accidentes de Aviación Civil (JIAAC), Argentina's state body in charge of air accident inquires, opened an investigation, assisted by the French counterpart Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile (BEA). French prosecutors also opened a case.


2015 Villa Castelli mid-air collision, Investigation
The deputy leader of the Radical Civic Union party stated that LQ-CGK was an official helicopter of La Rioja province, only meant to be used for medical emergencies. Governor Luis Beder Herrera confirmed this statement and stated that the helicopter had been "lent" to a tourism company.


2015 Villa Castelli mid-air collision, Investigation
The final report, released in Spanish, English and French, determined the factors related to the accident as:


2015 Villanova Wildcats football team
The 2015 Villanova Wildcats football team represented Villanova University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 31st-year head coach Andy Talley and played their home games at Villanova Stadium. They were a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. They finished the season 6–5, 5–3 in CAA play to finish in a three-way tie for fourth place.


2015 Vincentian general election
General elections were held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 9 December 2015. The result was a victory for the Unity Labour Party, which retained its one seat majority. However, the NDP has challenged the results in two constituencies, North Windward, and Central Leeward.


2015 Vincentian general election, Electoral system
The 15 elected members of the House of Assembly were elected in single-member constituencies using the first-past-the-post system.


2015 Vincentian general election, Campaign
A total of 43 candidates contested the elections. The two biggest parties were the incumbent Unity Labor Party of Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves and the opposition New Democratic Party of Arnhim Eustace, both of which ran candidates in all the 15 constituencies. Smaller parties included the Green Party and the Democratic Republican Party, who only competed in seven and six constituencies respectively.


2015 Vincentian general election, Campaign
As 11,902 registered voters were first-time voters, both major parties looked to woo young voters. Gonsalves emphasised the importance of the youth as "solutions to the problem of our civilisation" rather than "problems to be solved." Eustace announced initiatives aimed at decreasing unemployment, including "proposals for youth, sports, and culture."


2015 Vincentian general election, Conduct
The OAS sent an observer team. There were 227 polling stations, which opened between 07:00 and 17:00.


2015 Vincentian general election, Reactions
In reaction to the win Gonsalves said: "I am humbled and honoured that the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines embraced our bold vision for the future and rejected the politics of hate," he also called for national unity to address developmental challenges. However he added that there were issues in the constituencies of North Leeward and South Leeward and "we are also calling for an immediate recount to ensure that all the votes are counted in those constituencies. There are more rejected ballots than the margin and those ballots should be examined closely to determine the intent of the voters."


2015 Vincentian general election, Reactions
The NDP refused to concede the defeat according to inconsistencies in the Central Leeward constituency. A party statement read: "We of the New Democratic Party are confident that we have won the general elections based on figures received by our various polling agents. Our figures show that we won the Central Leeward seat by six votes, which means that we won the general elections by eight seats to seven." Leader of the opposition Arnhim Eustace, who won his seat against ULP candidate Luke Brown by fewer than 50 votes, added that there were many irregularities took place in his constituency of East Kingstown, including "illegal voting, and contradictory voters list to agents."


2015 Virginia Cavaliers baseball team
The 2015 Virginia Cavaliers baseball team represented the University of Virginia during the 2015 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Cavaliers played their home games at Davenport Field as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They were led by head coach Brian O'Connor, in his 12th season at Virginia.


2015 Virginia Cavaliers baseball team
2015 was a tough regular season for the 2014 NCAA runner-up. The Cavaliers slogged through a disappointing and injury-filled regular season. By winning 5 of its last 6 ACC games, the Cavs managed to cobble together a .500 ACC record, qualifying them for a play in game at the ACC tournament. At the tournament they won the play in game against Georgia Tech and then promptly lost the last three games.


