
Abrahamsen wins Tour de France stage 11 as Pogacar crashes near finish
The thrilling stage over 156km from Toulouse and back was unexpectedly won by Abrahamsen as a long range breakaway foiled the ambitions of the sprinters. Abrahamsen contested a two-way cat-and-mouse war of nerves down the home straight with Swiss Mauro Schmid as the cunning Mathieu van der Poel crept up on them and finished third at 7sec.
Healy retained the overall lead on his first day in the fabled yellow jersey, while Pogacar remains second and Evenepoel third.
Following Tuesday's rest day, Wednesday's run was billed as a likely sprint finish with 70 points at stake in the sprint points standings at Toulouse. The UAE rider Pogacar struggled to put his chain on after sliding across several meters of tarmac and had looked as if he would lose 30 to 40 seconds.
Healy will lead the peloton into the Pyrenees on Thursday where the first real mountains will test his and everyone's legs on the legendary beyond category Hautacam climb.

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France 24
19 hours ago
- France 24
Arensman climbs to misty Tour de France win as Pogacar extends lead
Double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel, who had been third overall, pulled out of the race on the day's first climb, the daunting 2180m altitude Tourmalet. As the disappointed Belgian Soudal Quick-Step rider left the race Arensman attacked on the third of four mountains on a colossal climb day while Slovenian Pogacar outsprinted Jonas Vingegaard for second just over a minute behind the winner. Crossing the line in the mist at 1840m altitude, Arensman flung himself to the ground exhausted after taking a first win on this Tour for British team Ineos. "After all that effort it was beautiful to win. "I was focussed on trying to get in the breakaway and luckily I had good legs today," Arensman said. The 25-year-old produced a virtuoso climb amidst suffocating packs of near hysterical fans who had waited all day for the peloton to pass. Behind him Pogacar fought off a string of attacks from his arch rival Vingegaard on a day the Slovenian never looked like attacking for the win. Winner of the past two stages Pogacar pounced for the line from 50 metres with his trademark kick gaining another six seconds on the Dane. Pogacar, overall race winner in 2020, 2021 and 2024, now leads Vingegaard by 4min 13sec with Florian Lipowitz moving into third place at 7min 53sec. Pogacar praised Arensman as "the strongest of the breakaway and strongest of the race". "That was one hell of a ride from him. You could only see 20m ahead," said the race leader. "I was quite scared racing down the Tourmalet, I was behind Arensman and he just disappeared into the fog," said Pogacar. Biathlon to white jersey Lipovitz rode on Pogacar's wheel until Dane Vingegaard, who won Tour titles in 2022 and 2023, had attacked late on. The 25-year-old Red Bull rider Lipowitz took the best young rider's white jersey and is a rising force in cycling, which he came to late after switching from the winter sport biathlon, a mixture of shooting and cross-country skiing. "When I came here I had no pretensions of taking the white jersey, so I'm really happy," said the quietly spoken 6ft 4in (1.93m) German. "The crowds were so encouraging, it makes you want to ride faster." Evenepoel's premature exit meanwhile came following Friday's stamina-sapping uphill time trial. "Today in the morning I could feel I was empty and on the climb the legs just weren't there," said Evenepoel, a fan favourite. "It's a pity, but you need to be 110 percent to win this race." Evenepoel had won the stage five time trial and but for a blunder on day 1 would likely have at least worn the yellow jersey at some stage of the first week. "It really sucks for the Tour to lose someone like him," Pogacar said. Ireland's Ben Healy, who did wear yellow for two days, climbed back up to ninth as the EF rider who arrived in the Pyrenees in the lead but suffered badly on the first climb, rode all day on stage 14 with the Pogacar clique. Frenchman Lenny Martinez led over the first three mountains and has the polka dot King of the Mountains jersey. After three days in the Pyrenees the riders next have a hilly stage 15 over 169.3km from Muret to the medieval fortified town of Carcassonne. © 2025 AFP


France 24
20 hours ago
- France 24
Arensman climbs to Tour de France stage win as Pogacar extends lead
Double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel, who had been third overall, pulled out of the race on the day's first climb of the daunting 2180m altitude Tourmalet. The Belgian Soudal Quick-Step rider appeared exhausted after Friday's uphill time trial. Arensman attacked on the third of four mountains on a colossal climb day while Slovenian Pogacar outsprinted Jonas Vingegaard for second just over a minute behind the winner. Crossing the line in the mist at 1840m altitude, Arensman flung himself to the ground exhausted after taking a first win on this Tour for British team Ineos. The 25-year-old produced a virtuoso climb amidst suffocating packs of near hysterical fans who had waited all day for the peloton to pass. Behind him Pogacar fought off a string of attacks from his arch rival Vingegaard on a day the Slovenian never looked like attacking for the win. Winner of the past two stages Pogacar pounced for the line from 50 metres with his trademark kick gaining another six seconds on the Dane. Pogacar, overall race winner in 2020, 2021 and 2024, now leads Vingegaard by 4min 13sec with Florian Lipowitz moving into third place at 7min 53sec. German Lipovitz of Red Bull rode on Pogacar's wheel until Dane Vingegaard, who won back-to-back Tour titles in 2022 and 2023, had attacked late on. After three days in the Pyrenees the riders next have a hilly stage 15 over 169.3km from Muret to the medieval fortified town of Carcassonne.


France 24
20 hours ago
- France 24
Dutch rider Thymen Arensman wins Tour de France stage 14, Pogacar retains yellow jersey
INEOS Grenadiers team's Dutch rider Thymen Arensman cycles in the descent of Col d'Aspin during the 14th stage of the 112th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 182.6 km between Pau and Luchon-Superbagneres, in the Pyrenees mountains of southwestern France, on July 19, 2025. Thymen Arensman of the Netherlands won the 14th stage of the Tour de France, a 182.6-km mountain trek betweem Pau and Superbagneres on Saturday. Slovenian Tadej Pogacar retained the overall leader's yellow jersey. Read morePogacar dominates Tour de France time trial to extend overall lead (FRANCE 24 with Reuters)