Schmid grieves after lost millimeter sprint, Wright hit his absolute limit: "Van der Poel passed me at 3 times the speed"
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Follow us on GoogleA full day of brutally intense racing, capped off with a thrilling finale for dessert. Stage 11 of the Tour de France was another feast for cycling fans! Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) had a shot at the win but was narrowly beaten by Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility). Fred Wright also couldn’t match the strength of the powerhouse Norwegian. Both riders put in an incredible performance but went home empty-handed.
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The disappointment was written all over Schmid’s face. “I thought stage ten was already tough,” he told Eurosport. “I set some records on my Garmin that day, but today was even harder. A day after the rest day, with a stage like this, there are many guys like me who want to get in the breakaway. The upcoming stages will either be super tough or end in a sprint. This was a great opportunity, and everyone had time to recover. So it was full gas all day.”
He had been in the breakaway since kilometer zero and had to fend off the charging Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert in the finale. But together with his four companions, they managed the near impossible. “We worked really well together. We all had our highs and lows, but usually there’s a middle section in a race where you can catch your breath. That didn’t happen today. That made it especially hard.”
Read more below the video!
Schmid had to fight to make the breakaway: “That’s when the finale basically started”
The Swiss national champion might have been the strongest climber of the day. “The race began with phase one, getting into the break,” he explained on his team’s social media. “Once we were in, the finale basically started right away. There was a chasing group with five strong riders, and we knew it was best not to let them catch us. So we kept pushing. On the penultimate climb, I heard they were closing in. That’s when I thought: it’s time to go, otherwise Van der Poel and Van Aert are going to make it really hard for us.”
On that climb, he broke away from the rest of the front group. “I got away with Abrahamsen, he was really strong today, right from the start.” The two of them rode into Toulouse, and after holding off Van der Poel in the background, they sprinted for the stage win. But it almost became a three-man sprint. “It was incredibly loud, so I couldn’t hear anything through the radio. But I heard the gap stayed at around 10 seconds.”
Read more below the video!
Wright: "Those last 100 meters on the penultimate climb..."
Wright finished seventh and was far less disappointed than his Swiss breakaway companion. The Brit from Bahrain Victorious found some joy in light of his unfortunate Tour history. “After last year, when I had to abandon on stage 11, I saw today’s stage and thought: I’m going for it. It was a beautiful stage, but in the end, I just didn’t have it.” He ended up losing 53 seconds to the winner.
The finale was incredibly tense, especially with Van der Poel, Van Aert, and others closing in from behind. “I knew they were coming, but those last 100 meters on the penultimate climb… I felt okay, I just had to stay on the wheel. I knew Schmid was strong, but on that last stretch, I didn’t have it anymore. I couldn’t help Quinn Simmons, and that final climb was brutal.”
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“Van der Poel passed me going three times my speed”
On the Côte de Pech David, the brutally steep final climb of the day, Wright hit the wall. That’s where he was overtaken by the big names from the second group. “Van der Poel passed me going three times my speed,” he laughed. “With the headwind in the finale, I thought maybe I could come back, but it’s a shame. I had great legs, but hey, it’s the Tour, right?”
Having to bridge to the lead group midway through the stage surely took a toll on his legs. Wright, along with Mathieu Burgeaudeau, had to put in a massive effort. “We fist-bumped when we made it: we pulled it off! But after a battle like that, you’re already at your limit. I wanted to race it like a one-day classic and I definitely did. Hopefully, I won’t suffer too much after this.”
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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
