Tadej Pogačar retained the yellow jersey after Tour de France stage 11, with the general classification contenders finishing together on the record-breaking sprint stage from Vichy to Nevers.
Søren Wærenskjold won the stage ahead of Olav Kooij and Jasper Philipsen after launching an early sprint inside the final 400 metres. The 161.3km route was completed at an average of 50.9km/h, making it the fastest road stage in Tour history.
The full race story is covered in our Tour de France 2026 stage 11 report and results.
There was no change inside the overall top ten. Pogačar continues to lead Jonas Vingegaard by 3:36, with Remco Evenepoel third at 4:06.
Mads Pedersen kept the green jersey after scoring at the early intermediate sprint, although Biniam Girmay reduced the Dane’s overall advantage by finishing sixth in Nevers.
Juan Ayuso remains in white, 13 seconds ahead of Paul Seixas, while Pogačar continues to lead the mountains classification. As the Slovenian cannot wear yellow and polka dots at the same time, Vingegaard will again wear the mountains jersey on stage 12.
Tour de France 2026 jerseys after stage 11
| Classification | Leader after stage 11 | Advantage |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow jersey | Tadej Pogačar | 3:36 over Jonas Vingegaard |
| Green jersey | Mads Pedersen | 43 points over Biniam Girmay |
| Polka-dot jersey | Tadej Pogačar | 15 points over Jonas Vingegaard |
| White jersey | Juan Ayuso | 13 seconds over Paul Seixas |
| Team classification | Lidl-Trek | 24:18 over UAE Team Emirates-XRG |
| Stage 11 combativity | Anthon Charmig | Most combative rider |
Pogačar leads two classifications, meaning Vingegaard will continue wearing the polka-dot jersey on the road.
The distinction between leading and wearing the jersey is explained in our guide to why Jonas Vingegaard is wearing polka dots when Tadej Pogačar leads the mountains classification.
Lidl-Trek will also retain the yellow helmets as the leading team. The American squad holds the green jersey through Pedersen and the white jersey through Ayuso alongside its large team-classification advantage.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Charly LópezTour de France 2026 general classification after stage 11
| Position | Rider | Team | Time or gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tadej Pogačar | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 39:25:08 |
| 2 | Jonas Vingegaard | Team Visma-Lease a Bike | +3:36 |
| 3 | Remco Evenepoel | Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe | +4:06 |
| 4 | Juan Ayuso | Lidl-Trek | +4:22 |
| 5 | Paul Seixas | Decathlon CMA CGM | +4:35 |
| 6 | Florian Lipowitz | Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe | +4:44 |
| 7 | Isaac del Toro | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | +5:08 |
| 8 | Mattias Skjelmose | Lidl-Trek | +5:45 |
| 9 | Lenny Martinez | Bahrain Victorious | +6:34 |
| 10 | Tom Pidcock | Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | +11:49 |
Pogačar passes through a record-speed stage safely
Stage 11 offered no obvious opportunity for the general classification contenders to gain time, but its record speed made it far from a relaxed transition day.
The peloton covered the stage in 3:10:06, with the breakaway never allowed more than a manageable advantage. Several sprint teams shared the chase, while a favourable wind helped keep the average above 50km/h.
The race structure behind that record is explored in our explainer on why Tour de France stage 11 was so fast.
Pogačar finished safely in the main group alongside Vingegaard, Evenepoel and the other leading riders.
That preserved the gaps created on stage 10 at Le Lioran. Pogačar leads Vingegaard by 3:36 after taking another 54 seconds from the Dane on the combination of Puy Mary and the Col de Pertus.
Our GC and jerseys update after stage 10 shows how the classification changed following Pogačar’s attack.
The yellow jersey was nearly involved in an incident when he struck a loose bottle in the road, but he remained upright and returned to position without difficulty.
The stage therefore became a successful day for UAE Team Emirates-XRG. The team did not need to control the breakaway or expose its climbing domestiques and reached Nevers without losing time.
The podium contest remains much closer than the yellow jersey battle
Pogačar’s lead is substantial, but the fight behind him remains tightly balanced.
