Vingegaard beats Pogacar in remarkable comeback to keep Tour de France battle alive

Jonas Vingegaard won stage 11 of the Tour de France as Tadej Pogacar’s bid to distance his main rival for yellow fell short in the Massif Central.

It came down to a sprint finish between the two in Le Lioran but for once Pogacar came off second best in such a scenario as defending champion Vingegaard took it by half a wheel.

That was after Vingegaard clawed back the 30-second lead Pogacar had built after his attack on the Pas de Peyrol, some 30km from the finish of this 211km stage from Évaux-les-Bains to Le Lioran.

Vingegaard remains third overall after Remco Evenepoel fought his way to the line to keep second place, but the win shows the Dane’s form is where it needs to be in his first race since suffering horrible injuries in a crash in the Basque Country in April.

The 27-year-old, who has come back from a punctured lung, fractured ribs and collarbone in the last few months, shed tears after the stage.

“Of course it’s very, very emotional for me,” Vingegaard said. “Coming back from the crash, it means a lot. All the things I went through in the last few months, it makes you think of that and I would never have been able to do this without my family…

“I couldn’t follow the attack [Pogacar] had, it was very, very strong, and I just had to fight. I didn’t think I would be able to make it back, I just kept fighting and I made it back. I was a bit surprised I could beat him in the sprint but of course it means so much.

“I never thought I would be able to do this three months ago.”

Pogacar did extend his lead in yellow, now 1min 6sec over Evenepoel with Vingegaard another eight seconds back, but the Slovenian was left wondering how his plan to take total control of this race fell apart.

The second longest stage of this Tour had been earmarked as one for a breakaway but Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates clearly had other ideas. It took 80km for a small group including Ireland’s Ben Healy and Scotland’s Oscar Onley to get away, but they were never given the opportunity to build a lead.

Having been guided up the category one climb of the of the Peyrol by his team-mates, Pogacar launched his move 600 metres from the summit and quickly distanced his rivals, a gap that only grew on the descent.

Pogacar began the Col de Pertus with an advantage of just over 30 seconds, but after Vingegaard left behind Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic, he ate into Pogacar’s lead before catching him just before the summit to set up a sprint for the bonus seconds on offer.

Pogacar narrowly won that one but it would be a different story on the finish line. Pogacar sat on Vingegaard’s wheel until the final 150m, but did not have the power to come around.

Behind, Evenepoel and Roglic had clawed back some of the deficit that had reached 50 seconds at one point, with Evenepoel finishing 25 seconds down on the front two in order to narrowly hold on to second place overall.

Roglic crashed on the final run into town, but was subsequently awarded the same time as Evenepoel with the incident coming inside the final three kilometres of the stage.

Tour de France, stage 11: As it happened . . .

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04:36 PM BST

A picture that needs no words

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04:34 PM BST

Wright out

Sadly Fred Wright did not make the time limit so the Bahrain Victorious man has to withdraw from the Tour. From a very early stage today he did not look comfortable so you wonder if he is ill. We saw two Cofidis riders abandon during the stage and Lidl-Trek’s Tim Declercq withdraw due to illness.

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04:20 PM BST

Rider at risk

There is now under three minutes until the cut-off and the only rider remaining is Fred Wright.

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04:14 PM BST

Victory on stage 11 for the defending champion

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04:11 PM BST

Emotional Vingegaard

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04:10 PM BST

Wright in trouble

Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) has had a tough day and is going to have a job on his hands to make it within the cut-off time. He had 53 minutes to cover the final 31km.

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04:08 PM BST

Bardet finishing

It is Romain Bardet’s (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) final Tour and he was welcomed through his home roads today including coming past his own corner.

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04:04 PM BST

New leader in the king of the mountains classification

Tadej Pogacar not only holds the yellow jersey but now the polka dot jersey as well, although Jonas Abrahamsen will wear it tomorrow as Pogacar has the small matter of wearing the maillot jaune. Here is the king of the mountains classification after stage 11:

