A hair-raising stage 11 around Toulouse saw Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) lead the way from kilometer 0 all the way to the finish!
The Norwegian was the first attacker right at km 0, with Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) on his wheel. Behind them, the pace was relentless, with loads of riders eager to make the most of a punchy course. But in the end, the first two attackers were also the first two to reach the line in Toulouse, as Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) came 7 seconds shy of reeling them in.
Already a hero of the Tour 2024 with his many breakaways, Abrahamsen takes his first Grand Tour victory, as well as Uno-X Mobility’s first. In the finale, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) crashed, but he quickly got back up and finished in the same time as his GC rivals, ahead of three key stages in the Pyrenees.
After the first rest day, 172 riders faced a punchy 156.8-km loop around Toulouse. There wer 1,750 metres of elevation to overcome, with most of the climbs packed in the finale.
A brutal battle from the gun
Ahead of the last ascents of the day, attackers were inspired at the start, and Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) set off as soon as the peloton passdd km 0. He was followed by Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) and Davide Ballerini (XDS Astana).
The three riders worked well together but many more riders wanted to get on the move. Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) was very aggressive, and so was Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), Kévin Vauquelin (Ark-B&B Hotels), Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ)…
With so many riders attacking again and again, the three early attackers struggled to open a significant gap despite covering 51.7 km in the first hour. Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) and Mathieu Burgaudeau (Total Energies) made it a 5-man lead group at km 74.
Even Healy attacked
The gap to the bunch eventually hit one minute… But more counter-attackers wanted to make the break. The bunch exploded and Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) himself attacked with 65 kilometers to go! Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) followed him, and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) had to react.
Stragglers got back. And attackers set off again – this time, Simmons put the hammer
down, and he was followed by Van Aert, as well as Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Axel Laurance (Ineos Grenadiers) and Arnaud De Lie (Lotto). As the calm returned to the peloton, these five attackers worked together to chase the five leaders.
Schmid and Abrahamsen set off
Already into the last 50 kilometers, the road ascended with the main uphill challenges of the day. The gap from the five leaders to the five chasers stabilized around 30’’ while the peloton trailed by 2’30’’.
Schmid attacked on the penultimate climb – côte de Vieille-Toulouse (summit at km 142.5) – and Abrahamsen joined him at the front. Behind them, Simmons set off in pursuit.
As they faced the Côte de Pech David (800m at 12.4%), Schmid and Abrahamsen were 20’’ ahead of Simmons, Burgaudeau and Wright, while the group with Van der Poel trailed by 30’’. Over the top, Van der Poel is the first chaser (+20’’).
Pogacar crashes, Abrahamsen wins
In the peloton, Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) attacked but Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) reacted and the GC contenders got back together for the final run-in to Toulouse, marked by the Slovenian’s crash with 6 km to go. He quickly got back up and his rivals waited for him.
At the front, nobody waited for anybody. Van der Poel moved closer and closer to the lead duo but he was 7 seconds shy of catching them. A very tight sprint eventually crowned Abrahamsen, claiming his first ever Grand Tour win. The GC contenders finish together on the eve of a great battle to Hautacam.