2015 Virginia Cavaliers baseball team
Virginia was given an NCAA tournament berth, as a No. 3 regional seed, and the Cavs took full advantage. They swept through the Lake Elsinore (Calif.) Regional, and because Maryland, also a #3 seed, had won its regional, were able to host a Super Regional, which the Cavaliers swept as well.


2015 Virginia Cavaliers baseball team
In Omaha the Cavaliers won the 2015 College World Series, highlighted by winning two of three games against Florida before ousting Vanderbilt in three games in the CWS Finals. Virginia's season was notable for the Cavaliers continuing to battle in spite of numerous setbacks. That never give up attitude was evident in its post season as well: UVA scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning or later in each of their 10 postseason wins.


2015 Virginia Cavaliers baseball team, Previous Season
In 2014, the Cavaliers finished the season 2nd in the ACC's Coastal Division with a record of 47–14, 22–8 in conference play. They qualified for the 2014 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament, and were eliminated in pool play. They qualified for the 2014 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament as the #3 overall national seed, and were placed in the Charlottesville Regional, of which they were hosts. Also in the regional were Bucknell, Liberty, and Arkansas. The Cavaliers defeated Bucknell, 10–1, in the opening game, and then shut out Arkansas, 3–0, to advance to the regional final. There, they again defeated Arkansas, this time by a score of 9–2. In the Super Regional, the Cavaliers fell in the opening game to ACC foe Maryland, 4–5. However, they rebounded and defeated the Terrapins in the next two games, 7–3 and 11–2, to advance to the College World Series.


2015 Virginia Cavaliers baseball team, Previous Season
In the College World Series, Virginia's first game was against Ole Miss, whom the Cavaliers defeated, 2–1. In the second round, Virginia defeated #7 national seed TCU, 3–2, in 15 innings. In the semifinals, the Cavaliers again defeated Ole Miss, this time by a score of 4–1. The Cavaliers advanced to the College World Series finals to play Vanderbilt. In the first game of the finals, the Commodores won by a score of 9–8. Virginia then rebounded to defeat Vanderbilt, 7–2, in game two. In a winner-take-all game three, Vanderbilt prevailed, 3–2, to be crowned national champions.


2015 Virginia Cavaliers baseball team, Rankings
^ Collegiate Baseball ranks 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season. † NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season. * New poll was not released for this week so for comparison purposes the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.


2015 Virginia Cavaliers football team
The 2015 Virginia Cavaliers football team represented the University of Virginia in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cavaliers were led by sixth year head coach Mike London and played their home games at Scott Stadium. They were members of the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 4–8, 3–5 in ACC play to finish in sixth place in the Coastal Division.


2015 Virginia Cavaliers football team
On November 29, head coach Mike London resigned. He finished at Virginia with a six year record of 27–46.


2015 Virginia Cavaliers football team, Last season
The 2014 Cavaliers finished with a record of 5–7, 3–5 in ACC play to finish in a three way tie for fifth place in the Coastal Division.


2015 Virginia Cavaliers football team, Roster, Coaching changes
On December 14, 2014, offensive line coach Scott Wachenheim was named head coach of the VMI Keydets. On January 6, 2015, Tom O'Brien officially retired. Eight days later, Chris Beatty and Dave Borbely were hired as running backs and offensive line coaches, respectively, with Larry Lewis taking over responsibilities as tight ends coach.


2015 Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer team
The 2015 Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer team will be the college's 75th season of playing organized men's college soccer, and their 62nd season playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Cavaliers enter the season as the defending national champions.


2015 Virginia House of Delegates election
The Virginia House of Delegates election of 2015 was held on Tuesday, November 3. All 100 seats of the Virginia House of Delegates were on the ballot. While Republicans maintained an enormous edge against Democrats in the chamber, their net loss of one seat cost them their previously-held veto-proof majority against Governor Terry McAuliffe.


