Stage 11 DS Insights Preview
🚴♂️ Tour de France 2025 – Stage 11 (After the Rest Day).
📍 Route: Toulouse → Toulouse (156 km)
🗓️ Date: 16 July 2025 (Wednesday)
⛰️ Terrain: Rolling with punchy climbs and technical finale
☀️ Conditions: Post-rest day heat (30 °C+), light NW wind – ideal breakaway weather
🔥 DS Tactical Breakdown
We’re back in the saddle after a critical rest day, and Stage 11 offers a deceptively tough out-and-back course around Toulouse. It’s no high-mountain epic, but this is a trap stage—the kind that breaks rhythm and legs if you’re not alert.
Key Tactical Themes:
- Breakaway Goldmine: The profile screams “get in the move.” Expect 15–20 strong riders up the road. Teams like Alpecin, EF, and Lotto-Dstny will flood it early.
- GC Teams Sit Tight: With the Pyrenees looming, UAE and Visma may ride conservatively. Pogačar might sniff out bonus seconds on the final ramp if close.
- Finale Fireworks: The Cote de Pech David climb (800m at 12%) just 10 km from the line is a launchpad. Riders like van der Poel, Evenepoel, or Cort could attack here to split the finale.
- Sprinter Survivors? Unlikely. Girmay and Milan will fight hard but may get shelled on the climbs. It’s more of a puncheur’s party today. Let’s include Alaphilippe for a shot at the finish.
🧠 Directeur Sportif Picks
🥇 Likely Stage Hunters:
- Mathieu van der Poel – Alpecin: perfect profile, explosive power, survived similar finales before.
- Wout van Aert – Visma LAB: if the group is large enough and he’s freed from team duties.
- Magnus Cort – Uno-X: veteran breakaway specialist, thrives on this kind of terrain.
- Ben Healy – EF: in yellow, but he’s still aggressive. Don’t rule him out to go again!
- Axel Laurance – Alpecin: dark horse if MvdP is marked.
🃏 GC Bonus Chasers:
- Tadej Pogačar – UAE: might launch late for time bonuses.
- Remco Evenepoel – Quick-Step: will try to shadow Pogi or even counter if legs allow.
🇿🇦 Past South African Glory Note
While no SA riders feature in this year’s peloton, Daryl Impey famously won on a similar lumpy day in 2019 (Stage 9 to Brioude). Stage 11 could produce that same kind of gutsy late solo attack from a rider with nothing to lose and everything to gain.
🏆 Classification Watch
🚨 GC – General Classification (Yellow)
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1️⃣ | Ben Healy | EF Education-EasyPost | — |
| 2️⃣ | Tadej Pogačar | UAE Team Emirates | +29s |
| 3️⃣ | Remco Evenepoel | Soudal–Quick-Step | +1:29 |
| 4️⃣ | Jonas Vingegaard | Visma–Lease a Bike | +1:46 |
| 5️⃣ | Matteo Jorgenson | Visma–Lease a Bike | +2:06 |
🟢 Points Classification (Green Jersey)
| Rank | Rider | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1️⃣ | Tadej Pogačar | 156 |
| 2️⃣ | Jonathan Milan | 122 |
| 3️⃣ | Biniam Girmay | 111 |
🔴 KOM Classification (Polka Dot Jersey)
Leader not officially confirmed, but Healy, Storer, or Powless likely hold the jersey after Stage 10.
🤍 Young Rider Classification (White Jersey)
| Rank | Rider | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1️⃣ | Kevin Vauquelin | Top 10 overall, consistent |
| 2️⃣ | Matteo Jorgenson | GC top 5, also eligible |
| 3️⃣ | Oscar Onley | Steady climbing performances |
⚠️ DS Notes to Riders
- Fuel Smart: Heat and short sharp climbs make this a nutrition-critical day.
- Climb Positioning: Be near the front on Pech David – gaps will form instantly.
- Rest Day Legs: The first 40 km could be frantic. Expect weird legs and weird moves.
- Control the Chaos: If in the break, work hard early. If not, protect the GC and conserve energy. Bigger battles are coming.
📢 DS Call Summary
“All right boys, reset those legs and eyes up front. This is a day for opportunists, not over-thinkers. If you want to win this stage, you have to go all-in from the gun or time it perfectly on Pech David. Expect UAE to sit back unless bonus seconds show up on a platter. This is a knife fight in a phone booth—explosiveness beats endurance today.”
