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From the start, it was clear that this would be a sprint finish. There are just too few chances for the sprinters to shine in this year’s Tour de France. Any breakaway would be allowed to have their proverbial 15 minutes of fame before the sprint trains would be set in motion to battle out the winner of today.
The Top Five looked like this at the start today
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 42hr 33min 13sec
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates) +17sec
3. Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) +2min 40sec
4. Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) +4min 22sec
5. Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) +4min 34sec
Who’s wearing what jersey?
Yellow: Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 42hr 33min 13sec
Green: Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 260 points
Polka-dot: Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost)
White: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates)
Tour de France Stage 11: Report
Contents
The difference to yesterday’s stage was that the start was calm and by far not as hectic. Though there was a breakaway, it was calm otherwise. The three men upfront were left to go 3 minutes ahead but nothing much happened. A quiet day in the saddle.
At the first two climbs, it was Matis Louvel at the first and Daniel Oss at the second, while Louvel also grabbed 20 points at the intermediate sprint, followed by Andrey Amador and Daniel Oss. In the peloton, no one beat Jasper Philipsen who consequently bagged 13 points ahead of Bryan Coquard. This meant that Philipsen now has 273 points, Coquard 160. This is almost unassailable.
With 80 kilometres to go, the gap between the group and the peloton was down to 48 seconds. The pattern was clear: let them hang out to dry before catching them with 20 kilometres left of the stage.
When there was rain, the riders felt uneasy because this made the road slippery and crashes more likely. Fortunately, nothing happened.
With 50 kilometres left, the inevitable happened: Matis Louvel decided he has had enough and dropped back into the peloton. Shortly after, Andrey Amador also ended his adventure, which left Daniel Oss alone out there. He bravely rode on. His time was up with 12 kilometres to go. It was clear what would happen now.
Jasper Philipsen wins his fourth stage of the Tour de France 2023
The riders placed their trains in order to get to the best spots for the sprint. All that counted was to get the right wheel to slip out from behind. With confidence high, Jasper Philipsen left it late to punch: with just about 200m to go he left the slipstream of Dylan Groenewegen and powered ahead. This late surge was left unanswered and Philipsen crossed the line with what appeared to be a bike length.
The Top Five of stage 11
1. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
2. Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco–AlUla)
3. Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious)
4. Bryan Coquard (Cofidis)
5. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)
With this stage win, he bolstered his hold of the green jersey and his place in the pantheon of Tour de France sprinters. This was the last sprint stage for the next few days as the Tour de France approaches the Alps for the weekend, followed by the second rest day on Monday, 17th July.
The top five on General Classification
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 46hr 34min 44sec
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates) +17sec
3. Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) +2min 40sec
4. Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) +4min 22sec
5. Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) +4min 34sec
In the overall standings there were no changes – as expected as those riders will preserve their energy and focus on the weekend and the time trial in the following week. The skirmishes will begin on Thursday and Friday and then we may even see a different face in the yellow jersey.
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