Stage 11 of the Tour de France 2023 is one last opportunity for sprinters before the road curves into the hills and mountains of the Alps.
The day begins in the university town of Clermont-Ferrand before the runners fly north and then east to Moulins, a small town on the Allier. There’s still some climbing to do, including three category four hills along the route, but any breakaway is likely to be rocked by these teams with dedicated sprinters eyeing their only chance for a stage victory between the two days off.
Jasper Philipsen will be the favorite here again after having already collected the three victories on flat stages of this Tour. Caleb Ewan, Phil Bauhaus, Fabio Jakobsen and Dylan Groenewegen will all be looking to challenge if they can find the form and positioning to do so, then there’s Wout van Aert, the Jumbo-Visma superstar desperately trying to land a stage, and end its series of near-misses.
Follow the Stage 11 route map, standings and latest updates below:
Tour de France stage 11 LIVE
Tour de France stage 11 – last climb of the day completed
15:24 , Laurent Ostlere
55km to cover: The Côte de la Croix Blanche is over, and the peloton is heading towards the final at Moulins about 25 seconds behind this lackluster breakaway.
Tour de France stage 11 – the breakaway still leads
15:12 , Laurent Ostlere
65km to cover: Our breakaway of three – Matis Louvel (Arkea Samsic), Andrey Amador (EF Education) and Daniel Oss (TotalEnergies) – is still about half a minute behind the others.
They arrive at the foot of the last categorized climb of the day: the Côte de la Croix Blanche (1.6 km at 5.4%) should not be too strenuous and from there, the road will be fairly flat until the ‘arrival.
How Mark Cavendish became a Tour de France legend
15:04 , Laurent Ostlere
How Mark Cavendish would have loved to compete on a day like this, a mostly flat race meant for a sprint finish. We spoke to some of his former teammates and rivals about what made the Manx Missile so special:
How Mark Cavendish became a Tour de France legend – according to his rivals and teammates
Tour de France stage 11 – the breakaway still leads
14:58 , Laurent Ostlere
75km to cover: A three-man breakaway hit the road earlier: Matis Louvel (Arkea Samsic), Andrey Amador (EF Education) and Daniel Oss (TotalEnergies).
They’re still around 30 seconds ahead of the peloton, who raced along at a steady pace of around 42km/h to make sure they didn’t go too far down the road. This one will surely end in a bunch sprint in Moulins, because that’s what the crowd wants.
Who are Philipsen’s challengers today?
14:48 , Laurent Ostlere
Jasper Philipsen will be the favorite here again after having already collected the three victories on flat stages of this Tour.
Who can possibly challenge him? Among the pure sprinters, Caleb Ewan and Phil Bauhaus have both come close to winning stages on this Tour and will try to find their way once again. Fabio Jakobsen continues to struggle with his injuries following an accident at Nogaro and it is unclear if he can compete for the win. Dylan Groenewegen has Tour stage wins on his track record but has not always been able to position himself for the sprint finish of this Tour so far.
And then there is Wout van Aert. The Jumbo-Visma superstar desperately tried to clinch a stage and probably should have won stage two in San Sebastián when Victor Lafay was allowed to escape from the final group and could not be rolled up. Van Aert was controversially ousted from the line race on stage three at Bayonne, and was beaten in the sprint of stage eight at Limoges by Mads Pedersen.
Van Aert is clearly suffering from what has been a rather unfortunate series of near misses. He won’t want to come away from this Tour empty-handed, although there’s the potential consolation of playing a key role in defending Jonas Vingaard’s yellow jersey, and it could be his chance to finally get on the board with which would be a 10th. career victory in the Tour de France.
The Belgian was given a scare yesterday when he learned of rumors he was due to leave the Tour for the birth of his second child – his wife is due to give birth to a baby boy shortly after the race. But he confirmed to the media that he was not going anywhere yet. “I just quickly called my wife to check if everything is ok and luckily she is fine. So I don’t know where it came from but I’m in the Tour as long as possible hopefully.
Stage 11 Preview: Can Someone Stop Jasper Philipsen?
14:41 , Laurent Ostlere
Stage 11 has been running for about two hours, without a huge amount of action to report so far. More on what happened in a moment. First, here’s a more detailed look at today’s stage – just one week two opportunity for sprinters:
Tour de France stage 11 preview: Can anyone stop Jasper Philipsen?
Tour de France – stage 11 LIVE
14:36 , Laurent Ostlere
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