Vingegaard holds second place by only 30 seconds over Evenepoel. Ayuso is another 16 seconds behind the Belgian, while Seixas and Lipowitz are also within 1:08 of Vingegaard.
| Position | Rider | Gap to Vingegaard |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Jonas Vingegaard | Leader of podium contest |
| 3 | Remco Evenepoel | +0:30 |
| 4 | Juan Ayuso | +0:46 |
| 5 | Paul Seixas | +0:59 |
| 6 | Florian Lipowitz | +1:08 |
| 7 | Isaac del Toro | +1:32 |
| 8 | Mattias Skjelmose | +2:09 |
Visma-Lease a Bike must therefore consider the riders behind as well as the yellow jersey ahead.
Vingegaard cannot simply attack Pogačar without considering the possibility of Evenepoel, Ayuso or another podium contender using the move against him. Evenepoel’s time-trial ability also means the 30-second gap between second and third remains particularly fragile.
Ayuso and Seixas are both challenging for the podium while simultaneously fighting over the white jersey. Del Toro remains within striking distance despite dropping four places at Le Lioran.
The flatter stage 12 should preserve the current order, but the contest will become more important once the Tour reaches the Vosges, Jura and individual time trial.
Pidcock keeps tenth after difficult Le Lioran crash
Tom Pidcock remains tenth overall at 11:49.
The British rider finished safely in the peloton one day after crashing during stage 10 and losing key mountain domestique Chris Harper, who did not start in Vichy after undergoing surgery on a serious thumb injury.
The full sequence of attacks, crashes and time gaps is covered in our stage 10 report from Le Lioran.
Pidcock’s position remains vulnerable.
Egan Bernal is 11th at 12:15, only 26 seconds behind, while Ilan Van Wilder sits another 28 seconds farther back.
| Position | Rider | Time or gap |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Lenny Martinez | +6:34 |
| 10 | Tom Pidcock | +11:49 |
| 11 | Egan Bernal | +12:15 |
| 12 | Ilan Van Wilder | +12:43 |
| 13 | Davide Piganzoli | +13:38 |
| 14 | Tobias Halland Johannessen | +14:50 |
| 15 | Sean Quinn | +15:08 |
The large gap between Martinez and Pidcock separates the leading nine from the contest for the final top-ten place.
Pidcock must decide whether protecting tenth remains worth limiting his opportunities to enter breakaways. His stage-hunting prospects would improve if he deliberately lost time, but doing so would surrender a position he has fought to retain through the opening half of the race.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Charly LópezTour de France 2026 green jersey standings after stage 11
| Position | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mads Pedersen | Lidl-Trek | 319 |
| 2 | Biniam Girmay | NSN Cycling Team | 276 |
| 3 | Jasper Philipsen | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 255 |
| 4 | Tim Merlier | Soudal Quick-Step | 225 |
| 5 | Max Kanter | XDS Astana Team | 205 |
| 6 | Olav Kooij | Decathlon CMA CGM | 160 |
| 7 | Søren Wærenskjold | Uno-X Mobility | 159 |
| 8 | Tadej Pogačar | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 107 |
| 9 | Anthony Turgis | TotalEnergies | 103 |
| 10 | Huub Artz | Lotto Intermarché | 89 |
Pedersen limits the damage despite missing the sprint
Pedersen did not contest the stage victory in Nevers, finishing 11th after losing position during the chaotic final kilometres.
His day was still productive.
The intermediate sprint arrived after only 27.9km, encouraging Lidl-Trek to remain alert during the opening fight for the breakaway. Mathis Le Berre took the maximum points from the escape, but Pedersen finished ahead of his principal green jersey rivals in the peloton.
That helped protect his lead before Girmay recovered points at the finish.
Girmay placed sixth, reducing his deficit to 43 points. He remains Pedersen’s most immediate challenger because of his consistency and ability to score on stages that are slightly too difficult for the pure sprinters.
Philipsen crossed the line third and retained the result after initially being relegated by the commissaires. His points moved him back ahead of Merlier, who finished only 15th after Soudal Quick-Step lost control of its lead-out.
Stage 12 now becomes particularly important.
It is likely to be the final conventional bunch sprint for several days and offers another intermediate sprint alongside 50 points at the finish. Pedersen does not need to win, but another strong points return would leave his rivals with fewer obvious opportunities to close the gap.
The wider arguments for and against his challenge are set out in our analysis of whether Mads Pedersen can win the Tour de France green jersey.
Philipsen returns to third after jury reversal
Philipsen’s position in the points classification briefly appeared much worse after the stage.