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 36pts

2. Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) 33

3. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) 28

4. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) 18

5. Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) 16

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03:59 PM BST

The thoughts of our stage winner Jonas Vingegaard

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03:57 PM BST

General classification after stage 11

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 45hrs 00mins 34secs

2. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) +1min 06secs

3. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) +1min 14secs

4. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +2mins 45secs

5. Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) +4mins 20secs

6. Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) +4mins 40secs

7. Mikel Landa (Soudal-Quick Step) +5mins 38secs

8. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) +6mins 69secs

9. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) +7mins 09secs

10. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) +7mins 36secs

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03:52 PM BST

Full results from stage 11

1. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) 4hrs 58mins 0secs

2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) Same time

3. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) +25secs

4. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +55secs

5. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) +1min 47secs

6. Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) +1mins 49secs

7. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) Same time

8. Mikel Landa (Soudal-Quick Step) “

9. Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) +1min 55secs

10. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +2mins 38secs

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03:48 PM BST

Two titans of the sport

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03:46 PM BST

Overhead shot of finish

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03:45 PM BST

Success for Visma-Lease a Bike

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03:44 PM BST

Emotion pouring out of Vingegaard

Speaking to Seb Piquet of Radio Tour after the race, a visibly emotional Vingegaard said: “Coming back from the crash… sorry [tears]. No, it’s … it means a lot. All the things i went through in the last three months… it makes you think of that… I couldn’t have done this without my family. I’m just happy to be here.”

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03:42 PM BST

The final kilometre

Enjoy!

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03:42 PM BST

Top five across the line

1. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) 4hrs 58mins 0sec

2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) Same time

3. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) +25secs

4. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +55secs

5. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) +1min 47secs

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03:37 PM BST

Sensational from Vingegaard

Just a few months ago, Jonas Vingegaard crashed at the Tour of the Basque Country. He suffered a punctured lung and fractured his ribs and collarbone. He barely had much time on the bike in the build-up so this ride was incredible. He was around 30 seconds down over the top of the Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol but fought back so well to not only catch Pogacar but beat him in that sprint finish, where we normally see Pogacar being so strong.

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03:31 PM BST

Evenepoel and Roglic come home

Evenepoel comes home in third 25 seconds down but Roglic is the big loser in the general classification race as that crash means he comes over the line a minute down on Vingegaard.

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03:30 PM BST

Vingegaard wins!

WOW! What a finish! Pogacar remains on Vingegaard’s wheel and then Vingegaard goes inside the final 300m. Pogacar cannot come around and loses in an head-to-head sprint for the first time at the Tour de France. What an amazing ride from the defending champion to take victory on stage 11! That will give Vingegaard so much confidence. The feeling was he was going to improve as this Tour went on and there is your evidence. How much of a blow will that be for Pogacar?

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03:28 PM BST

500m to go

Who will win? Pogacar or Vingegaard?

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03:27 PM BST

1km to go

The lead duo head under the flamme rouge.

Behind Roglic has crashed!

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03:27 PM BST

1.5km to go

Evenepoel and Roglic have just closed the gap a touch as Vingegaard and Pogacar negotiate the slippery roads on this descent. Pogacar is happy to sit on the wheel.

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03:26 PM BST

2km to go

It looks like we are going to have a two-man sprint to the line for the stage victory. We are on a short descent before a little climb to the finish.

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03:25 PM BST

3km to go

These two titans have worked together up this climb and it is Vingegaard who goes over the top first unchallenged.

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03:22 PM BST

4km to go

No attacks from either Vingegaard or Pogacar yet. They have around 1km left of this climb.

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03:20 PM BST

5.5km to go

What will the tactics be here? Will Pogacar be put off attacking by Vingegaard’s ride over the last climb?

Around 40 seconds behind Evenepoel and Roglic are still together.

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03:18 PM BST

6km to go

The lead duo hit the foot of Col de Font-de-Cère, a category three climb which is 3.3km in length at 5.8%. They have a 37-second advantage over Evenepoel and Roglic.

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03:12 PM BST

10km to go

Vingegaard and Pogacar are working together on this descent before we reach the final categorised climb of Col de Font-de-Cère.

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03:10 PM BST

12km to go

As it stands in the virtual general classification, Vingegaard will be moving into second ahead of Evenepoel. With maximum points over that climb, Pogacar now leads the king of the mountains classification.

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03:07 PM BST

14.5km to go

Vingegaard has caught Pogacar. What an amazing ride from the Dane, that is why he is a two-time Tour de France champion. Pogacar just about takes the eight bonus seconds but that will have given Vingegaard so much confidence.

Evenepoel and Roglic come over the top 45 seconds behind, the former taking the two bonus seconds left.

