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Thursday, July 16, 2026

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Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race. - H. G. Wells

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Bill & Carol McGann’s book The Story of the 2024 Tour de France: The Happy Warrior Triumphs is available print, Kindle eBook and audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the link on the right.

Current racing:

• July 4 - 26: Tour de France

Upcoming racing:

• July 26: Vuelta a Castilla y Leon

Latest completed racing:

• July 8 - 12: Tour of Austria
• June 24 - 28: National Championshps
• June 17 - 21: Tour de Suisse
• June 17 - 21: Baloise Belgium Tour
• June 7 - 14: Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
• June 14: Copenhagen Sprint
• June 14: GP Gippingen/Canton Aargau
• June 10: Circuit Franco-Belge
• June 7: Brussels Cycling Classic
• June 1 - 5: Ethias-Tour de Wallone
• May 8 - 31: Giro d'Italia

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Tour de France stage eleven reports

We posted the race organizer's report with the results.

Here's the report from GC second-place Jonas Vingegaard's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Team Visma | Lease a Bike came through the eleventh stage of the Tour de France without any problems. The riders of the yellow-and-black squad crossed the finish line safely. Søren Wærenskjold proved to be the fastest in the bunch sprint.

Stage eleven took the peloton from the rainy city of Vichy to the finish in Nevers. The largely flat route featured two short, relatively insignificant climbs. During the opening hour of racing, four riders managed to break away from the peloton, but their advantage never exceeded a minute and a half. 

The riders covered the course at a blistering pace. The early breakaway was reeled in with six kilometers remaining, after which the teams with sprinters began preparing for the bunch sprint. Wærenskjold ultimately emerged as the fastest. With an average speed of 50.9 kilometers per hour, it was the fastest stage in Tour de France history. 

Jonas Vingegaard before the stage start. Sirotti photo

"Everyone came through the stage safely," sports director Marc Reef reflected afterward. "The pace was incredibly high right from the start. Because of that, there was actually very little nervousness in the peloton. Jonas was always well positioned and surrounded by his teammates. In the finale, we didn't get involved in the fight for the stage win. Now we turn our attention to tomorrow."

Here's the Tour report from Tim Merlier's Team Soudal Quick-Step:

Stage 11 was almost flat, but despite this, the start was fast and furious as many teams without sprinters here tried to book a place in the breakaway and derail the fast men’s plans. The teams who targeted a mass gallop, including Soudal Quick-Step, were quick to react and shut down the large group that were beginning to take shape in the opening twenty kilometers. It was only ahead of the intermediate sprint that four men were given some space to attack and form a group whose gap was kept at all times in check.

Pascal Eenkhoorn did a magnificent work behind them, pulling for more than 100 kilometers and making sure the gap wouldn’t go north of 1:30 before gradually chewing into that margin. His job finished ahead of the last ten kilometers, when his Soudal Quick-Step teammates took over and brought back the escapees. The bunch sprint was incredibly chaotic, with Tim Merlier being boxed in twice in the space of just 100 meters, which ruined any chance of a good result in Vichy, the city that made its Tour de France return after more than 70 years.

Tim talked about what happened in the closing meters of the stage seconds after the finish of the fastest ever Tour de France stage (50.91km/h): “It’s frustrating when there is no speed in the finale because the peloton stays closely together and you can’t find any space. I lost Jasper’s wheel, but even so, I tried several times to go, only to be blocked each time. At that point everything turned into a lottery, as I had to focus on not slipping. It’s really difficult to get a result in these conditions, but it is as it is.”

Søren Wærenskjold wins Tour stage 11. Sirotti photo

“We lost each other a bit in that succession of left-right corners and it was difficult to come back after this. It was a fast and aggressive stage today, as a lot of teams and riders wanted to fight for the win, be it from the breakaway or in the sprint. The boys did a good job, but the finale turned out to be very complicated”, explained sports director Tom Steels.

Here's the Tour report from Dorion Godon's Team Netcompany INEOS:

Dorian Godon safely negotiated a fast stage 11 of the Tour de France, finishing 21st after a bunch sprint brought the 161-kilometre stage to its conclusion.

Rain greeted the riders at the start, before an aggressive opening phase saw numerous attacks launched in the fight to establish the day’s breakaway. Josh Tarling was active in the early moves but was unable to make anything sick.

Eventually, a quartet featuring Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling) escaped with around 150 kilometres remaining, building an advantage of just over two minutes as the peloton settled into the chase.