2015 Virginia House of Delegates election, Background
The filing deadline for Republicans and Democrats to participate in the June 9 primaries was March 26. Incumbents Mamye BaCote, Ed Scott, Tom Rust, Rob Krupicka, and David Ramadan announced their intent to retire from the House. Joseph E. Preston, Michael Futrell, and Scott Surovell chose to run for the 16th, 29th, and 36th district senate seats, respectively, rather than seek reelection. Freshman delegate and Tea Party activist Mark Berg was defeated in the Republican primary by Chris Collins, and twenty-year incumbent Johnny Joannou was defeated by Steve Heretick in the Democratic primary. Races were uncontested in sixty-two districts, and there was only one major party candidate on the ballot in seventy-one districts.


2015 Virginia House of Delegates election, Background
In October, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the boundaries of twelve House districts in a Democratic Party-supported lawsuit alleging racial gerrymandering.


2015 Virginia House of Delegates election, Results
Democrats picked up two seats, with Jennifer Boysko and John Bell being elected to succeed the retiring Tom Rust and David Ramadan. Mark Dudenhefer gave the Republicans a single pickup when he won back the seat he lost two years earlier to Michael Futrell. For the first time since the Virginia Public Access Project started tracking state elections in 1995, every single incumbent running for reelection was successful.


2015 Virginia House of Delegates election, Aftermath, Reaction
FairVote criticized the election results as demonstrative of Republican gerrymandering and the failures of winner-take-all voting. Stephen J. Farnsworth, a University of Mary Washington described the election in The Washington Post as a "tribute to gerrymandering," highlighting the lack of competitive races. The Democratic Party of Virginia framed "Democratic gains" in the House as having successfully "bucked the national trend as both a Southern state and presidential battleground state."


2015 Virginia Tech Hokies baseball team
The 2015 Virginia Tech Hokies baseball team represented Virginia Tech during the 2015 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Hokies  played their home games at English Field as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They were led by head coach Pat Mason, in his second season at Virginia Tech.


2015 Virginia Tech Hokies baseball team, Previous Season
In 2014, the Hokies finished the season 7th in the ACC's Coastal Division with a record of 21–31–1, 9–21 in conference play. They failed to qualify for the 2014 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament or the 2014 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2015 Virginia Tech Hokies football team
The 2015 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented the Virginia Tech in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Hokies were led by 29th-year head coach Frank Beamer, who retired following the conclusion of the season and play their home games at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia. They are members of the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 4–4 in ACC play to finish in a tie for fourth in the Coastal Division. They were invited to the Independence Bowl where they defeated Tulsa.


2015 Virginia Tech Hokies football team
On November 1, Beamer announced he would retire at the end of the season. He finished at Virginia Tech with a 29-year record of 238–121–2.


2015 Virginia elections
The 2015 Virginia elections took place on November 3, 2015. All 40 seats of the Senate of Virginia and 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates were up for re-election, as were many local offices.


2015 Virginia elections, House of Delegates
All 100 seats of the Virginia House of Delegates were up for election. Democrats gained one seat.


2015 Virsligas Winter Cup
The 2015 Virsligas Winter Cup is the league cup's third season. It began on 19 January 2015. Skonto are the defending champion.


2015 Virsligas Winter Cup, Group stage
The top two from each group advance to the Knockout stage. The third placed teams play each other to determine two more teams to join them.


2015 Viña del Mar International Song Festival
The LVI Edition of the Viña del Mar International Song Festival took place from February 22 to 27, 2015 at Anfiteatro de la Quinta Vergara, in the Chilean city of Viña del Mar.


2015 Viña del Mar International Song Festival, Broadcasting
NBC Universo Will Air Viña del Mar Festival in the U.S. NBC Universo will provide more than 34 hours of exclusive U.S. coverage that will include live streaming and concert specials via multiple platforms, including TV and mobile devices. In addition, the network will air a series of "best of" one-hour specials that will air Sundays at 8 p.m. for two full months, beginning March 1.


2015 Viña del Mar International Song Festival, Controversy
Chilean media have argued the festival is run by male chauvinists since it only has 8 female acts out of 70.