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03:06 PM BST

15km to go

Vingegaard can see Pogacar getting closer and closer but it looks like the Slovenian will get to the summit first just to take the eight bonus seconds.

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03:05 PM BST

15.5km to go

Vingegaard is catching Pogacar with just 13 seconds between them.

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03:04 PM BST

16km to go

Pogacar has just over 1km remaining on this climb and he will be after the eight bonus seconds available at the summit. Vingegaard is receiving encouragement over his team radio. Further down the road Evenepoel is catching back up to Roglic.

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03:01 PM BST

17km to go

Vingegaard has broken Roglic, who cannot keep up. The defending champion is on a mission here to catch back up to Pogacar and he is closing that gap. He was as much as 30 seconds down at one point but that has come down to 20 seconds now. Did Pogacar go too early?

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02:59 PM BST

18km to go

Evenepoel, who was second in the general classification going into today, had caught back up to Vingegaard and Roglic on the descent but has now been distanced again.

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02:55 PM BST

19km to go

Pogacar hits the foot of the Col de Pertus, a category two climb which is 4.4km in length at 7.9%. His lead over Vingegaard and Roglic stands at 30 seconds as the Evenepoel group catches up to Vingegaard and Roglic.

We have just seen images of Romain Bardet coming through his corner and his home fans show him incredible support. Probably a few tears for Bardet there!

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02:50 PM BST

24km to go

Evenepoel has been joined by the likes of A Yates, Almeida, Kelderman and Landa.

Pogacar is a lucky, lucky boy as he nearly goes down as his rear wheel steps out. That could so easily have been a disaster for Pogacar.

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02:47 PM BST

27km to go

The former teammates at Visma, Vingegaard and Roglic, are now working together on the descent. They are 16 seconds down on Pogacar. Evenepoel is nearly 20 seconds behind the duo.

Here are the results over the top of the climb at Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol:

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), 10pts

2. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), 8

3. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), 6

4. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step), 4

5. Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers), 2

6. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), 1

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02:44 PM BST

31km to go

Pogacar comes over the top first but Vingegaard is just a few seconds behind him. The defending champion has left Roglic behind but the biggest loser could be Evenepoel. We know how good at descending Pogacar is, as shown on stage four. Vingegaard’s descending looked a little nervy on that stage.

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02:42 PM BST

31.5km to go

Pogacar attacks with around 600m to go on the climb! No-one can respond. Dare I say it this is looking a little ominous.

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02:41 PM BST

31.5km to go

The breakaway for stage 11 is done and the remainder of the yellow jersey group now is the head of the race. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) is on the front for Tadej Pogacar as they come towards the top of the climb. They have just come round Romain Bardet corner but his fans will have to wait a little longer to see their man.

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02:39 PM BST

32km to go

Healy is the last man standing but he is about to be caught.

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02:37 PM BST

32.5km to go

Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) has lost his teammate Ilan van Wilder as the pace is increasing. Primoz Roglic is isolated now as Jai Hindley drops off. Juan Ayuso for UAE Team Emirates is gone as well.

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02:36 PM BST

33km to go

Pavel Sivakov is done at the front for UAE Team Emirates and it is the turn of Joao Almeida to take it up.

Carapaz has dropped off Healy and Lazkano.

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02:35 PM BST

33.5km to go

The peloton are now within 30 seconds of the leaders.

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02:31 PM BST

35km to go

The fastest time up this climb is 13 minutes and 48 seconds on the 2020 Tour by Tadej Pogacar, who has his team on the front of the peloton setting the pace. Stage 13 during the 2020 Tour finished at the top of this climb and it was won by Dani Martinez.

Up at the front Carapaz has joined his teammate Healy and Lazkano.

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02:29 PM BST

36km to go

Healy and Lazkano have hit the foot of the Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol, a category one climb which is 5.4km in length at 8.1%. They have Carapaz around ten seconds behind them and have a minute on the peloton.

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02:25 PM BST

39km to go

We are now on a short descent before we reach the Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol, which is a category one climb. Here are the results at the summit of the Col de Néronne:

1. Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), 5pts

2. Oier Lazkano (Movistar), 3

3. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), 2

4. Julien Bernard (Lidl-Trek), 1

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02:22 PM BST

42km to go

Healy and Lazkano come to the top and the former takes five points in the king of the mountains classification, the latter taking three. Healy’s teammate Richard Carapaz comes over around 25 seconds behind to take two KOM points.

