Tour de France 2016: Stage 11 Results, General Classification and Highlights
Tinkoff's Peter Sagan increased his lead in the points standings by grabbing the win in Stage 11 of the Tour de France, while Team Sky's Chris Froome increased his advantage in the general classification with a late attack.
Sagan, Froome and two domestiques took full advantage of the windy conditions to escape from the peloton close to the finish line and build a lead. The current world champion easily took the win, while Froome added six bonus seconds and the time gap itself to his advantage ahead of the Alps.
Here's a look at the Stage 11 results, per Sky Sports Cycling:
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
The general classification:
Recap
All signs pointed to yet another bunch sprint in Montpellier, as Stage 11's profile was relatively flat and the favourites were expected to save their energy for the coming days. Strong winds complicated matters, however, as this tends to lead to splits in the peloton.
As soon as the neutralised start came to an end, riders started to struggle, with the peloton lining out, and Arthur Vichot (FDJ) took advantage with an early attack. Leigh Howard (IAM) soon joined him, and the two quickly built a solid advantage over the bunch.
The high speeds in the peloton led to dangerous situations, and it didn't take long for the first crash to occur. FDJ's Thibaut Pinot was the biggest name to hit the asphalt, and the Frenchman needed a lot of time to return to the bunch.
As shared by Eurosport's Felix Lowe, the cracks in the peloton were large, and a lot of riders were forced to dig deep to close the gaps:
Per Eurosport UK, Sean Kelly explained how the odd formations were created:
The two leaders pushed their advantage to just under four minutes but saw their lead drop rapidly inside the last 100 kilometres, as the sprint teams took control of the peloton and organised the chase.
More crashes slowed the bunch down, however, and Tinkoff's dreadful luck continued, as Rafal Majka, the team's default leader after Alberto Contador abandoned the race, was seen limping after he went down, via Eurosport UK:
Etixx-Quick-Step's Marcel Kittel took third place in the intermediate sprint, while Sagan increased his points lead over Dimension Data's Mark Cavendish, and once the dust settled from the sprint, a big chasing group including Pinot trailed the main peloton by a minute.
Things finally settled down with 20 kilometres left to race, and Tinkoff and BMC took charge. Another bunch sprint seemed inevitable, but once again, the wind played its part, as more echelons were created. Even Froome did his part in the first, joining Sagan, Geraint Thomas and Maciej Bodnar some 200 metres ahead of the second group.
Cycling writer Richard Moore wondered why the overall leader took such a risk:
Their lead quickly climbed to 25 seconds, while in the background, Cavendish sat up and let the chase go by him, likely the result of a mechanical or flat.
Etixx-Quick-Step, Katusha and Lotto-Soudal did what they could, but as the leaders made their way into Montpellier, they lost sight of the four. The two Sky riders gave it their all, knowing they stood little chance of beating Sagan in a sprint, but they could gain vital time on the GC.
Meanwhile, Global Cycling Network's Matt Stephens said what a lot of fans have been thinking all year long:
The Slovak and Froome contested the sprint, with the former easily crossing the finish line first. Fans appeared to be the real winners on Wednesday, however, as it's rare to see both the yellow and green jersey attack a stage and contest a sprint like that this late in the race.
British Cycle Sport loved it:
Froome couldn't help himself:
Froome added another 12 seconds to his lead in the standings—a major mental boost ahead of the tough stages still to come.
Thursday's ride up the iconic Mont Ventoux will be one of the highlights of this year's Tour, and the local riders should turn Stage 12 into an epic battle, as Thursday is Bastille Day. Fans are likely in for an exciting day of racing, culminating in a battle on the slopes of one of the most beloved climbs in the world for the yellow jersey and the stage win.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