2015 Viña del Mar International Song Festival, Competition, Folkloric competition, Participants
The finalists in the Folkloric Category at the Festival Viña del Mar 2015:


2015 Viña del Mar International Song Festival, Competition, International competition, Participants
The finalists in the International Category at the Festival Viña del Mar 2015:


2015 Vodacom Cup
The 2015 Vodacom Cup was contested from 6 March to 30 May 2015. The tournament was the 18th edition of the Vodacom Cup, an annual domestic South African rugby union competition, and was played between the fourteen provincial teams in South Africa, as well as the  Limpopo Blue Bulls and Namibian side  Welwitschias.


2015 Vodacom Cup
The tournament was won by the  Pumas for the first time; they beat  Western Province 24–7 in the final played on 30 May 2015.


2015 Vodacom Cup, Competition rules and information
Sixteen teams participated in the 2015 Vodacom Cup competition. These teams were geographically divided into two sections, with eight teams in each of the Northern and Southern Sections. Teams played all the teams in their section once over the course of the season, either at home or away. At the request of the Namibia Rugby Union, all the  Welwitschias' matches were played in Windhoek.


2015 Vodacom Cup, Competition rules and information
Teams received four log points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus log points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by seven points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2015 Vodacom Cup, Competition rules and information
The top four teams in each section qualified for the title play-offs. In the quarter finals, the teams that finished first in each section had home advantage against the teams that finished fourth in the other section and the teams that finished second in each section had home advantage against the teams that finished third in the other section. The winners of these quarter finals then played each other in the semi-finals, with the higher-placed team having home advantage. The two semi-final winners then met in the final.


2015 Vodacom Cup, Competition rules and information, Quotas
This competition saw the retention of the quota system used in 2014. Each match-day squad had to contain seven black players. Two of these had to be forwards and five of these had to be in the starting line-up.


2015 Vodacom Cup, Teams, Changes from 2014
In September 2014, the Namibia Rugby Union revealed that they were in talks with the South African Rugby Union to enter the competition for the first time since 2011. Namibia's participation was confirmed on 19 November 2014 and it was later revealed that their new sponsor, First National Bank, agreed to a three-year sponsorship deal which should ensure their participation in the competition until 2017.


2015 Vodacom Cup, Teams, Changes from 2014
In addition, the Kenya Rugby Football Union also initially indicated that they intended to once again enter a team in the competition. However, after being included in the fixture list for the competition, the Kenyan RFU withdrew from the competition a month before its scheduled start date due to financial considerations. As a result,  Griquas moved to the Southern Section of the competition, inheriting the Simba XV's fixtures.


2015 Vodacom Cup, Teams, Team Listing
The following teams took part in the 2015 Vodacom Cup competition:


2015 Vodacom Cup, Logs
The top four teams in each section will qualify to the quarter finals, with their final log positions determining their seedings in the quarter finals. In the quarter finals, the teams that finish first in each section will have home advantage against the teams that finish fourth in the other section and the teams that finish second in each section will have home advantage against the teams that finish third in the other section. The winners of these quarter finals will then play each other in the semi-finals, with the higher-placed team having home advantage.


2015 Vodacom Cup, Logs
The two semi-final winners will then meet in the final. Points breakdown:* 4 points for a win* 2 points for a draw* 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less* 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a matchClassification:Teams standings are calculated as follows:* Log points* Overall points difference* Number of tries scored* Points scored in away matches* Fewest red cards* Toss of a coin


2015 Vodacom Cup, Logs, Round-by-round
The table below shows each team's progression throughout the season. For each round, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets:


2015 Vodacom Cup, Results
The following matches were played in the 2015 Vodacom Cup:


2015 Vodacom Cup, Honours
The honour roll for the 2015 Vodacom Cup was as follows:


2015 Vodacom Cup, Players, Player statistics
The following table contain points which were scored in the 2015 Vodacom Cup:


2015 Vodacom Cup, Players, Discipline
The following table contains all the cards handed out during the tournament:


2015 Vodacom Cup, Referees
The following referees officiated matches in the 2015 Vodacom Cup:


2015 Volta Limburg Classic
The 2015 Volta Limburg Classic was the 42nd edition of the Volta Limburg Classic cycle race and was held on 4 April 2015. The race started and finished in Eijsden. The race was won by Stefan Küng.