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02:20 PM BST

42.5km to go

Towards the top of the Col de Néronne Healy has fought really hard to make it back to Lazkano.

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02:19 PM BST

43km to go

UAE Team Emirates are ripping the peloton to shreds at the moment with Pavel Sivakov, Adam Yates and Joao Almeida in support of Tadej Pogacar. Primoz Roglic has just one Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe teammate with him in in the form of Jai Hindley.

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02:15 PM BST

44km to go

Healy cannot keep up now with Lazkano, who is on his own now at the front.

Back further down the road local boy Romain Bardet has fallen off the back of the peloton as has Geraint Thomas.

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02:13 PM BST

45km to go

With the gap to the peloton coming down, Oier Lazkano and Ben Healy attack and no-one can keep up with them.

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02:11 PM BST

45.5km to go

Wout van Aert crashes! Visma-Lease a Bike are on the front as they come round a corner and van Aert overcooks it and hits a barrier. It is massively surprising that he did not take anyone else down with him. The Visma-Lease a Bike team car has gone on as they need to support Vingegaard.

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02:10 PM BST

46km to go

All the big general classification teams are coming to the front now and the pace is frightening. The gap out in front is now just one minute as the breakaway hit the foot of the Col de Néronne, a category two climb which is 3.8km in length at 9.1%.

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02:08 PM BST

47km to go

The pace is being stepped up at the front of the peloton as the gap to the breakaway is now down to 90 seconds. Tim Wellens has done all he can for UAE Team Emirates and drops off.

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02:07 PM BST

48km to go

We have seen pigs, we have seen a bath, now we have bananas and a Dutch football fan! He does not look particularly pleased though, does he? Maybe he is pessimistic about their chances against England in the Euro 2024 semi-final tonight, which you can follow with all our build-up live here.

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02:03 PM BST

50km to go

Here is how the final 35km of today’s stage looks like, which includes a category one and category two climb:

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02:00 PM BST

52km to go

How is the defending champion Jonas Vingegaard feeling? Well, he spoke to ITV ahead of the stage:

Vingegaard is one minute 15 seconds down on Tadej Pogacar.

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01:55 PM BST

55km to go

We have not officially hit the categorised climb of Col de Néronne, but the riders are going uphill at the moment. The gap out in front has grown again to around two minutes.

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01:52 PM BST

57km to go

Meanwhile in Italy…

Clara Emond (EF Education-Cannondale) has won Stage 4 of the Giro d’Italia Women, the 134km long Imola-Urbino. Soraya Paladin (Canyon//SRAM Racing) and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ – Suez) finished second and third respectively.

Speaking seconds after the stage finish, stage winner Emond said: “It’s my first win ever and it’s very special to achieve it here at the Giro. It feels super good and I am proud of all the team work. This will help me to achieve more confidence, I was lacking it as I didn’t get any top results until now. I guess my career can change after today and I am looking forward to it”.

Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) retains the Maglia Rosa.

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01:49 PM BST

59km to go

Bahrain Victorious will be concerned about whether Fred Wright will make the time-cut. Remember the riders have to finish within around 20% of the winner’s time (the actual percentage is based on the speed of the stage) and currently he is 22 minutes down on the breakaway. He still has a decent amount of time to play with but the stage is only going to get harder from here with the climbs ahead. We do not know if he is struggling with illness but that does look quite likely as he did not look comfortable earlier.

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01:44 PM BST

62km to go

We have four categorised climbs remaining on stage 11 and they all come in the final 50km:

Col de Néronne, category two climb which is 3.8km in length at 9.1%

Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol, category one climb which is 5.4km in length at 8.1%

Col de Pertus, category two climb which is 4.4km in length at 7.9%

Col de Font-de-Cère, category three climb which is 3.3km in length at 5.8%.

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01:38 PM BST

68km to go

UAE Team Emirates have been on the front of the peloton and have brought the gap down to around a minute and a half. It has mainly been Nils Politt and Tim Wellens working on the front for them.

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01:32 PM BST

73km to go

If the breakaway stays away, which is a big if, we would have a new Tour de France stage winner. Only Richard Carapaz and Ben Healy (both of EF Education-EasyPost) have experienced winning a stage at a Grand Tour. The breakaway’s lead is one minute and 40 seconds.

