Pogačar relinquishes yellow on Col du Granon

The eleventh stage of the Tour de France saw the riders face their first real Alpine challenge, with 151.7km from Albertville to Col du Granon which saw an exciting stage play out with Tadej Pogačar letting go of the yellow jersey.

Halfway through the stage at Col du Galibier, Pogaçar was had to defend himself from numerous attacks by the Jumbo-Visma riders, with Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard taking turns to attack the maillot jaune.

With less than 10km from the finish, the Slovenian was once again able to count on the help of Rafal Majka in tackling the last ascent to Col du Granon, but was unable, shortly after, to respond to the attack of the Jumbo Dane.

In the last 5 km, in fact, Vingegaard detached everyone, taking back the last of the breakaway and going on to win the stage.
Pogačar finished the stage in seventh position 2’51 back, thus losing the Yellow Jersey and now sitting in third place in the General Classification.

Pogačar: “On the Galibier I felt very good and managed to defend myself from the many attacks of the Jumbo-Visma riders. On the last climb, however, I did not find the necessary strength to respond and I suffered a lot. Jumbo did a great job tactically speaking, and it is not easy for us to manage it as we are missing two riders.
It was a difficult day but I want to give my best until the end because there are still many stages to decide this Tour ”.

Tomorrow the Grand Boucle offers another challenging stage: 156km from Briancon to Alpe d’Huez with very little plain and continuous ups and downs.

11th stage result:
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 4h18’02”
2.Nairo Quintanta (Team Arkéa Samsis) + 59″
3.Romain Bardet (Team DSM) + 1’10″
7.Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) + 2’51”

General classification after the 11th stage:
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 41h29’59”
2.Romain Bardet (Team DSM) + 2’16”
3.Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) + 2’22”