2015 Volta a Catalunya
The 2015 Volta a Catalunya was the 95th edition of the Volta a Catalunya stage race. It took place from 23 to 29 March and was the fifth race of the 2015 UCI World Tour. Defending champion Joaquim Rodríguez was scheduled to defend his title, but was pulled from the event days before it was due to start citing a stomach virus. The race was won by Richie Porte (Team Sky), his second race win of the season, with Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) in second and Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R La Mondiale) in third.


2015 Volta a Catalunya, Participating teams
The Volta a Catalunya is part of the UCI World Tour, which meant that the 17 UCI WorldTeams were automatically invited and obliged to send a team. The race organisers also made seven wildcard invitations to UCI Professional Continental teams. The peloton was therefore made up of 24 teams.


2015 Volta a Catalunya, Classification leadership table
In the 2015 Volta a Catalunya, four different jerseys were awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, and allowing time bonuses in intermediate sprints (3, 2 and 1 seconds) and at the finish in mass-start stages (10, 6 and 4 seconds respectively for the first three finishers), the leader received a white and green jersey. This classification was considered the most important of the 2015 Volta a Catalunya, and the winner of the classification was considered the winner of the race.


2015 Volta a Catalunya, Classification leadership table
Additionally, there was a sprints classification, which awarded a white jersey. In the sprints classification, cyclists received points for finishing in the top 3 at intermediate sprint points during each stage; these intermediate sprints also offered bonus seconds towards the general classification. There was also a mountains classification, the leadership of which was marked by a red jersey. In the mountains classification, points were won by reaching the top of a climb before other cyclists, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs.


2015 Volta a Catalunya, Classification leadership table
There was also a classification for teams, in which the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added together; the leading team at the end of the race was the team with the lowest total time.


2015 Volta a Portugal
The 2015 Volta a Portugal was a men's road bicycle race held from 29 July to 9 August 2015. It is the 77th edition of the men's stage race to be held, which was established in 1927. As part of the 2015 UCI Europe Tour, it is rated as a 2.1 event. Just before the start, the race was marked by controversy due to UCI an regulation amendment restricting the teams to 8 riders (with exception of the 3 big races-Giro, Tour and Vuelta), issue just one month before the Volta. The race director, Joaquim Gomes achieved an exception and the teams raced with 9 riders each. Gustavo Veloso repeated the 2014 success.


2015 Volta ao Algarve
The 2015 Volta ao Algarve was the 41st running of the Volta ao Algarve road cycling stage race. It was rated as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour and took place from 18 to 22 February 2015 in the Algarve region of Portugal.


2015 Volta ao Algarve
The race consisted of five stages, including one summit finish (at Alto do Malhão) and one Individual time trial. The defending champion was Michał Kwiatkowski of Etixx–Quick-Step, who won two stages of the 2014 Volta ao Algarve.


2015 Volta ao Algarve
The 2015 race was won by Geraint Thomas of Team Sky. He took the lead with victory in a solo breakaway on stage 2, then defended his lead with third place in the time trial and fourth place on the summit finish. He ended the race 27 seconds ahead of Kwiatkowski, with Tiago Machado (Team Katusha) in third place. Thomas also won the points classification; his teammate Richie Porte won the summit finish and also the mountains classification.


2015 Volta ao Algarve
In the other classifications, the young riders competition was won by Davide Formolo (Cannondale–Garmin), Machado won the Portuguese classification and Team Katusha won the team classification.


