A hair-raising stage 11 around Toulouse saw Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) lead the way from kilometre 0 all the way to the finish! The Norwegian was the first attacker right at km 0, with Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) on his wheel. Behind them, the pace was relentless, with loads of riders eager to make the most of a punchy course. But in the end, the first two attackers were also the first two to reach the line in Toulouse, as Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) came 7 seconds shy of reeling them in. Already a hero of the Tour 2024 with his many breakaways, Abrahamsen takes his first Grand Tour victory, as well as Uno-X Mobility’s first. In the finale, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) crashed, but he quickly got back up and finished in the same time as his GC rivals, ahead of three key stages in the Pyrenees.
Back to action. After the first rest day, 172 riders face a punchy 156.8-km loop around Toulouse. There are 1,750 metres of elevation to overcome today, with most of the climbs packed in the finale.
A brutal battle from the gun
Ahead of the last ascents of the day, attackers are inspired from the gun. Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) sets off as soon as the peloton pass km 0. He’s followed by Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) and Davide Ballerini (XDS Astana).
The trio of attackers work well together but many more riders want to get on the move. Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) is very aggressive, and so are Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), Kévin Vauquelin (Ark-B&B Hotels), Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ)…
With so many riders attacking again and again, the three early attackers struggle to open a significant gap despite covering 51.7 km in the first hour. Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) and Mathieu Burgaudeau (Total Energies) make it a 5-man lead group at km 74.
Even Healy attacks
The gap to the bunch eventually hits one minute… But more counter-attackers want to make the break. The bunch explodes and Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) himself attacks with 65 kilometres to go! Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) follows him, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) must react!
Stragglers get back. And attackers set off again – this time, Simmons puts the hammer down with , he’s followed by Van Aert, as well as Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Axel Laurance (Ineos Grenadiers) and Arnaud De Lie (Lotto). As the calm returns to the bunch, these five attackers work together to chase the five leaders.
Schmid and Abrahamsen set off
Already into the last 50 kilometres, the road rises with the main uphill challenges of the day. The gap from the five leaders to the five chasers stabilise around 30’’ while the peloton trail by 2’30’’.
Schmid attacks on the penultimate climb – côte de Vieille-Toulouse (summit at km 142.5) – and Abrahamsen joins him at the front. Behind them, Simmons sets off in pursuit.
As they face the mighty Côte de Pech David (800m at 12.4%), Schmid and Abrahamsen are 20’’ ahead of Simmons, Burgaudeau and Wright, while the group with Van der Poel trails by 30’’. Over the top, Van der Poel is the first chaser (+20’’).
Pogacar crashes, Abrahamsen wins
In the peloton, Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) attack but Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) reacts and the GC contenders get back together for the final run-in to Toulouse, marked by the Slovenian’s crash with 6 km to go. He quickly gets back up and his rivals wait for him.
At the front, nobody waits for nobody. Van der Poel moves closer and closer to the lead duo but he is 7 seconds shy of catching them. A very tight sprint eventually crowns Abrahamsen, claiming his first ever Grand Tour win. The GC contenders finish together on the eve of a great battle to Hautacam.
Stage 11
1 Jonas ABRAHAMSEN UNO-X MOBILITY 03h 15′ 56” – B : 10” –
2 Mauro SCHMID TEAM JAYCO ALULA 03h 15′ 56” – B : 6” –
3 Mathieu VAN DER POEL ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK 03h 16′ 03” + 00h 00′ 07” B : 4”
GC
1 Ben HEALY EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 41h 01′ 13” – B : 14” –
2 Tadej POGACAR UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG 41h 01′ 42” + 00h 00′ 29” B : 26” –
3 Remco EVENEPOEL SOUDAL QUICK-STEP 41h 02′ 42” + 00h 01′ 29” –
