Alaphilippe will wear the maillot jaune on the first day in the Pyrenees.
The yellow jersey has never been lost on a stage to Toulouse, and Julian Alaphilippe made sure of keeping the record going as the Tour de France resumed after a rest day spent in Albi. The first Frenchman in eight years to lead the general classification so deep into the race, Julian was protected by his teammates, who also took the race into their own hands and controlled the four-man breakaway on stage 11 with the same incredible Kasper Asgreen.
His hard and selfless work paid dividends with 14 kilometers to go, when the break – struggling to remain at the front – saw their lead hover around 20 seconds. Despite a late surge of one of the escapees, it was game over for them some five kilometers from the line and the lead-out trains began slotting into position on the technical finish to Toulouse, which made its return at the race after an 11-year-hiatus.
Elia Viviani got involved again in the bunch gallop and hit a maximum speed of 71.2km/h, taking third behind Caleb Ewan (Soudal-Lotto) and Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) and netting Deceuninck – Quick-Step’s fifth podium in at this edition.
“I would have loved to win again, but it just wasn’t meant to be. On the other hand, Caleb was the only sprinter without a victory until today, which says a lot about the level of this Tour de France. Now we will go into the mountains and it will be important to stay focused, take it day by day and think of the next opportunity, which comes on Tuesday’s stage 16”, Elia said ahead of the first day in the Pyrenees.
Photo credit: ©Justin Setterfield/ Getty Images