The Belgian was initially relegated following contact during the sprint, which would have moved him to the back of the finishing group and cost most of the points earned for third place.
Alpecin-Premier Tech approached the commissaires, who reviewed further footage and reversed the decision.
Philipsen was restored to third in the stage result and collected the accompanying green jersey points. That moved him ahead of Merlier in the classification, although he remains 64 points behind Pedersen.
The distinction between relegation and disqualification is important. Philipsen was never removed from the Tour, and the final decision means no penalty remains in his official stage result.
His difficult opening half of the race has already been examined in our analysis of what is going wrong for Jasper Philipsen at the Tour de France.
Wærenskjold enters the green jersey top seven
Wærenskjold’s stage victory moved him to seventh in the points classification, only one point behind Kooij.
Neither rider is currently close enough to Pedersen to become the principal green jersey threat, but their positions reflect the consistency of their sprint campaigns.
Kooij has won in Pau and finished second in Nevers. Wærenskjold has now added victory to his earlier second place in Bordeaux.
Both could make another substantial gain on stage 12.
The larger problem for Pedersen’s rivals is that points are being shared among several different sprinters. Merlier, Kooij and Wærenskjold have all won stages, while Girmay, Philipsen and Kanter have collected repeated high finishes.
Pedersen has benefited from being the most consistent scorer rather than dominating every bunch sprint.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Charly LópezTour de France 2026 mountains classification after stage 11
| Position | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tadej Pogačar | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 42 |
| 2 | Jonas Vingegaard | Team Visma-Lease a Bike | 27 |
| 3 | Richard Carapaz | EF Education-EasyPost | 19 |
| 4 | Valentin Paret-Peintre | Soudal Quick-Step | 18 |
| 5 | Paul Seixas | Decathlon CMA CGM | 18 |
| 6 | Nicolas Prodhomme | Decathlon CMA CGM | 17 |
| 7 | Alex Baudin | EF Education-EasyPost | 16 |
| 8 | Lenny Martinez | Bahrain Victorious | 16 |
| 9 | Isaac del Toro | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 14 |
| 10 | Florian Lipowitz | Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe | 12 |
Pogačar keeps the mountains lead without scoring
Only two mountains points were available during stage 11.
Anthon Charmig collected both by leading over the Côte de Billonnière and Côte de Billy-Chevannes from the breakaway. His two-point return was not enough to move him into the top ten.
The leading positions therefore remained unchanged.
Pogačar has 42 points after scoring heavily during his victories at Gavarnie-Gèdre and Le Lioran. Vingegaard remains second on 27, with Carapaz third after collecting points from the stage 10 breakaway.
Pogačar will continue wearing yellow on stage 12, so Vingegaard will again appear in the polka-dot jersey as the next eligible rider.
That does not make Vingegaard the classification leader. Pogačar still owns the lead and would receive the jersey if the Tour ended with the current standings.
Stage 12 contains three category-four climbs worth one point each. That makes a major change unlikely before the mountains competition becomes far more valuable on the harder stages that follow.
Our Tour de France 2026 jerseys explainer sets out how points are awarded and what happens when one rider leads more than one classification.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Charly LópezTour de France 2026 white jersey standings after stage 11
| Position | Rider | Team | Time or gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juan Ayuso | Lidl-Trek | 39:29:30 |
| 2 | Paul Seixas | Decathlon CMA CGM | +0:13 |
| 3 | Isaac del Toro | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | +0:46 |
| 4 | Lenny Martinez | Bahrain Victorious | +2:12 |
| 5 | Davide Piganzoli | Team Visma-Lease a Bike | +9:16 |
| 6 | Ramses Debruyne | Alpecin-Premier Tech | +11:51 |
| 7 | Pablo Castrillo | Movistar Team | +16:10 |
| 8 | Lennert Van Eetvelt | Lotto Intermarché | +34:24 |
| 9 | Mathias Vacek | Lidl-Trek | +48:57 |
| 10 | Kévin Vauquelin | Netcompany Ineos | +1:01:54 |
Ayuso’s white jersey advantage remains only 13 seconds
The white jersey competition remains the tightest of the four individual classifications.
Ayuso leads Seixas by 13 seconds, with Del Toro only 46 seconds behind. All three finished safely in the main peloton on stage 11.
