The second-longest stage of the 2024 Tour de France, Stage 11 brings the riders into the Massif Central, a region known for tough climbs, technical roads, and high temperatures. A breakaway should escape to fight for the stage win–but with four hard climbs clustered inside the final 50km of the stage, the GC battle could reignite as well.
- Date: Wednesday, July 10
- Distance: 211km
- Start location: Évaux-les-Bains
- Finish location: Lioran
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Beginning in Évaux-les-Bains, a first-time Tour de France stage town, Stage 11 heads due south through the Creuse department and into the Puy-de-Dôme department, at which point the riders might be able to see the department’s namesake ascent—a steep climb to the top of an extinct volcano that made a return in last year’s Tour de France after a 35-year absence—off in the distance to their left.
The first hour of the stage should be fast, as the battle to join the day’s breakaway will be fierce. Teams targeting the stage win might try and send at least two riders up the road—one to go for the win and the other to help—so it could be a large group that eventually pulls away once the GC teams feels that the right mix of out-of-contention riders has escaped.
This is a big day for Norway’s Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility)—who’s been wearing the polka dot jersey as the leader of the Tour’s King of the Mountains competition since Stage 1. The 28-year-old currently leads the competition by 13 points, but with another 24 points available over the course of the day’s six categorized climbs, another rider could become a threat if Abrahamsen doesn’t go on the attack to defend his advantage.
Once the breakaway has been established, the race should settle down as the riders cover a series of rolling roads through the day’s Intermediate Sprint—in Bourg-Lastic, 65km into the stage—and then over two Category 4 climbs midway through the stage. With the sprinters’ teams treating this like a rest day–and the GC teams saving their energy for the four categorized climbs inside the final 45km of the stage—don’t be surprised if the breakaway’s lead approaches ten minutes or more.
The finale begins with the Category 3 Col de Néronne, a short (3.1km) but super-steep (9.1 percent average gradient) climb that will really hurt the riders as the rhythm of the stage shifts, forcing them off of their large chainrings and onto their smaller ones. The road flattens out at the top of the Néronne as the riders cross a short plateau before a brief descent takes them to the base of the day’s biggest climb, the Category 1 Puy Mary.
The Puy Mary has hosted the Tour de France on several occasions, most recently in 2020 when it served as a summit finish on Stage 13. A breakaway took the spoils that day, but behind the escapees, the GC battled erupted as well–which was fitting as the Puy Mary is one of the many extinct volcanoes that inhabit the region. The breakaway will certainly have been blown apart by the Puy Mary’s steep upper slopes–the final kilometer alone has an average gradient of 14 percent–with only the day’s strongest riders continuing on to contest the final two climbs and fight for the stage win.
A technical 11km descent takes the riders from the top of the Puy Mary down to the base of the day’s penultimate climb: the Category 2 Col de Pertus (4.4km at 7.9 percent average gradient). This is another short, punchy ascent, and there are 8, 5, and 2 bonus seconds available to the first three riders over the summit.
From the top of the Col de Pertus there are only 14.6km left in the stage, with about 5km of descending before the day’s final climb: the Category 3 Col de Font-de-Cère. This is probably the easiest climb of the final four, but it comes after 200km of racing and brings the day’s total elevation gain up to a whopping 4,350m.
The finish lines sits less than 3km from the top, with a flat kilometer over the top of the climb followed by a shirt descent to the red kite with a kilomter to go. The final kilometer drags uphill to the finish line in Le Lioran, a ski resort in the Massif Central that last hosted the Tour in 2016.
Stages through the Massif Central region are often among the hottest in the Tour, but that won’t be the case on Wednesday with sunny skies and temperatures expected to be in the low- to mid-80s.
Riders to Watch
In 2020—when Stage 13 finished atop the Puy Mary—EF Education won the day with Colombia’s Daniel Martínez (who now rides for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) winning the stage. The team put multiple riders in the 17-rider breakaway that day, and it paid off in the end. Look for the team to employ similar tactics on Wednesday, with Ireland’s Ben Healy, Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz, and American Neilson Powless all contenders on a stage with a finish as hard as this one.
The final hour of the stage has a profile that looks a lot like the finish of an Ardennes Classic, with a string of short, punchy climbs that could’ve come right out of races like Flèche Wallonne or Liège–Bastogne–Liège. That makes Great Britain’s Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech)—who won this year’s Flèche Wallonne—another rider to watch on Stage 11. France’s Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich PostNL)—the surprise winner of Stage 1—finished second at this year’s Liège–Bastogne–Liège and could be targeting a second stage win here.
And last but not least–at least as far as the stage victory is concerned–keep an eye on France’s Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ). The Frenchman sits 17 points behind Abrahamsen in the Tour’s King of the Mountains competition and could go on the attack in search of both the stage win and the polka dot jersey.
Behind the breakaway, Stage 11 could become an important day for the Tour’s GC contenders. Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates)—a two-time Liège–Bastogne–Liège winner—is likely licking his lips at the stage’s rugged finale, with lots of places from which he could launch an attack to try and extend his lead.
Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) will need to be at his best at the end of another stage that’s not entirely suited to his strengths. But if he holds on, he’ll find more favored terrain in the high mountains that come later in the Tour.
How to Watch Stage 11 of the Tour de France
You can stream Stage 11 of the 2024 Tour de France on NBC’s Peacock ($5.99/month or $59.99/year). If you’re looking for ad-free coverage, you’ll need a subscription to Peacock Premium Plus, which runs $11.99 per month or $119.99 for the year.
The stage has an earlier finish than most—the riders are expected to arrive in Le Lioran a little after 11:00 a.m. EDT—but with four tough climbs inside the final 50km, the final 75 minutes of the race will be exciting.
If you can, we suggest tuning in around at about 9:45 a.m. EDT–just as the race hits the first of the day’s final four climbs: the Category 3 Col de Néronne, whose steep slopes should start the fireworks.
How to Watch Stage 11 of the Tour de France in the Canada
If you live in Canada, you can catch all the action on FloBikes. An annual subscription will cost you $29.99/month or $150/year.
How to Watch Stage 11 of the Tour de France in the U.K.
UK viewers can watch the Tour de France on ITV4, Eurosport, and Discovery+.
A standard Discovery+ subscription, featuring Eurosport’s cycling coverage, costs £6.99 monthly or £59.99 annually. The premium subscription, which includes all this plus TNT Sports, is available for an extra £29.99 per month.
Tour de France Results So Far
- Stage 10 Recap
- Stage 9 Recap
- Stage 8 Recap
- Stage 7 Recap
- Stage 6 Recap
- Stage 5 Recap
- Stage 4 Recap
- Stage 3 Recap
- Stage 2 Recap
- Stage 1 Recap
Since getting hooked on pro cycling while watching Lance Armstrong win the 1993 U.S. Pro Championship in Philadelphia, longtime Bicycling contributor Whit Yost has raced on Belgian cobbles, helped build a European pro team, and piloted that team from Malaysia to Mont Ventoux as an assistant director sportif. These days, he lives with his wife and son in Pennsylvania, spending his days serving as an assistant middle school principal and his nights playing Dungeons & Dragons.
