Tour de France 2017: Stage 11

Tour de France 2017: Stage 11

by Katie Haskins

Stage type: Road Race – sprint

Length: 203.5 km/126.4 miles

Route: Eymet to Pau (M-A to Poe)

We’re officially at the halfway stage of the race. Some statistics for you. The riders have gone 1775 km/1103 miles and still have 1766 km/1096 miles left to ride. 22 teams started, but only 11 are still complete. 198 riders started the race but only 180 are still in as of the start of today’s stage. They have done 25 categorized climbs and still have 28 left.

As for today’s stage, a three man breakaway got away at the start of the stage. There was a small crash at the end of the feed zone. Minor by the speed and number of riders on the ground, but unfortunately Dario Cataldo had to abandon the race with a broken wrist. There was another crash at the start of the Category 4 climb, which included Alberto Contador, but all of them got up and rode off.

At 28 km/17.4 miles left, Maciej Bodnar, one of the three riders in the breakaway, attacked the others and rode off when the peloton was mere seconds behind them. The two quickly got swallowed by the pack but Bodnar managed to get another minute plus gap. He managed to stay out in front until 500 meters to the finish, but by then the sprinters had built up steam and barreled down the straightaway. Marcel Kittel once again crossed 1^st in 4:34:27.

The leaderboard had no change from the previous day.