It may be one of the most memorable stages of the Tour de France we have ever seen. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), seemingly unbeatable with the yellow shirt, was attacked relentlessly and was eventually dropped by Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), who now leads the Tour for more than two minutes.
Photographers Ashley and Jered Gruber were there covering the stage, as they have all been on the Tour, but as they wrote on social media, it was lucky they got no photos of the final climb.
Here is Ashley’s post on Jered’s account:
And here is Jered:
After all the stress, this is what they managed to capture. Amazing photos, I think you will agree!
The first climb of the day was the incredibly photogenic Montets de Lacets. After firing at the Lacets de Montvernier, the Grubers headed for the Col du Granon J… where Jonas Vingegaard was taking a walk for centuries. Nairo Quintana attacked from the group of favorites on his way to second on the stage, and now ranks fifth overall. Geraint Thomas has shown himself well everywhere and will be waiting for a podium position in Paris. Pogačar was sent off by Vingegaard and sent off in the yellow jersey on a rare bad day for the Slovenian. Warren Barguil led the solo race for a while, but eventually exploded and finished in 10th place. Here you have Vingegaard again, on his way to a first Tour stage victory, and the yellow jersey. A fit Quintana is just a good thing for the Tour (and for cycling in general). Speaking of resurrected climbers, Romain Bardet has a real chance of a third podium in the Tour after finishing third on the stage and moving on to second place overall. Thomas is fourth overall, but just 10 seconds behind Bardet in second. The face of a man in unexplored waters. Here’s a fact: never before in Pogačar’s race had the leader’s jersey been worn in a stage race and he hadn’t won that race. He has only once been kicked off the leader’s shirt. This was in the Tour of the Valencian Community 2020, and won the next stage to get the general. You already know that the two-time Tour champion will come out swinging on stage 12. Simon Geschke kept control of the KOM jersey another day. Tom Pidcock wore the white shirt of the best young driver while Pogačar went yellow. Pidcock will have to return the shirt tomorrow, as Pogačar is out of yellow. Pidcock lost about 10 minutes on stage 11, but is still 11th overall. Sepp Kuss (foreground) and Primož Roglič were able to enjoy a quiet walk to the finish line after doing their work early in the day. They were seen celebrating Vingegaard’s victory when they crossed the line. The only way Wout van Aert won’t win the Tour is if he doesn’t finish the race. It was crucial for Vingegaard’s victory, reaching the break and then riding hard to put pressure on Pogačar. Philippe Gilbert gets a hand in his last Tour de France. After finishing the stage, the runners put on their jackets and then went down the path where they were coming from, back to the buses of their teams. Another hard day of climbing is scheduled for tomorrow.