Waerenskjold had spotted his chance 400 metres from the finish of the 161-kilometre stage. Cees Bol, riding in the lead-out for Kooij, had opened up a huge gap on the rest of the field. The 26-year-old recognised the situation, accelerated in Bol’s slipstream and used his speed advantage to open up a gap of his own, which proved enough to secure his first Tour stage victory.

“I thought I’d been too far back, but then a gap opened up on the right-hand side. That doesn’t usually happen. It felt just like my first big win at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad,” said Waerenskjold in his post-race interview. “In that race, too, I was too far back and then suddenly right at the front. It’s incredible.”

Almost as incredible: at 50.9 km/h, the 11th stage of the 2026 Tour de France goes down in history as the fastest ever – time trials excluded. And, just as curious: Philipsen, who crossed the finish line in third place, was initially demoted because the jury claimed to have spotted a breach of rules in his sprint. A few minutes later, the Belgian was back in third place in the results.

The German sprinters, just like the previous sprint dominator Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step), were unable to make it into the final sprint this time. Pascal Ackermann (Team Jayco AlUla) finished tenth, Max Kanter (XDS Astana Team) 18th, and Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain - Victorious) 24th. Merlier finished in 15th place. Mads Pedersen (Lidl - Trek), too, finished 11th and was unable to score the points he had hoped for in the battle for the Green Jersey.

He retains the lead in the special classification, whilst Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) retains the lead in the general classification and the mountains’ jersey, and Juan Ayuso (Lidl - Trek) remains in white.

2026 Tour de France – Results of Stage 11

This is how the 11th stage of the 2026 Tour de France unfolded

​A fast stage got off to a flying start with an early attack by Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin - Premier Tech). Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto Intermarché), who had been part of the breakaway in the first week, followed suit. The peloton wasn’t having any of it. Alpecin, in particular, was keen to get into the group so as to avoid having to do the chasing work. Another attempt by van der Poel also failed, and his team-mate Jonas Rickaert was unable to break away either.

It was only after 15 kilometres that the peloton began to break up. Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling Team), Nelson Oliveira (Movistar Team), Anthon Charmig (Uno-X Mobility) and Mathis Le Berre (TotalEnergies) formed a group of four, initially pursued by Liam Slock (Lotto Intermarché). However, he was unable to catch up with the leaders, and the quartet established a lead – albeit with the usual small gap of just over a minute.

After 28 kilometres, there was a scramble for points at the intermediate sprint, particularly within the peloton. Philipsen edged out Kanter and Pedersen there. Shortly afterwards came the day’s first mountain classification (4th category) at Charmig, where he claimed the sole point. Whilst a few raindrops had even fallen on the riders at the start of the day, the sun soon broke through again.

The average speed in the first part of the race was also remarkable. Despite a slight headwind, the leading group completed the first hour of the race at an average speed of almost 53 km/h. Further back, XDS Astana and, later, Soudal Quick-Step took turns setting the pace.

A strange finale in Nevers

The pace hardly slowed down throughout the day either. With 50 kilometres to go, the average speed was still 51 km/h. Alaphilippe broke away from the group ten kilometres later; the group managed to hold on to their narrow lead of just under a minute right up until the final 20 kilometres, even though Picnic PostNL, Decathlon CMA CGM and NSN also joined in the chase.

Six kilometres from the finish, the remaining breakaway riders were caught. After that, the road narrowed and, surprisingly, the peloton eased off the pace. There were no real groups willing to take the initiative.

So Waerenskjold went on the offensive early on with a sprint. A gap opened up, which at first nobody seemed willing to close. By the time Kooij and Philipsen launched their sprints, however, it was too late – they were unable to catch the Norwegian.