It might just go down as one of the most memorable Tour de France stages we’ve ever seen. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), seemingly unbeatable in the yellow jersey, was attacked relentlessly and eventually dropped by a rampaging Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) who now leads the Tour by more than two minutes.
Photographers Ashley and Jered Gruber were there covering the stage, as they have been all Tour, but as they wrote on social media, it was lucky they managed to get any photos on the final climb.
After all the stress, here’s what they managed to capture. Some amazing shots I think you’ll agree!
The first climb of the day was the incredibly photogenic Lacets de Montvernier.After shooting on the Lacets de Montvernier, the Grubers made their way to the Col du Granon …… where Jonas Vingegaard was putting in a ride for the ages.Nairo Quintana attacked from the group of favourites on his way to second on the stage, and now sits fifth overall.Geraint Thomas looked good throughout and will be hopeful of a podium position in Paris.Pogačar was dropped by Vingegaard and ejected from the maillot jaune on a rare bad day for the Slovenian.Warren Barguil led the race solo for a time but eventually cracked and finished in 10th place.Here’s Vingegaard again, on his way to a maiden Tour stage win, and the yellow jersey.An in-form Quintana is just a good thing for the Tour (and for cycling in general).Speaking of resurgent climbers, Romain Bardet has a real shot at a third Tour podium after finishing third on the stage and moving to second overall.Thomas is fourth overall, but just 10 seconds away from Bardet in second.The face of a man in uncharted waters.Here’s a factoid for you: never before in Pogačar’s career has he worn the leader’s jersey in a stage race and not gone on to win that race. Only once has he been ejected from the leader’s jersey. That was at the 2020 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, and he won the following stage to clinch the overall. You just know the two-time Tour champ is going to come out swinging on stage 12.Simon Geschke maintained his grip on the KOM jersey for another day.Tom Pidcock has been wearing the white jersey of best young rider while Pogačar has been in yellow. Pidcock will have to hand back the jersey tomorrow as Pogačar’s now out of yellow. Pidcock lost about 10 minutes on stage 11, but still sits in 11th overall.Sepp Kuss (foreground) and Primož Roglič could enjoy a leisurely ride to the finish after doing their work earlier in the day. They were seen celebrating Vingegaard’s win when they crossed the line.The only way Wout van Aert doesn’t win green at the Tour is if he doesn’t finish the race. He was instrumental in Vingegaard’s win, getting in the break then riding hard to put pressure on Pogačar.Philippe Gilbert gets a helping hand in his final Tour de France.After finishing the stage, the riders put on jackets then descended the way they came, back to their team buses. Another tough day of climbing is on the cards for tomorrow.
