Tour de France 2020 Stage 11 - As it happened
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Updated 09/09/2020 at 17:18 GMT
Follow the ebb and flow of Stage 11 as Caleb Ewan took the win and Peter Sagan got in a spot of trouble for a barge on Wout van Aert.
Sprint / Arrival / Caleb Ewan of Australia and Team Lotto Soudal / Sam Bennett of Ireland and Team Deceuninck - Quick-Step Green Points Jersey / Peter Sagan of Slovakia and Team Bora - Hansgrohe / Wout Van Aert of Belgium and Team Jumbo - Visma /
Image credit: Getty Images
Thanks for joining us...
Well, well - what a thrilling end to an otherwise quite pedestrian stage. You can always rely on the Tour for a bit of last-minute drama. Read all about it in the stage report below - and see you tomorrow as we return to the hills for a lumpy Stage 12.
Sagan relegated to back of the group
The race jury have confirmed that Peter Sagan was sanctioned for that barge on van Aert - a huge blow to the Slovakian in the battle for green, and a massive boost to Bennett's chances. The Irishman now leads Sagan by a whopping 68 points in the green jersey standings - up from the initial 15pt lead he had after the initial result had Sagan in second place in the stage.
Naughty Sagan...
Replays show Peter Sagan barging van Aert as he tried to pass the Belgian by the barriers... the pair had words with each other afterwards to it remains to be see if the race jury take any action there.
Victory for Caleb Ewan!
The Australian was right to celebrate - he just nicked it by a quarter of a wheel there ahead of Bennett and Sagan, with van Aert, who went a bit too early, in fourth.
Photo finish!
Caleb Ewan thinks he's got it but it's impossible to tell! Van Aert went early but was passed by Sagan, Ewan and Bennett right at the death...
Final kilometre
The peloton stretches through a tight left-hand pinch. Van Avermaet emerges on the front going under the flamme rouge... and here come B&B Hotels for Coquard... and Sagan is there too...
2km to go - Duo caught
NTT close the gap on that 4% ramp and it's back together again. Pedersen, the world champion, and van Avermaet, the Olympic champion, are in the hunt too.
3km to go - Cofidis lead the chase
Cofidis and Lotto Soudal lead the chase with two riders each but that trio has a small gap still. Asgreen is then distanced as the road ramps up a little. So, it's Jungels and Postlberger with five seconds on the pack. Tension.
5km to go - Trio ahead
It's Jungels, not Cavagna. He and Asgreen join Postlberger on the front. They have a seven-second gap. Interesting scenario for these guys have big engines and could cause an upset.
6km to go - Postlberger attacks!
Lukas Postlberger puts in a big attack there as Bora look to upset the sprint trains. That has forced QuickStep to send Asgreen clear with another teammate, Cavagna, to close down the gap. Clever riding from Bora.
7km to go - Sagan prepares
Numerous riders have been tailed off - or have chosen to drop back and stay out of trouble. Kasper Asgreen has come to the front in his Danish jersey working for QuickStep and Bennett. CCC are also there for Trentin, while both Bernal and Roglic are keeping alert.
10km to go - Lotto Soudal on the front
Caleb Ewan has a teammate on the front now - although two Ineos riders then edge forward working for Egan Bernal.
13km to go - Pace high
CCC, Deceuninck, Jumbo and Ag2R are all on the front now. The pace is high and the man in polka dots, Benoit Cosnefroy, has been dropped. He had a big day tomorrow in his bid to keep hold of the KOM jersey.
15km to go - Bernie on the finish
Here's our man with the impeccable hair and indecipherable accent (Austria meets Australia via Andalusia) on today's hectic finish in Poitiers...
20km to go - Tension high
I'd be surprised if that's the last crash we see today - the pace is high and there's quite a fight to get on the front at the moment. Team Sunweb have formed their train for Cees Bol already. They performed a near-perfect lead-out yesterday but the Dutchman was unable to deliver. He will need to improve on his eighth place today.