2015 Volta ao Algarve, Stages, Stage 1
The first stage was a 166.7-kilometre (104-mile) route from Lagos to Albufeira, across generally hilly terrain, though it was expected that the race would end in a bunch sprint.


2015 Volta ao Algarve, Stages, Stage 1
The early break consisted of Mario González (ActiveJet), Joni Brandão (Efapel), João Benta (Louletano–Ray Just Energy) and Samuel Magalhães (Rádio Popular–Boavista), who earned a lead of almost eight minutes before they were brought back by Lotto–Soudal and Etixx–Quick-Step, seeking to set up their sprinters for the stage win. Brandão was able to gain bonus seconds at both intermediate sprints.


2015 Volta ao Algarve, Stages, Stage 1
Gianni Meersman (Etixx–Quick-Step) won the sprint ahead of Ben Swift (Team Sky) and Paul Martens (LottoNL–Jumbo) and moved into the race lead. Joni Brandão, having finished on the same time as Meersman, was third in the general classification thanks to the bonus seconds he won.


2015 Volta ao Algarve, Stages, Stage 2
Stage 2 was a mixed stage: the first part saw the riders riding across gentle hills, but the final part of the 197.2-kilometre (123-mile) course was much more demanding, with several difficult climbs in the last 70 kilometres (43 miles).


2015 Volta ao Algarve, Stages, Stage 2
The first major breakaway was formed by Marcel Sieberg (Lotto–Soudal), Andreas Schillinger (Bora–Argon 18), Fabricio Ferrari (Caja Rural–Seguros RGA), Wesley Kreder (Team Roompot) and Ivan Balykin (RusVelo). They built a lead of more than five minutes, but were caught in the mountainous portion of the race with more than 25 kilometres (16 miles) remaining on the stage. A second breakaway then attacked, formed of Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev (Astana), Jonathan Castroviejo (Movistar Team), Ian Boswell (Team Sky), Phil Gaimon (Optum–Kelly Benefit Strategies) and Alberto Gallego (Rádio Popular–Boavista). This group was caught before the final climb of the race.


2015 Volta ao Algarve, Stages, Stage 2
The final climb finished 5.4 kilometres (3 miles) from the end of the stage. Rein Taaramäe (Astana) attacked on this climb, before Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) launched his own attack. Thomas was able to catch and pass Taaramäe, taking a solo victory by 19 seconds ahead of Taaramäe and 23 seconds ahead of the rest of the lead group. With bonus seconds taken into consideration, Thomas now led the general classification by 30 seconds, as well as leading the points and mountains classifications. His teammate Sebastián Henao led the young riders classification. This was Thomas' first win of the season.


2015 Volta ao Algarve, Stages, Stage 3
Stage 3 was a 19-kilometre (12-mile) individual time trial from Vila do Bispo to Cabo de São Vicente. Though there were no significant climbs, the route was hilly throughout. There was additional difficulty caused by a headwind. The pre-stage favourite was former world time trial champion Tony Martin (Etixx–Quick-Step), who was wearing the German time trial champion's jersey for the first time in four years.


2015 Volta ao Algarve, Stages, Stage 3
Adriano Malori (Movistar Team), who had won the time trial in the 2015 Tour de San Luis, set an early time of 21' 51". Martin was 10 seconds ahead at the checkpoint halfway along the course, but could not hold this advantage to the finish; he ended up winning the stage by 0.4 seconds from Malori. Geraint Thomas (Team Sky), riding in the yellow skinsuit of the race leader, was ten seconds ahead of Martin at the checkpoint, but faded over the final kilometres to finish three seconds behind Martin and Malori. Defending champion Michał Kwiatkowski was fourth. Thomas therefore increased his race lead, with Martin and Kwiatkowski in second and third.


