Tour de France Stage 11: Possibly the Fastest Stage of the Tour
Stage 11 - Chatelaillon-Plage to Poitiers - 167.5km - Wednesday, September 9
Stage 11 should be one of the most straightforward of the 2020 Tour de France. It’s short, offers no major difficulties, and if there’s a tailwind as the race heads inland from the Atlantic coast, could have one of the fastest average speeds of any stage.
The day begins along the beach in Chatelaillon-Plage and then heads northwest toward Poitiers, which hosts the Tour for the ninth time. Along the way, there’s a Category 4 climb just outside of Cherveux (91 km) followed by the Intermediate Sprint in Les Grands Ajoncs (108km).
But other than that, there’s little to write home about until the race hits Poitiers. The finish is fairly straightforward save for two tight left-hand corners at about 3,300- and 2,500-meters to go. The final kilometer is almost perfectly straight, so the sprinters should have little trouble setting themselves up for the final dash to the line.
Assuming there are no crashes, there should be no major changes to the General Classification. Instead, this is a day for the Tour’s green jersey contenders to continue their battle to win the Points Competition, which has become a two-horse race between Quick-Step’s Sam Bennett and BORA-hansgrohe’s Peter Sagan. Bennett took back the jersey by winning Stage 10 and now leads Sagan by 21 points.
Riders to Watch
This stage should end in a field sprint with Bennett, Sagan, and Lotto-Soudal’s Caleb Ewan the top favorites to win the day. Team Sunweb seems to be getting its act together in support of Cees Bol, so keep an eye on the young Dutchman as well.
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When to Watch
If you happen to be free around 11 a.m. EDT, tune-in for the final 10km. Otherwise, catch a replay later in the day. The sprint should be exciting, but the rest of the stage, well, not so much.
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