25km to go - Izagirre out
Confirmation that Ion Izagirre has withdrawn following that high-speed spill. A blow for teammate Miguel Angel Lopez ahead of the Alpe. The Colombian is in 9th place at 1'15" on GC.
30km to go - CRASH!
A squeeze point in the road going through a village produces the inevitable crash in the pack and it's Ion Izagirre of Astana who comes off worst. He looks terribly bashed up with his jersey and bibs torn, his chest and face bloodied. That looks like game over for the Spaniard. Teammates Harold Tejada and Alexey Lutsenko were held up there too, as well as Jose Joaquim Rojas of Movistar and Krists Neilands of Israel Start-Up Nation.
32km to go - High pace
Ag2R-La Mondiale, Deceuninck-QuickStep, Total-Direct Energie and Jumbo-Visma are all on the front driving a fast pace and making it impossible for anyone to ride away. It looks like today will come down to that sprint between the likes of Bennett, Ewan, van Aert, Viviani, Coquard, Bonifazio, Hofstetter, Sagan, Pedersen, Bol, Stuyven, Trentin...
38km to go - Muhlberger KO
The race is over for Gregor Muhlberger of Bora-Hansgrohe, who had stopped and got off his bike. It looks like he's going to get into his team car and call it a day - a very say way to end his third Tour. The Austrian has been struggling with illness today. It's been a disappointing Tour for Bora so far: Emanuel Buchmann is out of the GC picture and Peter Sagan, winless for over a year, now out of the green jersey.
45km to go - Ladagnous caught
That's it for Mathieu Ladagnous, whose foray off the front is pretty much over. He's got just nine seconds now and the capture is taking ages because whenever he slows up, so too does the peloton. Off the back is Alexey Lutsenko, the stage 6 winner who crashed in the neutral zone earlier today. Muhlberger, too, is again off the back. The Austrian is clearly very ill.
53km to go - Gap under a minute
Only 50 seconds now for Ladagnous as Jumbo-Visma come to the front to set tempo for their man in yellow, Roglic. They have Wout van Aert for the finish should the Belgian get the green light to contest the sprint.
58km to go - Bennett mops up
Textbook there from Deceuninck-QuickStep as Sam Bennett goes through the sprint in second place to take the maximum 17 points possible ahead of teammate Michael Morkov, who edges out Sagan who takes 13pts. So the Irishman extends his lead to 25 points in the green jersey standings - although he'll be more concerned about the final sprint today in Poitiers at this point.
60km to go - Muhlberger sheds his jacket
The Austrian, who has been struggling off the back, is coaxed into taking off his jacket by his directeur sportif. He's now riding with EF Pro Cycling duo Hugh Carthy and Tejay Van Garderen, who must have dropped back to visit their team car. Ladagnous approaches the sprint with a gap of 1'45" over the pack. Green jersey battle coming right up...
65km to go - Intermediate sprint ahead
The sprinters are readying themselves for the intermediate sprint, which is coming up in five klicks. The advantage for Ladagnous is 2'25". On the back, Muhlberger is still struggling to hold on - he's clearly been laid low by illness. He's in his jacket and has let a gap open up between him and the back of the pack, poor chap.
76km to go - Cote de Cherveux
Lone leader Mathieu Ladagnous crests the summit of the Cat.4 Cote de Cherveux (1.1km at 4.4%) to take the single point over the top. That means there are, by my calculation, another 205pts available in the king of the mountains competition. With Benoit Cosnefroy currently in the polka dot jersey on 39 points, that puts things into a little perspective...
80km to go - Muhlberger in trouble?
It's a lovely hot day in the Poitou-Charente region of France with no clouds in the sky. But Gregor Muhlberger is on the back of the pack, pedalling a big gear and wearing a jacket... perhaps the Austrian is feeling a bit of a chill and is under the weather. He doesn't look comfortable, that's for sure.