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01:28 PM BST

76km to go

What is this man thinking about for today? The four categorised climbs ahead are punchy so what will his tactics be? Pogacar races in a way few others do and if he is feeling it he will go. His lead at the top of the general classification stands at 33 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step).

We have just heard over the Ineos Grenadiers team radio that the Visma-Lease a Bike riders are “jumping around” and “to take advantage of any weakness.”

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01:23 PM BST

78km to go

This is the calmest it has been all day as things settle before they will all kick off again with the climbs ahead. The breakaway have an advantage of one minute and 45 seconds over the peloton.

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01:15 PM BST

82km to go

Will Tom Pidcock (Ineo Grenadiers) fancy a shot at the stage victory today? He agonisingly missed out on stage nine, being pipped by Anthony Turgis. He is over 17 minutes down on general classification so how is he feeling ahead of today. Well, he spoke to ITV before the stage:

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01:09 PM BST

86km to go

A good confidence boost for Julian Bernard over the Lidl-Trek team radio, who is told he is in the form of his life and to only think about the result. If you remember back to the individual time trial on stage seven he was fined by the UCI by stopping to give his wife a hug and his son a hug. He was simply loving riding on his home roads and he had this response to that fine:

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01:04 PM BST

90km to go

Guillaume Martin will be aiming for his maiden stage victory at the Grand Tour today but the breakaway’s lead has been reduced to one minute 50 seconds. The Frenchman has topped the mountains classification at the Vuelta a España in 2020 and been as high as second in the general classification during the 2021 Tour de France, but is yet to secure a stage victory at his home Grand Tour or at the Giro or Vuelta either. He has finished in the top ten in the general classification at Grand Tours on three occasions, including 10th at the Tour last year. He holds a master’s degree in philosophy and has written two books.

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12:53 PM BST

97km to go

Here is a reminder of the 10 riders currently in the breakaway, who have a two minute and 20 second advanatage:

Oier Lazkano (Movistar), Bruno Armirail (Decathlon-Ag2R La Mondiale), Paul Lapeira (Decathlon-Ag2R La Mondiale), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), Oscar Onley (DSM-Firmenich PostNL), Matteo Vercher (TotalEnergies), Julien Bernard (Lidl-Trek), Romain Gregoire (Groupama-FDJ) and Guillaume Martin (Cofidis).

So Decathlon-Ag2R La Mondiale and EF Education-EasyPost each have two riders in the breakaway. UAE Team Emirates are on the front of the peloton, controlling the pace.

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12:50 PM BST

100km to go

After an enthralling two hours to start stage 11, we have just dipped under the 100km-to-go mark. We have four more categorised climbs to come today:

Col de Néronne, category two climb which is 3.8km in length at 9.1%

Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol, category one climb which is 5.4km in length at 8.1%

Col de Pertus, category two climb which is 4.4km in length at 7.9%

Col de Font-de-Cère, category three climb which is 3.3km in length at 5.8%.

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12:47 PM BST

103km to go

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12:40 PM BST

109km to go

The quartet of Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), Julien Bernard (Lidl-Trek), Bruno Armirail (Decathlon-Ag2R La Mondiale) and Romain Gregoire (Groupama-FDJ) have made it to the front six to make it a 10-man breakaway. The gap back to the peloton is now over two minutes.

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12:34 PM BST

115km to go

Nico Denz is no longer part of the chasing group, who are still 25 seconds shy of the leaders. The peloton has allowed the gap to the front group to go out to nearly two minutes.

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12:32 PM BST

116km to go

A great bit of insight from my colleague John MacLeary into Oscar Onley, who is in the breakaway:

Oscar Onley, the 21-year-old Scot, may be a name some are unfamiliar with but he is a rider whose attributes suit this stage to a tee. Ostensibly a climber, Onley is a rider who goes well on the punchy terrain where the neo-pro has registered his best results this season. After beating fellow Briton Stephen Williams – himself a decent puncheur – on Willunga Hill at the Tour Down Under in January, Onley followed up the only win of his short career with some creditable results back home in Europe.