The standings mean a small gap, bonus seconds or minor positioning error could change the jersey.
Ayuso took the lead at Le Lioran after finishing with the principal Vingegaard chase group. Seixas was one of the strongest riders behind Pogačar and remains close enough to reverse the positions on almost any uphill finish.
Del Toro suffered the largest loss among the three on stage 10 but remains only 33 seconds behind Seixas. His wider role may complicate his challenge because UAE Team Emirates-XRG will prioritise protecting Pogačar’s yellow jersey.
Martinez is fourth at 2:12. He remains within range of the classification but must recover time on all three riders ahead rather than watching a single opponent.
The white jersey contest is also part of the podium battle. Ayuso sits fourth overall, Seixas fifth and Del Toro seventh, giving them little freedom to chase classification seconds without affecting the wider race.
Tour de France 2026 team classification after stage 11
| Position | Team | Time or gap |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lidl-Trek | 118:13:29 |
| 2 | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | +24:18 |
| 3 | Team Visma-Lease a Bike | +38:51 |
| 4 | Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe | +44:28 |
| 5 | Decathlon CMA CGM | +1:08:03 |
| 6 | EF Education-EasyPost | +1:24:23 |
| 7 | Netcompany Ineos | +1:24:56 |
| 8 | Movistar Team | +2:05:05 |
| 9 | Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | +2:12:50 |
| 10 | TotalEnergies | +2:34:05 |
Lidl-Trek retains its three-classification advantage
Lidl-Trek continues to lead the team classification by 24:18 over UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
The team built much of that advantage during stage 4, when it placed several riders in the breakaway that reached Foix well ahead of the main favourites.
Ayuso and Skjelmose remain inside the general classification top eight, while Pedersen has provided the team’s stage victory and green jersey.
That leaves Lidl-Trek controlling three separate competitions:
- Pedersen leads the points classification
- Ayuso leads the young rider classification
- Lidl-Trek leads the team classification
The yellow helmets worn by the team are awarded to the leaders of the team competition. They are separate from Pogačar’s yellow jersey and indicate the squad with the lowest combined time from its leading riders.
UAE has the strongest individual rider but still faces a large deficit in the team competition because of the time gained by Lidl-Trek’s stage 4 breakaway.
Anthon Charmig takes the combativity award
Charmig received the stage 11 combativity award after spending most of the day in the breakaway.
The Uno-X Mobility rider escaped with Alaphilippe, Oliveira and Le Berre. He collected both available mountains points and continued working until the move was caught inside the final six kilometres.
Uno-X then completed the unusual combination of placing the most combative rider in the breakaway and winning the stage from the peloton through Wærenskjold.
The result provided the team with another major moment only five days after Træen’s withdrawal.
Tour de France 2026 jersey wearers on stage 12
| Jersey or distinction | Rider or team wearing it |
|---|---|
| Yellow jersey | Tadej Pogačar |
| Green jersey | Mads Pedersen |
| Polka-dot jersey | Jonas Vingegaard |
| White jersey | Juan Ayuso |
| Team classification yellow helmets | Lidl-Trek |
| Stage 11 combativity number | Anthon Charmig |
Vingegaard wears the polka dots because Pogačar leads both the general and mountains classifications.
The classification itself still belongs to Pogačar.
What could change on stage 12?
The yellow and white jersey standings are unlikely to change significantly on stage 12 unless crashes or crosswinds split the race.
The 179.1km route from the Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours to Chalon-sur-Saône contains almost 1,800 metres of climbing, but none of the three category-four ascents should trouble the leading GC riders.
The full route, climbs and sprint contenders are covered in our Tour de France 2026 stage 12 preview.
The most important competition will be green.
The intermediate sprint arrives after 45.8km in Decize, giving Pedersen and Girmay an early opportunity to score. Fifty points are then available to the stage winner in Chalon-sur-Saône.
Philipsen and Merlier need a strong result to prevent the contest becoming increasingly difficult once the Tour returns to terrain with fewer conventional sprint finishes.
Three mountains points are available, but the category-four climbs are unlikely to affect Pogačar’s 15-point lead.
Ayuso, Seixas and Del Toro should finish together if the stage follows the expected pattern.
Stage 12 may look like another quiet day for the general classification.
For the green jersey, it could be one of the most important remaining stages of the race.
