Only one stage after losing the overall lead in the Tour de France, Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Belisol) took a thrilling victory on stage 11 with a last-ditch solo attack. The Frenchman attacked on a short uncategorised climb roughly 13km from the finish before being caught and then attacking again about 3km from the line.
It’s these types of wins which make bike racing so unpredictable and exciting. But the backstory of the day goes to Andrew Talansky who experienced a completely different feeling at the back of the race. He was at the verge of abandoning due to back injuries sustained on stage 7 and rode over 80km on his own after losing contact with the peloton.
After 20km of suffering, Talanski stopped on the road side in front of the broom wagon but his directeur sportif Robbie Hunter convinced him to get back on his bike. The Critérium du Dauphiné winner crossed the line in last place, 32:05 behind stage winner Tony Gallopin, just inside the time cut.
Read the full race report and results from Stage 11 of the 2014 Tour de France here.
Enjoy the photos from stage 11 courtesy of BrakeThrough Media (follow on Instagram and Twitter) and Cor Vos. More to come…
- Niki Terpstra with girlfriend Ramona and kids before Stage 11 in Besançon.
- Koen de Kort with his parents (who have followed him on every one of his Tours de France).
- Vincenzo Nibali goes into Stage 11 wearing yellow after winning it back from Tony Gallopin two days ago in La planche des Belles Filles.
- Voeckler might not be the most popular rider in the peloton, but he’s a fan favourite in France
- The relentless pace of Garmin-Sharp to bring back the break was putting many riders in difficulty. Meanwhile the team’s would-be GC leader was off the back and steadily losing time.
- With 13.4km to the finish Tony Gallopin attacked and went over the top on his own, his advantage hovering at roughly 10 seconds. Peter Sagan led the peloton down the hill in pursuit and his superb descending skills created a small split in the peloton. Gallopin was caught with just 4.3km of downhill and flat roads to the finish as Sagan came to the front, trying to keep the group of four away. Gallopin was back on the front with 3.3km remaining and then he was off the front, putting in a second big attack for the day. Gallopin entered the 1.6km-long finishing straight with no more than 10 seconds over the chase group. The three chasers were swept up just inside a kilometre to go as the peloton bore down on Gallopin. But the Frenchman had done enough.
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- Gallopin raised his arms in triumph as he crossed the line, winning just metres ahead of a reduced peloton led home by John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) and stage 7 winner Matteo Trentin (Omega Pharma-QuickStep).
- John Degenkolb has been dealing with injury but looked good with his second place showing. Degenkolb said, “I knew how strong Tony [Gallopin] was when he was out front but I kept believing. Tom [Dumoulin] did a great job for me in helping me get back to the front but in the end we came up just short. The good thing is that I am back feeling good again and the damaged muscle is getting better. I think I have endured the hardest week in my cycling career both mentally and physically but the morale is good now and today gives me a lot of confidence to move on and look for other opportunities.”
- Suffering from pain in the back and on the verge of giving up, Andrew Talansky (Garmin-Sharp) finally crossed the line in last place, 32’05 behind stage winner Tony Gallopin. Sports Director Robbie Hunter stopped the team car and encouraged Talansky on the roadside with over 50km remaining, which initially looked as though Talanski would be abandoning. “Honestly, I didn’t say too much,” Hunter told journalists. “I said to him that the decision was up to him. If at the end of the day, he finds himself in a situation where he can’t continue, no problem. But if he wants to fight on and get to the finish – because that’s the kind of guy he is – then the only way we’re going to get there is by riding.”
- Stage 11 was Peter Sagan’s 52nd stage at the Tour de France. In all but five of those days he’s worn the green jersey, however he is getting frustrated that he hasn’t won a stage yet this Tour.