Third at Gran Premio Miguel Indurain behind winner Brandon McNulty and runner-up Maxim Van Gils, was followed by a fifth spot on the final stage at this year’s Itzulia Basque Country. Challenging the likes of Carlos Rodríguez, Juan Ayuso, Marc Soler and Mattias Skjelmose in northern Spain tells you all you need to know about the trajectory this young man is on. He is a classy rider who could, one day, push for honours in the Ardennes classics – and possibly here in the Massif Central today.

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12:30 PM BST

118km to go

We have a five-man chasing group trying to bridge the gap to the breakaway. There are four Frenchmen; Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), Julien Bernard (Lidl-Trek), Bruno Armirail (Decathlon-Ag2R La Mondiale) and Romain Gregoire (Groupama-FDJ). Nico Denz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) completes the group. They are just over 30 seconds from the lead group.

Axel Zingle (Cofidis) was making it five French riders in there but he has sat up.

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12:25 PM BST

121km to go

The breakaway hits the top of the Côte de Larodde and Carapaz at the last minute comes past Lazkano to take two king of the mountains points. Oscar Onley takes the other point available. They have nearly a minute and a half now back to the peloton.

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12:19 PM BST

124km to go

UAE Team Emirates are on the front of the peloton with Pavel Sivakov right at the head. He turns 27 tomorrow like me so happy birthday to both of us for tomorrow!

The man in the green jersey, Biniam Girmay, has dropped out of the peloton now and is passed by local boy Romain Bardet, who had a mechanical issue but is working his way back into the peloton.

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12:17 PM BST

125km to go

The six-man breakaway, which has around 30 seconds now back to the peloton, have started the Côte de Larodde, a category three climb 3.8km in length at 6%.

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12:10 PM BST

130km to go

Richard Carapaz and Matteo Vercher have been joined by four other riders over the top in the shape of Oier Lazkano (Movistar), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), Oscar Onley (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) and Paul Lapeira (Decathlon-Ag2R La Mondiale). EF Education-EasyPost now have two riders up front in the shape of Carapaz and Healy. Lazkano takes the one king of the mountains point.

Riders are starting to drop out of the peloton now as a second peloton has formed with a number of the sprinters in there.

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12:05 PM BST

133km to go

We have hit the first categorised climb of the day up the Côte de Mouilloux, a category four climb which is 1.9km in length at 6.3%. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) and Matteo Vercher (TotalEnergies) have broken away again.

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12:02 PM BST

138km to go

The peloton has closed up to the breakaway and we are all together again. Here is the top five from the intermediate sprint:

1. Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies), 20 pts

2. Axel Zingle (Cofidis), 17 pts

3. Paul Lapeira (Decathlon-Ag2R La Mondiale), 15 pts

4. Frank Van den Broek (DSM-Firmenich PostNL), 13 pts

5. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), 11 pts

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11:54 AM BST

142km to go

Here are the riders in the breakaway at the moment:

Clement Russo (Groupama-FDJ), Silvan Dillier (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Axel Zingle (Cofidis), Cristián Rodríguez (Arkea-B&B Hotels), Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility), Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies), Matteo Vercher (TotalEnergies), Toms Skujins (Lidl-Trek), Paul Lapeira (Decathlon-Ag2R La Mondiale), Frank Van den Broek (Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL) and Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech).

Their gap back to the peloton is still only 10 seconds. This is hard, hard racing.

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11:50 AM BST

146km to go

The home boy Romain Bardet (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) on his final Tour has attacked from the peloton to try and join the breakaway, which is currently made up of 12 riders.

We have hit the intermediate sprint at Bourg-Lastic and Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) takes the maximum 20 points on offer. He started the day in fourth in the points classification but will be moving up into third.

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11:47 AM BST

148km to go

Bad news to bring you from Cofidis as they have confirmed that Ion Izagirre and Alexis Renard have stepped off the bikes and have abandoned. They were losing more and more time and sadly it seemed inevitable that they would stop. Perhaps some sickness in the Cofidis camp. We wish them well.

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11:44 AM BST

150km to go

Thank you John. Richard Carapaz and Cristián Rodríguez have been joined now by a number of riders at the front. There are 13 in the lead group which includes Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla), Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility) and Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) who won stage nine.

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11:37 AM BST

159km to go

Charly Wegelius, directeur sportif with EF Education-Easypost, has been warning his riders, telling them to watch out for Visma-Lease A bike today. Richard Carapaz and Cristián Rodríguez have been pressing on at the front of the race, but the duo have failed to gain any more time on the chasing peloton.

