2020 Tour de France: Stage 11 Results

Caleb Ewan of the Lotto Soudal team claimed a second stage win in the 2020 Tour de France on Wednesday in Poitiers. With an ultimate throw on the line Caleb was faster than Peter Sagan, Sam Bennett and Wout Van Aert in a bunch sprint. It is the 2nd stage win for the Australian and team Lotto Soudal after his stage win in Sisteron in stage 3.

“It was such a crazy finish,” said Ewan after the stage. “I was in the front with 1.5km to go and dropped back because of the head wind. After my first stage win I knew I had to keep calm and wait for the right time and the gap to open. That happened quite late to the finish. I did a big throw on the line and didn’t know if I won. I had a real desire to win today. After yesterday I was disappointed and I am so happy to repay my teammates with the win.

“I am super happy with my two stage wins. One just takes the pressure off. Then after the first one you always want a second. And now I for sure want a third victory, especially in Paris with the Champs-Élysées. So I hope to get through the mountains and get another chance in Paris.

“With Lotto Soudal we are down to five guys. That means we only have four guys to do the work for me in the sprint stages. After the hard work during the stage I had to manage with two guys in the final 10 kilometers. The other teams put us under a lot of pressure with the attacks. But my two guys rode like ten guys. They did such a terrific job.

“My closest opponent Sam Bennett is one of my best friends. It is always business when it comes down to sprinting. But we are happy for eachother when we win. I was very happy for him yesterday getting his first win. You saw how much it meant for him and I know how hard he worked for it.”

Sagan Relegated

Though he finished second in the sprint, Peter Sagan suffered a major blow to his green jersey chances when he was later relegated for an incident with Wout Van Aert in the final meters.

Having fought for space on his way to the line, Sagan was against the barriers and losing space, passing one rider but bumping shoulders with Van Aert to get through. The Slovak rider took second position, however, this incident in the closing meters of this tense finale saw Peter relegated from the day’s standings.

“Today, I had the speed and, in the sprint, I tried to go on the right side,” Sagan said after the stage. “I passed one rider easily, but then it got really narrow. I had to move to avoid the barriers and as a result, I got relegated. This cost me a lot of points but I still have not abandoned the fight for the green jersey.”

“In the sprint, Peter was in a good position but at times he was blocked and in the final meters he saw a possibility that he could go for the win if he rode close to the barriers,” added Enrico Poitschke, BORA-Hansgrohe Sports Director. “He touched Van Aert harder than what he would have liked to, so he was relegated. That’s far from perfect but we have to accept it.”

Bennett Stays in Green

Though he finished third in the sprint, Sam Bennett was elevated to second after Sagan’s relegation, giving him a buffer of 68 points in the green jersey classification.

“The guys did a fantastic job looking after me and I got to enjoy another beautiful day in this nice jersey and get a lot of support and applause from the roadside fans,” Bennett said. “The sprint was really nervous and I found myself in the front too early, so I drifted back a bit, but it was too late. Despite that, I tried to limit my losses and get the most out of it. Would have been nice to add another win, but second is still a strong result in these conditions, especially as it helps me increase my lead in the points standings.”

2020 Tour de France Stage 11 Brief Results:

1. Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) at 4h00’01”
2. Sam Bennett (Deceuninck – Quick Step) s.t.
3. Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma) s.t.
4. Bryan Coquard (B&B Hotels/Vital Concept) s.t
5. Clément Venturini (AG2R La Mondiale) s.t.
6. Mads Pedersen (Trek – Segafredo) s.t.

General Classification After Stage 11:

1. Primož Roglič (Team Jumbo-Visma) at 46h15’24”
2. Egan Bernal Gómez (INEOS Grenadiers) at 21″
3. Guillaume Martin (Cofidis, Solutions Crédits) at 28″
4. Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) at 30″
5. Nairo Quintana Rojas (Team Arkéa Samsic) at 32″

Sprint Classification:

1. Sam Bennett (Deceuninck – Quick Step) 243 pt
2. Peter Sagan (BORA – hansgrohe) 175 pt
3. Bryan Coquard (B&B Hotels / Vital Concept) 157 pt
4. Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) 155 pt
5. Matteo Trentin (CCC Team) 140 pt