Jonas Abrahamsen wins the mother of all battles and Pocacar falls before the Pyrenees

Incredible stage 11 of the Tour de France 2025 that, in a completely unexpected way, gave us a festival of attacks worthy of the best classics in the lead-up to the arrival of the Pyrenees. A day that, despite running smoothly for those in the general classification, did not end well for Tadej Pogacar, who found himself on the ground with all that it could imply for his performance in the upcoming stages.

Spectacular high-voltage cycling stage in the Tour de France, just before the arrival of the high mountains

The Tour de France returned after the first rest day with a flat stage starting and finishing in Toulouse. A deceptive stage because, despite its apparent flat profile, it ran through a hilly area, with cyclists having to face four categorized climbs in the final part, the last one just 8 kilometers from the finish, a wall of 800 m at an average gradient of 12% and with ramps reaching 20% incline.

A stage that, due to its location before the arrival of the high mountains, was seen as a kind of warm-up after the rest day for the contenders in the general classification, but the race set its pace and today was anything but a placid day.

RECOMENDADO

"Hookless tires are a scam": claims a former technical director of Zipp

New Orbea Oiz 2026: the range is updated with the latest Shimano electronics

Too many things and nothing clear in the first week of the Tour

They cost 7000€, they debut a new profile and are some of the most expensive wheels in history

POC launches the new Cytal Lite helmet at the Tour de France 2025: ultralight and ventilated

Decathlon reduces the price of its star turbo trainer

The stage started and quickly a group was formed at the front composed of Jonas Abrahamsen, Davide Ballerini, and Mauro Schmid. They barely gained a thirty-second advantage when continuous attacks and counterattacks began from behind by many who wanted to be part of the breakaway of the day. None of them were successful, and for more than half of the stage, we could enjoy an infernal battle to try to consolidate any of the breaks.

An example is the average speed data, which, with less than 100 kilometers to go out of the 156 to be covered today, was 52 km/h. A brutal effort for everyone, especially for the leading trio who had to paddle incredibly to not give in to the pressure they were under from behind. However, only Fred Wright and Mathieu Burgaudeau managed to catch up with them out of the many who tried.

Even in the midst of this chaos of attacks, there was a moment when Jonas Vingegaard himself launched an attack, taking advantage of one of the rare moments of poor positioning of Tadej Pogacar, to which Ben Healy responded effectively while the Slovenian had to paddle, albeit with the help of a teammate, to close the unexpected gap.

After a few tense kilometers, the peloton calmed down, regrouped after it had exploded into a thousand pieces, forming a very interesting group with Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel, and Quinn Simmons as the most prominent men who finally gained the approval of the main group and created enough gap to focus on chasing the leaders.

However, the chase did not yield the expected results due to the level of the chasing group, with the leaders maintaining a lead of around half a minute, while the peloton conceded the stage. Not even the passage through the final climbs made the initial breakaway members give up. It was necessary to wait until the penultimate climb to see the definitive selection among the front runners, leaving only the Swiss champion and the Norwegian cyclist at the front.

Meanwhile, the chasing group also selected itself thanks to a brutal attack by Quinn Simmons, who, despite starting strongly, also failed to close the gap with the leaders.

Everything was left to be decided on the last climb, where Mathieu van der Poel had his bullet reserved. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider started as if it were the final of a Tour of Flanders, managed to catch Simmons, and went solo after the two leaders, but the 25-second gap he had at the top of this last climb and the proximity of the finish line made it very difficult for him to reach them, especially considering the level shown throughout the stage by Schmid and Abrahamsen. Nevertheless, he gave it his all.

We had left the race leaders paddling hard while feeling the breath of a runaway Mathieu van der Poel who was inexorably closing the gap. However, the Dutchman would run out of terrain to complete the comeback and, just like the other day, he was left with a bitter taste. Ahead, Abrahamsen launched the sprint with strength, Schmid came out of his slipstream and began to overtake, both crossing the finish line almost in parallel without either being declared the winner, only Abrahamsen timidly raised his hand without believing it until the judges, thanks to the photo finish images, awarded the victory to the Norwegian by just over a wheel's length.

A valuable victory that further places UNO-X Mobility in the fight to reach World Tour spots at the end of the season, a result of the enormous work and competitiveness they have shown over the past three years.

Now, we look forward to tomorrow's stage where the long-awaited mountains arrive at the Tour de France 2025. A classic-style stage with a very deceptive first part because, despite appearing flat on the profile, it runs through very undulating terrain at the foot of the Pyrenees. An agonizing approach to the first of the tough climbs, none other than the mythical Soulor, which is ascended by its less common face, starting in the town of Ferrieres but, in return, undoubtedly the most beautiful, although the cyclists are sure not to enjoy it, with a unique view of the incredible Cirque de Litor through which the traditional Soulor-Aubisque chain passes.

Secondly, the Col de Borderes, one of those hidden treasures of the area that will serve to finish preparing the legs for the monstrous Hautacam, despite its short history in the Tour de France, being one of the great classics of the race. A climb that has always offered great spectacles and is tremendously selective on its own, with the second half of the climb rarely dropping below 10% gradient. What will be the true level of Jonas Vingegaard? How much will the fall have affected Tadej Pogacar? Will Remco Evenepoel be able to resist the pace in the high mountains? Can Ben Healy defend his yellow jersey? Tomorrow, starting at 13:10, we will have the answers.

Stage 11 Classification

1. Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) 3h15'56''
2. Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) +00''
3. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceunick) +07''
4. Arnaud de Lie (Lotto) +53''
5. Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) +53''
6. Axel Laurance (INEOS Grenadiers) +53''
7. Fred Wright (Bahrain-Victorious) +53''
8. Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) +53''
9. Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) +53''
10. Davide Ballerini (XDS-Astana) +1'11''

General Classification

1. Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) 41h01'13''
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +29''
3. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) +1'29''
4. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) +1'46''
5. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) +2'06''
6. Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) +2'26''
7. Oscar Onley (Picnic-PostNL) +3'24''
8. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +3'34''
9. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +3'41''
10. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) +5'03''