Ion Izagirre, meanwhile, is having a Weston-super-Mare and is almost seven minutes down, while south London’s Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) looks to be struggling, almost 5min down on Carapaz and Rodríguez.

There will be lots of nervous sporting directors today, monitoring the gaps while calculating the time-cut. Handing over to my colleague Kieran Crichard now who will take you through to the finishing line.

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11:31 AM BST

162km to go

Richard Carapaz and Cristián Rodríguez have been working well together, riding through-and-off as if doing a two-up, and have gained 13sec on the peloton. It is doubtful, however, that this pair will be afforded the freedom to genuinely contest the stage win this afternoon. Certainly not as a duo, at least.

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11:28 AM BST

165km to go

Richard Carapaz, not for the first time today, rises out of his saddle before making a slight acceleration in an effort to escape from the clutches of the peloton. The Ecuadorian Olympic road race champion, who is probably still smarting from being omitted from his nation’s squad for the Paris Games, is joined by fellow Spanish speaker Cristián Rodríguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels).

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11:26 AM BST

167km to go

Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), the Basque rider with two Tour stage wins on his palmarès, is clearly having a jour sans. He’s off the back and almost two minutes down on the peloton. He must be feeling ill or carrying some kind of sickness.

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11:22 AM BST

170km to go

Wave after wave of attacks are coming from the bunch, The latest involved Jake Stewart (Israel-Premier Tech), the British rider who Telegraph Sport tipped for great things a few years ago. As has been the case since the flag dropped a while back, however, nothing is sticking. The elastic his being held tightly by the peloton and is showing no sign of snapping. This is very tense, and brilliant, racing.

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11:18 AM BST

174km to go

And here come EF Education-Easypost. Italian national champion Alberto Bettiol, resplendent in his tricolore jersey, did a decent pull on the front while team-mate Ben Healey bobbed around in his inimitable (ok, quite ugly) style off his shoulder. Maxim Van Gils (Lotto Dstny) is sniffing around too. It appears that everybody is watching Healey today, watching and waiting  no doubt knowing full well that he will be more that willing to do the lion’s share of the work in any breakaway.

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11:11 AM BST

178km to go

All back as one at the moment, but interesting to note that Visma-Lease A Bike are looking lively. Christophe Laporte and Wout van Aert have both been riding near the front, perhaps thinking – or hoping – they can get into the day’s breakaway. Are they thinking about the stage win? Probably not, but most likely hoping to become satellite riders for their team leader Jonas Vingegaard later in the day. Another rider who has put himself near the front of the bunch is a certain Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers).

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11:04 AM BST

185km to go

Within the blink of an eye, or as long as it takes for an advertising agency to try and sell us some Soudal adhesives or Alpecin shampoo, the breakaway was subsumed by the UAE Team Emirates-powered peloton. Julien Bernard (Lidl-Trek) and Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny), almost immediately, counter-attacked, but again they were reeled back in. A frenetic start to the stage. Ben Healey is riding like a man possessed, looking determined to get into the day’s breakaway.

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10:58 AM BST

190km to go

What was the three-man breakaway has grown to 18. That very strong looking group has 20sec on the peloton, which is being guided along by UAE Team Emirates.

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10:52 AM BST

193km to go

Kobe Goossens (Intermarché-Wanty) has hit the deck. It appears that the Belgian lost his front wheel on a slight right-hand sweep on a gradual descent. Not entirely sure what happened, but he wasted little time in getting back up and into the saddle. Tough lads these cyclists.

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10:49 AM BST

195km to go

A number of riders and teams are attempting to bridge over to that leading trio. As a result of that increase in pace, their advantage has dropped to around 15sec. Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease A Bike) is involved in the chase, as is Ben Healey. Welshman Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech), who won Flèche Wallonne in the spring is getting involved, as is Scot Oscar Onley (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers). Some serious firepower in this chasing group.

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10:44 AM BST

200km to go

A three-man breakaway has clipped off up the road, but as it stands they have just 10sec on the peloton. Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) and Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), however, will I am sure be joined by a few others before the stage reaches the first climb of the day.

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10:38 AM BST

206km to go

Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), the Swiss time trial specialist, wasted little time in getting himself near the pointy end of the stage, before Richard Carapaz (EF Education-Easypost) counter-attacked. Is the Ecuadorian thinking about his own personal ambitions today, or working for team-mate Ben Healey?

