Le Tour 2014 – Stage 11

Besançon – Oyonnax

Distance: 187.5 kilometers.

Not too bad today as the categorized climbs don’t start until the last 50 kilometers, and feature a 3-3-4-3 group with a downhill run to the finish.

As often happens on the Tour, the day after a rest day features people realizing how sore they really are. Fabian Cancellara, another big name, withdrew before the start in hopes of getting well for another race later in the season, and Andrew Talansky struggled with a back injury all day. Talansky finished alone, a half hour after the stage winner and may withdraw tomorrow if he can’t get some relief.

Nicholas Roche won the Red Numbers in his attempt for a stage win, but ran out of energy at the end, being overtaken by Tony Gallopin who took the stage

Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 ) [Yellow] 46h 59′ 23″
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) [Green] 301 points
Joaquim Rodriguez ( Esp – KAT – 021 ) [Polka Dot] 51 points
Romain Bardet ( Fra – ALM – 082 ) 4 [White]

Team: AG2R La Mondiale ( ALM – 081-089 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Tony Gallopin ( Fra – LTB – 134 )
Combative: Nicolas Roche ( Irl – TCS – 037 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 )
2 Richie Porte ( Aus – SKY – 007 ) + 02′ 23″
3 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte ( Esp – MOV – 011 ) + 02′ 47″
4 Romain Bardet ( Fra – ALM – 082 ) + 03′ 01″
5 Tony Gallopin ( Fra – LTB – 134 ) + 03′ 12″
6 Thibaut Pinot ( Fra – FDJ – 127 ) + 03′ 47″
7 Tejay Van Garderen ( US – BMC – 141 ) + 03′ 56″
8 Jean-Christophe Péraud ( Fra – ALM – 081 ) + 03′ 57″
9 Bauke Mollema ( Ned – BEL – 061 ) + 04′ 08″
10 Jurgen Van Den Broeck ( Bel – LTB – 131 ) + 04′ 18″

The Rest of the Top 30:

11 Jakob Fuglsang ( Den – AST – 042 ) + 04′ 31″
12 Michal Kwiatkowski ( Pol – OPQ – 074 ) + 04′ 39″
13 Geraint Thomas ( GB – SKY – 008 ) + 05′ 17″
14 Alberto Costa Rui ( Por – LAM – 111 ) + 05′ 34″
15 Mikel Nieve Iturralde ( Esp – SKY – 005 ) + 06′ 03″
16 Pierre Rolland ( Fra – EUC – 151 ) + 06′ 47″
17 Christopher Horner ( US – LAM – 114 ) + 07′ 33″
18 Laurens Ten Dam ( Ned – BEL – 067 ) + 07′ 42″
19 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre ( Esp – TFR – 169 ) + 08′ 01″
20 Leopold Konig ( Cze – TNE – 201 ) + 08′ 25″
21 Cyril Gautier ( Fra – EUC – 154 ) + 09′ 12″
22 Yury Trofimov ( Rus – KAT – 029 ) + 10′ 32″
23 Steven Kruijswijk ( Ned – BEL – 064 ) + 10′ 35″
24 Brice Feillu ( Fra – BSE – 211 ) + 11′ 32″
25 Frank Schleck ( Lux – TFR – 161 ) + 11′ 51″
26 Tanel Kangert ( Est – AST – 046 ) + 15′ 27″
27 Tom Dumoulin ( Ned – GIA – 106 ) + 15′ 43″
28 Jan Bakelants ( Bel – OPQ – 072 ) + 19′ 50″
29 John Gadret ( Fra – MOV – 013 ) + 21′ 27″
30 Peter Velits ( Svk – BMC – 149 ) + 24′ 24″

Did not start:

Fabian Cancellara ( Sui – TFR – 163 )

Note: Wikipedia has a simple article on the Mountain classification used on the Tour. The basic fact is that climbs fall into five types, with the four numbered types decreasing in difficulty as the numbers get larger, and then there is the Hors Catégorie, literally “without category”, which generally makes you look for an elevator or Sherpas.

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