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Follow us on GoogleIt was yet another Mathieu van der Poel show in stage 11 of the Tour de France. The Dutchman from Alpecin-Deceuninck continued what he’d been doing all week: attack, attack, attack. He ended up in third place, a strong result, but not an easy one. A head cold and poor radio communication created a tricky situation.
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Before the stage, Van der Poel told NOS that he’d gotten through the rest day reasonably well. “A rest day is always welcome. I hope it helped the whole peloton. It’s always nice, though sometimes you feel even more tired after it. But this time it wasn’t too bad, mainly nice to not have a set schedule and just take it easy,” said the Dutchman, who sounded a bit congested.
The ride to Toulouse seemed like a stage tailor-made for him. “The plan is definitely to go for it again,” confirmed the winner of stage two. “We’ll see how the race plays out, but if a small, controllable group gets away, we’ll definitely help chase. We reconned the final two climbs on Tuesday, and that last one is right on the limit. If Vingegaard and Pogacar start attacking each other there, it’ll be tough for the rest to follow.”
Read more below the video!
Van der Poel unaware of remaining breakaway group: “Only found out later”
It didn’t quite work out: after two hours of all-out racing, Van der Poel launched an attack alongside Wout van Aert in pursuit of the breakaway. But he never quite made it. After accelerating on the final climb, he came within seven seconds, but the win went to Jonas Abrahamsen. The former world champion had thought he was riding for the victory. “It was a chaotic situation. I only found out later that two riders were still ahead, so that’s a shame.”
His attack was so explosive it looked like it had been the plan all day. “Not really,” Van der Poel said, catching his breath. “I didn’t feel like I had much left in the tank when Quinn Simmons went on the second-to-last climb. When Wout responded, I was right on my limit. I tried to recover a bit in that flat section, but I didn’t expect to have anything left to give after that.”
Read more below the video!
Sniffling Van der Poel: "That's why I was reluctant in the beginning"
After dropping Van Aert, Axel Laurance (INEOS Grenadiers), and Arnaud De Lie (Lotto), Van der Poel believed he was leading the race, especially after catching Quinn Simmons and Mathieu Burgeaudeau (TotalEnergies). “At one point I did. The race radio has been a mess all week. I think with so many devices in the Tour, it just glitches. I thought the group we were chasing was the breakaway, but I quickly noticed from the motorbikes that there were still guys up the road.”
He nearly closed the gap, 35 seconds dropped to just 7, but couldn’t quite make contact before the front two sprinted it out. “I knew it was going to be tough. I had to pace myself a little, and I figured they’d keep working together to sprint for the win.” In the end, Abrahamsen narrowly edged out Mauro Schmid (Jayco–AlUla).
Initially, Van der Poel hadn’t expected to go for the win himself. “I definitely wasn’t feeling great at the start, and I’d told the team they could race for the stage. But at some point I found myself in the front again, saw the opportunity, and just went for it.” After the finish, he confirmed he was dealing with a cold. “But a lot of riders in the peloton have the same thing. I had a heavy head, but it got better as the stage went on. That’s why I was a bit reluctant in the beginning.”
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Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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Latest Comments
- Eight riders told to go for stages, and nobody gets one—hard to know what the plan was there. It’ll be interesting to see whether they pick a clear leader next time.bikebuffj10-11-2026
- Was Bernal’s 20th place really their best GC result? I thought he might have finished higher. Either way, it sounds like a rough Tour for the whole team.gearguru3310-11-2026
- Five days in breaks with no stage win is a painful stat. The team had chances, but they need to turn those opportunities into results.julien10-11-2026
- The Onley Vuelta example makes sense: a team with someone to rally around often looks much more cohesive. Hopefully INEOS can build on that rather than expecting a quick return to the Sky years.cadencekingm10-11-2026
- Thomas is right about the ambiguity. Eight riders all chasing stages can end up pulling in different directions, even if nobody’s deliberately working against anyone. They need a clearer plan once the GC leaders are out.robert6510-11-2026
- What a mess. The report makes it sound as though nobody properly explained the decision, and that’s hard to defend.jennifer1910-11-2026
- I’m still learning the rules: does moving left in a sprint automatically bring a penalty, or does it depend on whether the other rider is blocked? It sounds like Brand wasn’t impeded here.patriciaw10-11-2026
- A final decision still needs a proper explanation. If the federation’s complaint goes nowhere, I hope the officials at least review how they handled the riders afterwards.michael5410-11-2026
- Fair play to Lucinda for saying Marie had won fair and square. That kind of sportsmanship matters, especially after such a controversial decision.raceready710-11-2026
- Schreiber beat Brand on the road, so the jury needed to explain clearly why that slight deviation warranted relegation. Being cut off before she could give her account sounds appalling.lindae10-11-2026