2015 Volta ao Algarve, Stages, Stage 4
The fourth stage was the queen stage of the race, a 215.7-kilometre (134-mile) route from Tavira to the Alto do Malhão in Loulé. The first part of the stage was relatively flat, before a difficult final section. This included three difficult climbs in the final 45 kilometres (28 miles), before the summit finish.


2015 Volta ao Algarve, Stages, Stage 4
The race was controlled throughout by Team Sky in defence of Geraint Thomas' yellow jersey. The day's main break was formed by Davide Malacarne (Astana), Tony Gallopin (Lotto–Soudal), Adriano Malori (Movistar Team), Maurits Lammertink (Team Roompot), Kamil Gradek (ActiveJet), Filipe Cardoso (Efapel) and Beñat Txoperena (Murias Taldea). They gained a lead of over four minutes, while another group attacked from behind. This group included Tony Martin Etixx–Quick-Step, in second place in the general classification. Both groups were caught before the penultimate climb, when Martin's teammate Zdeněk Štybar, eighth overall, attacked to lead over the climb.


2015 Volta ao Algarve, Stages, Stage 4
Heading into the final climb, however, Thomas was supported by his teammate Richie Porte, whose pace reduced the leading group to nine riders. Porte was then able to attack and take the stage victory. He was three seconds ahead of defending champion Michał Kwiatkowski Etixx–Quick-Step and a further three seconds ahead of Ion Izagirre (Movistar Team). Thomas finished fourth on the stage to defend his overall race lead.


2015 Volta ao Algarve, Stages, Stage 5
The fifth and final stage of the race was a 184.3-kilometre (115-mile) route from Almodôvar to Vilamoura. The first half of the stage was fairly hilly, but the final 80 kilometres (50 miles) were fairly flat.


2015 Volta ao Algarve, Stages, Stage 5
There was an early break of three riders: Paweł Bernas (ActiveJet), Diego Rubio (Efapel) and Imanol Estévez (Murias Taldea). They were then joined by Heiner Parra (Caja Rural–Seguros RGA). The group was initially allowed plenty of time by Team Sky and were able to climb the day's only categorised climb in the lead, but were caught on the descent. A new break then escaped, made up of Lluís Mas (Caja Rural–Seguros RGA) and Beñat Txoperena (Murias Taldea).


2015 Volta ao Algarve, Stages, Stage 5
They were joined first by Micael Isidoro (Louletano–Ray Just Energy), and David de la Fuente (Efapel) and then also by Adriano Malori and Jonathan Castroviejo (Movistar Team). They were never allowed a significant lead, with Lotto–Soudal leading the chase on behalf of André Greipel. Greipel was able to win the stage in the bunch sprint, ahead of Tom Van Asbroeck (LottoNL–Jumbo) and Raymond Kreder (Team Roompot). Kreder, however, was relegated for improper sprinting and third place on the stage went to Rüdiger Selig (Team Katusha). None of the classifications changed hands in the final stage, so Geraint Thomas won the overall victory in the race.


2015 Volta ao Algarve, Classification leadership table
In the 2015 Volta ao Algarve, five different jerseys were awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, and allowing time bonuses for the first three finishers at intermediate sprints and at the finish of mass-start stages, the leader received a yellow jersey. This classification was considered the most important of the 2015 Volta ao Algarve, and the winner of the classification was considered the winner of the race.


2015 Volta ao Algarve, Classification leadership table
Additionally, there was a points classification, which awarded a green jersey. In the points classification, cyclists received points for finishing in the top 10 in a mass-start stage. For winning a stage, a rider earned 25 points, with 20 for second, 16 for third, 13 for fourth, 10 for fifth, 8 for sixth, 6 for seventh, 4 for eighth, 2 for ninth and 1 for tenth place. Points towards the classification could also be accrued at intermediate sprint points during each stage; these intermediate sprints also offered bonus seconds towards the general classification. There was also a mountains classification, the leadership of which was marked by a blue jersey. In the mountains classification, points were won by reaching the top of a climb before other cyclists, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs.


