Cycling: After today's mass sprint, there should be a decision in the sprint tomorrow at the Tour de France. Who will win at Poitiers? We see Sam Bennett cheering again.
No chance for the escapees
This year's Tour de France was described as perhaps the most mountainous Tour de France of all time. We've had a few bunch sprints so far, but tomorrow's in Poitiers could actually be the last before Paris. The 19th stage to Champagnole might offer another chance. But one thing is clear: from the day after tomorrow, the focus will be on the climbers. The eleventh section starts in Châtelaillon-Plage and ends after 167,5 kilometers on a wide road in Poitiers. The only climb of the day is a joke even for the sprinters. Also, it is taken far too far from the finish line to actually affect the outcome of the race. The intermediate sprint 59,5 kilometers before the finish will be exciting again. The wind is likely to play less of a role as riders turn their backs on the Atlantic and cycle inland.
Highlights of Stage 11 of the 2020 Tour de France
- 13:25 Neutral start in Châtelaillon-Plage
- 13:40 Sharp start in Châtelaillon-Plage
- 76,5 km before the finish: mountain classification cat. 4, Côte de Cherveux (1,1 km at 4,4%)
- 59,5km to go: intermediate sprint in Les Grands Ajoncs
- Arrival in Poitiers after 167,5 kilometers
Velomotion prognosis: Bennett does it again
At the age of 29 - soon 30 - years Sam Bennett (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) won his first stage of a Tour de France today. The Irish champion thus took over the green jersey from Peter Sagan (Bora – hansgrohe) and is on the verge of a big surprise in this points ranking. His team knows that there will be a mass sprint in Paris, where many points will be at stake. Before that, however, no sprint finish is certain – except tomorrow in Les Grands Ajoncs. And because it is to be expected that Bora - hansgrohe will come up with some ideas together with Peter Sagan in the mountains, Deceuninck - Quick-Step absolutely has to force this mass sprint. If the Irish champions want to be presented with the green jersey in Paris, they might even have to win tomorrow. And there's his train – especially drivers Michael Morkov – proved once again today that he is hard to beat, we see him cheering again on the eleventh stage.
☆☆☆ Sam Bennett
* * Caleb Ewan, Cees Bol
* Peter Sagan, Elijah Viviani, Bryan Coquard