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10:33 AM BST

And they’re off!

Race director Christian Prudhomme has dropped the flag to signify the start of racing. Unsurprisingly, a number of teams are sniffing around the front of the pack with a few looking like they are wanting to get riders into a breakaway.

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10:26 AM BST

Bonjour

Hello, good morning and welcome to our live rolling blog from stage 11 at the Tour de France, the 211 kilometre run from Évaux-les-Bains to Le Lioran.

With its sawtooth profile and not inconsiderable climbing – the stage features six categorised climbs and 4,350 metres in vertical elevation – today is a day that, on paper, could favour the baroudeurs of the peloton.

Following Monday’s rest day and yesterday’s relatively flat (950 metres of elevation) pootle from Orléans to Saint-Amand-Montrond, one suspects the climbers and puncheurs will be licking their lips in anticipation as they head into the Massif Central.

How the day is raced, however, may depend on how the teams of the general classification contenders approach the stage.

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) leads Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) by 33 seconds, with defending champion Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike) at 1min 15sec, going into the stage. As it stands, mercifully, it is impossible to say with hand on heart who will take home the maillot jaune, the leader’s yellow jersey, from this year’s race.

While much of the focus has, thus far, been on the battle between the top three, today is a day that may suit Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), the three-time Vuelta a España champion who loves to attack on short spiky climbs.

Equally it could be a day that suits the attributes of Pogacar or Evenepoel. Both, as you will no doubt be aware, have editions of Liège-Bastogne-Liège on their palmares (two apiece) which is as gnarly a race as today’s stake appears. Up and down all day long with barely a centimetre of flat asphalt, it will be a draining day in the saddle that will require full concentration from team leaders and their domestiques.

Alternatively – and possibly more likely – this could be a day for a breakaway when a former general classification contender tosses his sweaty casquette into the ring. And yes Monsieur Bardet, we are looking at you.

The winner of the opening stage into Rimini, Italy, will be racing on his home roads through the Massif Central this afternoon in what is his final outing at the Tour before he retires after next year’s Critérium du Dauphiné. The head says Romain Bardet (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) cannot win a second stage at this year’s Tour, but this Frenchman rides with his heart and will be cheered on by loyal fanatics, so who knows?

If a sizeable breakaway manages to form, it will be interesting to see who is in it. This observer would not be surprised to see Birmingham-born Irishman Ben Healey (EF Education-Easypost) have a crack. Healey is an aggressive sort and a good puncheur who has in the past impressed at hilly one-day races like Amstel Gold and the aforementioned Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The only criticism of Healey – admittedly based purely on brief moments I have seen him at this year’s Tour – is that on occasion he sticks his nose into the wind a little more than he ought to. Good for breakaway colleagues, not so good for his palmares. But still, if there were one stage that suits Healey, this is the one.

Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), winner of the mountains classification last year, may also fancy his chances on a course that suits his riding attributes. With a maximum of 35 points up for grabs in the mountains classification, it would certainly help him build the foundations for a second assault on the maillot a pois, the polka-dot jersey, should he be so inclined (no pun intended).

His team have had a rotten streak of luck at this year’s race. Having lost their general classification rider Tao Geoghegan Hart prior to the grand depart in Florence after the Londoner managed to get himself another bout of Covid, the American team subsequently lost Mads Pedersen last week following a nasty fall. A short while ago, Lidl-Trek announced that Tim Deqlercq would not start today’s stage after the Belgian had been feeling unwell for the last couple of days. Is today the day Lidl-Trek get the roll of the dice?

Anyway, Telegraph Sport is veering dangerously close to speculation so we should probably stop and let somebody a little more qualified to talk about today’s stage. Here is what race director Christian Prudhomme said about the route: “There’s only one stage across the rugged Massif Central, but what a stage it is.

“With 4,350 metres of vertical gain, the riders will have to be on their mettle at all times, and particularly in the final 50 kilometres, when the degree of difficulty rises a level with a series of very challenging obstacles: the climb to the Col de Néronne, then to the Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol with its fearsome final two kilometres, then continuing on to the Col de Pertus, the Col de Font de Cère and the ascent to Le Lioran. They provide all manner of opportunities for eager climbers to attack.

Racing is due to get under way shortly.

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