90km to go - De Gendt dress rehearsal
It's interesting to see Lotto Soudal commit De Gendt to the tempo-setting on the front. I guess it's because he won't be involved in the lead-out for Caleb Ewan later on, but it's worth remembering that the next two stages really suit a rider of De Gendt's calibre with rolling roads and a succession of climbs. He could well be in the mix for his habitual breakaway win. Let's hope today doesn't take it out of him. The gap is 2'45".
95km to go - Keep your friends close...
There's a bit of joshing going on between Sam Bennett and Caleb Ewan involving shoulder barges and head-butts - but don't worry, it's all rather jovial. We have, however, seen both riders carry out these kinds of manoeuvres for real in fast finishes, but let's hope that's not the case today.
100km to go - Total-Direct Energie enter the fray
There's a first sighting on the front of the pack for the Total-Direct Energie team of Niccolo Bonifazio, who may fancy his chances for the final sprint. The Italian won Stage 5 of Paris-Nice earlier in the year but hasn't picked up a win since the lockdown. Indeed, his best result in this Tour has been 10th place so far so he will need a big improvement to get into the mix today. Ladagnous still has around three minutes on the pack.
105km to go - Kelly on Bennett
Sean Kelly was very emotional yesterday after his countryman's maiden win on the Tour...
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‘Sam has been knocking on the door, this is huge’ – Sean Kelly on Bennett’s stage win
And then here's Bennett's reaction to those kind words from Sean...
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'To follow in your footsteps feels amazing' - Sam Bennett reacts to Sean Kelly's congratulations
108km to go - The siesta stage
Today is very much the extra rest day that the riders didn't get during yesterday's stressful and tense stage. De Gendt is still on the front - the only rider Lotto Soudal can commit given they're down to just six. QuickStep, however, have six men on the front alongside the Belgian, eyeing a second win for their man Sam Bennett, who took the green jersey off Sagan's back yesterday. He now leads the points classification by 21 points over the Slovakian, who had yet to hit even third gear in this year's race.
115km to go - Rare sighting...
... of Wout Poels on the front of the pack, not the back. The Dutchman has had a torrid Tour so far after crashing badly on the opening weekend - breaking a rib and bruising his lungs, causing the rangy rider to cough up blood and battle off the back of the peloton on most days. But he's stuck in their for team leader Mikel Landa and will hope to be a factor in the Alps. For now, it's all in for Bahrain-McLaren's sprinter Sonny Colbrelli, who will look to shine on the slightly uphill sprint finish today.
120km to go - De Gendt on the front
On paper, today's finish could see one of Sam Bennett or Caleb Ewan double up and win their second stage. So far, the sprint spoils have been shared, with Alexander Kristoff also getting on the scoresheet. In fact, the only sprinter to win twice is a guy who isn't really a sprinter at all - Wout van Aert, who has done so despite all the work doing for the collective Jumbo-Visma cause in their quest for yellow. It's not inconceivable that we see the Belgian taking his hat-trick today.
125km to go - More rope for Ladagnous
With that dangerous counter neutralised, Mathieu Ladagnous, who has been out since the start, sees his advantage creep back above the three-minute mark.
135km to go - All over for chase group
The threat posed by that six-man counter attack has been snuffed out, with the net result of Ladagnous' five-minute buffer now standing as a rather miserly 1'20". Poor chap - he was probably relishing the prospect of some company, especially with teammate Kung in that now aborted move.
140km to go - Gap tumbles
The six chasers are Oliver Naesen (Ag2R-La Mondiale), Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo), Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe), Michael Gögl (NTT Pro Cycling) and Tom Van Asbroeck (Israel Start-Up Nation). Because they are a solid sextet, the complexion of the race has changed considerably with Deceuninck-QuickStep and Lotto Soudal riding harder on the front to protect the interests of their sprinters Sam Bennett and Caleb Ewan. The gap for our lone leader Ladagnous comes down accordingly - just two minutes now.
145km to go - Counter move goes clear
Oooo, hello! Oliver Naisen, the former Belgian champion, puts in a big dig on the front and he's managed to ride clear with five other riders. Now this is as interesting as it is unexpected. Postleberger, Kung, Stuyven, Van Asbroeck, Gogl and Naesen... this is a good little group and they could be Ladagnous' saving grace.