2015 Volta ao Algarve, Classification leadership table
The fourth jersey represented the young rider classification, marked by a white jersey. This was decided in the same way as the general classification, but only riders born after 1 January 1992 were eligible to be ranked in the classification. The fifth jersey represented the Portuguese rider classification, marked by an orange jersey. This was calculated in the same manner as the general classification, calculated by adding each Portuguese cyclist's finishing times on each stage. There was also a classification for teams, in which the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added together; the leading team at the end of the race was the team with the lowest total time.


2015 Voluntary non-work day
In Singapore, rumours that the Ministry of Manpower had declared a voluntary non-work day appeared on the evening of 24 September 2015 as the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) was 313-341 in the Hazardous range after 7pm-5am. The Ministry of Manpower lodged a police report over a hoax post on social media (WhatsApp or Facebook) that claimed it had declared a "voluntary non-work day" on 25 September 2015 as a result of the haze.


2015 Voronin Cup
The 2015 Voronin Cup  took place on December 15-16 in Moscow, Russia.


2015 Vuelta a Andalucía
The 2015 Vuelta a Andalucía  (also known as the Ruta del Sol) was the 61st running of the Vuelta a Andalucía cycling stage race. It was rated as a 2.1 event on the 2015 UCI Europe Tour and was held from 18 to 22 February 2015, in the Andalusia region of southern Spain. Although the race lasted five days, there were six stages, with the first day split between two stages.


2015 Vuelta a Andalucía
The previous three editions of the Vuelta a Andalucía had been won by Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team), but he chose to begin his season at the 2015 Tour of Oman instead. Chris Froome (Team Sky) and Alberto Contador (Tinkoff–Saxo) both chose to begin their 2015 seasons in Andalusia. Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team) also intended to start his season at this race, but he pulled out following a crash.


2015 Vuelta a Andalucía
The race was closely contested by Contador and Froome. Contador took the lead in the race after the split first stage, beating Froome by eight seconds in the individual time trial. He then increased his lead in the general classification by winning the summit finish on stage 3. Froome, however, won the second summit finish on stage 4 to take the lead of the race by a two-second margin. He was able to defend this lead to the end of the race, so winning his first stage race since the previous May. Froome also won the points classification, and his team won the team classification, with four of their riders in the top 10 overall. The mountains classification was won by Pello Bilbao (Caja Rural–Seguros RGA) on the final stage.


2015 Vuelta a Andalucía
Three stages of the race were won by the Movistar Team, two of them for Juan José Lobato and one for Javier Moreno, with the remaining stage won by Pim Ligthart (Lotto–Soudal).


2015 Vuelta a Andalucía, Preview
The Vuelta a Andalucía was a traditional early season race. Many riders in the modern peloton, however, chose to start their seasons in the Middle East rather than in Europe (the 2015 Tour of Oman ran at the same time). In 2015, these included Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team), who had won the Vuelta a Andalucía in 2012, 2013 and 2014, so he was not present to defend his title.


2015 Vuelta a Andalucía, Preview
The Vuelta a Andalucía was particularly notable for its difficult, mountainous terrain. The 2015 edition, however, also featured an Individual time trial on the first day. The mountains were particularly difficult, with a summit finish at the Alto de Hazallanas on the third stage and another at Alto de Allanadas the following day. These three stages were seen as being the key to the general classification battle in the race.


2015 Vuelta a Andalucía, Preview
The 2015 Vuelta a Andalucía was seen as the first 2015 meeting of several Grand Tour riders. In particular, it was considered to be a renewing of the rivalry between Chris Froome (Team Sky) and Alberto Contador (Tinkoff–Saxo), both of whom were starting their seasons in Andalusia. Their rivalry had been a notable feature of the 2014 cycling season, especially at the Critérium du Dauphiné and the Vuelta a España. For both riders, this race was preparation for other events in 2015.