Australian Caleb Ewan (Lotto) won the sprint finish of the eleventh stage of the Tour de France on Wednesday, after a 167-kilometer route between Albi and Toulouse, while Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck) held on to the yellow jersey as the overall leader.
Ewan, who is participating for the first time in the Tour, overtook 'in extremis' the Dutch Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo), winner of the seventh stage on Friday. The photo finish decided the winner of the day, after a very close final contest.
This was the victory of Australian Caleb Ewan in Stage 11 of the Tour de France. (Tour de France)
The 25-year-old Australian, one of the shortest riders (1.65 meters) in the peloton, had already won stages in the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España. By winning this stage in the Tour, he completes a hat-trick of victories in the three grand tours.
In this stage, held on a sunny day, the breakaway launched from the start in Albi brought together four riders, Belgian Aimé De Gendt and three Frenchmen, Lilian Calmejane, Anthony Perez, Stéphane Rossetto.
The quartet built a lead of three and a half minutes, but the peloton, often led by the teammates of Groenewegen and by those of Ewan, kept them at a controlled distance and reduced the lead to one minute with 30 kilometers to go.
At that point, there was a crash involving several riders, which led to the retirement of veteran Dutchman Niki Terpstra, injured in his right shoulder.
Colombian Nairo Quintana and Australian Richie Porte were hindered and delayed, but later managed to catch up with the peloton.
In the front group, the escapees were caught in the final straight of the stage. Aimé De Gendt resisted until 4.5 kilometers from the finish.
In the sprint finish, Caleb Ewan was the fastest.
On Thursday, the twelfth stage faces the first Pyrenean climbs, Peyresourde and La Hourquette D'Ancizan, both category one, on a route between Toulouse and Bagnères-de-Bigorre (209.5 kilometers).
The top of the second climb, located 30.5 kilometers from the finish, is followed by a long descent.
SOURCE: AFP
After the surprising windy stage with echelons on Monday, which resulted in Mikel Landa being left with almost no chances and several favorites complicating the general classification, the Tour de France took a rest day on Tuesday in Albi, with defending champion Geraint Thomas and Colombian Egan Bernal in the pole position ahead of the impending arrival of the Pyrenees and the time trial in Pau.
Tour de France - Stage 11: Schedule of the competition
Mexico - 7:00 a.m.
Ecuador - 7:00 a.m.
Peru - 7:00 a.m.
Colombia - 7:00 a.m.
Venezuela - 8:00 a.m.
Bolivia - 8:00 a.m.
Chile - 8:00 a.m.
Paraguay - 8:00 a.m.
Argentina - 9:00 a.m.
Uruguay - 9:00 a.m.
Spain - 2:00 p.m.
The Ineos team, formerly known as Sky, dominates the standings with their two leaders at the top of the general classification, although the yellow jersey currently rests on the shoulders of Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe. A favorable situation for the British squad, which, however, does not want to talk about overconfidence.
The next stage covers a 167-kilometer route in the shape of a big 'S' towards the Pyrenees and concludes with a long straight of over two kilometers.
"A fairly short stage with no major difficulties," estimated race director Thierry Gouvenou. "It is an intentional choice to prepare the bodies before the Pyrenees trilogy and the individual time trial. Afterwards, the sprinters will only have two opportunities," in Nimes and on the Champs-Elysées.
The last appearance of the Tour de France in the capital of the Occitanie region in southern France dates back to 2008, when Mark Cavendish won in a sprint finish.
From that occasion, only a handful of riders remain in this edition of the Tour (Valverde, Nibali, Sánchez, Bonnet, Burghardt, Langeveld, Terpstra).
With information from EFE and AFP
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