150km to go - The chase is on!
With the gap going north of five minutes, Deceuninck-QuickStep's Tim 'Breakaway Killer' Declercq has come to the front. More than that, the Belgian has ridden clear of the Jumbo-Visma train on the front and opened up a small gap. He's clearly not trying to bridge over, but he's making a point that now is the time to stop the fun and games, and keep this one-man move in check.
155km to go - Three minutes
Ladagnous' advantage over the peloton is up to three minutes now so it looks like the Frenchman is going to have to just grin and bear it. Behind, the riders chat to themselves and take things easy. There's a headwind today so don't expect too fast a pace on the road to Poitiers.
Formolo out of the race
The last rider to cross the line yesterday was UAE Team Emirates rider Davide Formolo, who came home 16'44" down after crashing badly with around 17km remaining in a spill that also took down his teammate Tadej Pogacar. Tests after the stage revealed a displaced fracture of the collarbone for the Italian, who did not take to the start today. That's a blow for the Slovenian, who has already lost another Italian climbing domestique in Fabio Aru.
162km to go - One minute for Ladagnous
Our French lone leader quickly builds up a gap of one minute over the pack, but judging by the lack of effort he's putting in, he may have regretted making that move. He probably expected more riders to come with him and the prospect of having to do all this on his own clearly doesn't appeal...
167.5km to go - They're off
The race is finally underway and there's an attack from the outset from Frenchman Mathieu Ladagnous of Groupama-FDJ. No one sees fit to follow the 35-year-old...
Just the one small climb
There's one Cat.4 climb in an otherwise largely flat stage to Poitiers, where Sean Kelly's first Tour victory came in 1978. Perhaps his countryman Sam Bennett can double up after his breakthrough win yesterday...
Crash in the neutral zone...
Alexey Lutsenko, who won on Mont Aigoual last week, has ridden into the back of Ilnur Zakarin on a roundabout after one of the B&B Hotel riders touched wheels and veered off path. With these three riders untangling their bikes there's been a small delay to the start of today's stage.
Bonjour le Tour!
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Stage 11 of the Tour as the race leaves the Atlantic coast and heads inland to Poitiers, where we can expect another bunch sprint finale. The riders are currently in the neutral zone ahead of the official start so stay tuned...
Top five on GC
Here's how things look in the general classification as the race heads into its second week:
- 1. Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team Jumbo-Visma 38:40:01
- 2. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers 0:00:21
- 3. Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis 0:00:28
- 4. Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:30
- 5. Nairo Quintana (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:00:32
- 6. Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Pro Cycling 0:00:32
- 7. Tadej Pogacar (Svn) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:44
- 8. Adam Yates (GB) Mitchelton-Scott 0:01:02
- 9. Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana 0:01:15
- 10. Mikel Landa (Spa) Bahrain-McLaren 0:01:42
Stage 10 recap
Sam Bennett surged back into the green jersey with a maiden Tour de France victory in a competitive bunch sprint at Saint-Martin-de-Ré after a stressful and incident-packed Stage 10.
Ireland's Bennett became the 98th rider to win a stage in all three Grand Tours after riding on the coattails of another team's leadout train before being propelled to the line by Deceuninck-QuickStep teammate Michael Morkov.
An emotional Bennett was not totally sure he’d won, leading to a nervy wait across the line, but the celebrations in the Deceuninck-QuickStep camp were raucous once the news filtered through on his earpiece.
How to watch on TV and livestream details
Stage 10 will be broadcast live on Eurosport 1 from 12:30pm and you can also watch an uninterrupted feed on Eurosport Player and right here on eurosport.co.uk.
Dan Lloyd, Bradley Wiggins, Orla Chennaoui and the team will bring you all the best post-race analysis and reaction on The Breakaway, which will be available to watch on Eurosport Player before 7pm.
And don't forget, we are bringing you daily podcasts from the Bradley Wiggins Show - check in with your podcast platform of choice this evening...
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