The peloton halfway into the stage.

The relentless pace throughout the afternoon ultimately saw the peloton rewrite the record books, with stage 11 becoming the fastest stage in Tour de France history at an average speed of just under 51km/h.

The bunch steadily reduced the gap throughout the afternoon before bringing the breakaway back inside the final 10 kilometres, setting up an inevitable sprint finish.

Netcompany INEOS were well represented in the closing kilometres, with Michal Kwiatkowski, Tarling, Kevin Vauquelin and Godon all together approaching the finale. The team guided Godon safely into position, with the Frenchman crossing the line 21st as part of the bunch sprint.

Tomorrow is expected to be another opportunity for the sprinters, although three category four climbs should add an extra dimension to the stage.

Here's the Tour de France report from Team Groupama-FDJ United:

The second week of the Tour de France got off to a flying start at the beginning of the week. Following an explosive Bastille Day stage, featuring a demanding route to Le Lioran where the breakaway of Romain Grégoire, Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet and Clément Braz Afonso was ultimately unable to contend for victory, the peloton covered the fastest stage in the history of the race on Wednesday. On the road to Nevers, the riders averaged nearly 51 km/h, and Clément Russo once again managed to finish inside the top ten in the bunch sprint (8th).

Stage 11 gets a wet start.

After the first rest day, the riders tackled quite a demanding Stage 10 through the Massif Central on Tuesday. Heading towards Le Lioran, a finish city back in 2024, they faced seven classified climbs and close to 4,000 metres of total elevation gain. It was always going to be a race of attrition, although the outcome remained highly uncertain as the peloton rolled out from Aurillac. Many riders were hoping a breakaway would succeed, and Groupama-FDJ United was fully committed to making that happen.

While the peloton refused to allow any attacks to stick before the intermediate sprint, the real battle began immediately afterwards. Ewen Costiou and Romain Grégoire were involved in the opening moves, but after around 50 kilometres of relentless racing it was ultimately Clément Braz Afonso and Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet who made it into a breakaway of around twenty riders. Shortly afterwards, their French national champion teammate bridged across to join them. “The guys once again did a fantastic job, but UAE decided not to let the break go,” regretted Yvon Caër. “Once they started putting pressure, we were just lacking a bit of strength. Guillaume had a difficult time because of breathing issues. The positive takeaway is that Romain is back to his best and really wanted to race aggressively. The team executed the plan very well, and hopefully we’ll keep working in that direction so we’re in the right place when a breakaway finally gets the chance to fight for the win.”

One survivor from the break managed to stay clear for almost another hour, but it was ultimately the overall favourites who battled it out on the final climbs, with Tadej Pogačar adding yet another stage victory to his tally. On Wednesday, the peloton returned to much flatter roads for the 161-kilometre stage between Vichy and Nevers, which was completed at a record-breaking pace. “Everything came together: a strong tailwind and high speeds all day long,” explained Yvon. “The peloton didn’t want to give the breakaway much of an advantage, so the pace was extremely high throughout the stage,” added Clément Russo.

The riders eventually completed the stage at an average speed of 50.91 km/h, making it the fastest stage in Tour de France history. It was won by sprinter Søren Wærenskjold, while Clément Russo once again fought his way into the top ten thanks to another well-timed finish. “It was actually quite difficult because the speed wasn’t as high as it had been in Bergerac,” he explained. “Once we caught the breakaway, the peloton eased off a little and spread across the whole road, which made it hard to move up. When things accelerated again with 1.5 kilometres to go, the bunch stretched out and I found myself a bit too far back. In the sprint itself, though, I managed to come back from behind, find my way through, and finish eighth once again. It’s another top-ten finish, and I’m happy with that.”

“Clément made the right decisions,” added Yvon. “He gave himself a bit of space so he could choose the best line. When things became a bit messy on the left-hand side, he moved to the right and finished with a lot of speed. We have to appreciate this result, and it shows that Clément is genuinely capable of fighting for a really big result in this Tour.” The rider from Lyon could have another opportunity as early as Thursday on the way to Chalon-sur-Saône, in a stage with a less predictable outcome. “There could be an opening for attackers early on,” concluded Yvon. “Will the sprint teams be able to control a breakaway of seven or eight riders? That’s far from certain. The final part of the stage is also a bit rolling, so we could see a more animated race. We’ll need to stay alert from the start and be ready for every acceleration during the final hour.”