Waerenskjold takes maiden win in fastest-ever stage

Soren Waerenskjold caught the big guns by surprise with a long-range sprint to win the fastest-ever stage of the Tour de France.

Racing in his fourth Tour, the 26-year-old Norwegian claimed his first stage win and just the second for his team, Uno-X Mobility.

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Overall race leader Tadej Pogacar remains three minutes and 36 seconds ahead of Jonas Vingegaard in the general classification standings.

The peloton completed stage 11 at an average speed of 50.9km per hour, beating the previous record of 50.3kph from 1999.

A sprint finish was expected on Wednesday, a flat 161.3km route from Vichy to Nevers, and Cees Bol made the first move as the peloton rolled into the final 500m after catching the day’s breakaway.

But team-mate Olav Kooij did not follow and as the riders hesitated, Waerenskjold sneaked through a gap beside the barriers to launch a counter-attack with 400m remaining.

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He charged past Bol, before Kooij and Jasper Philipsen set off in pursuit, but they had left themselves too much to do as Waerenskjold won by almost a bike’s length from Kooij.

Philipsen crossed the line third but was relegated for moving in the sprint, with Milan Fretin promoted to the podium.

Waerenskjold, who was second to Tim Merlier on stage seven, said: “I saw Cees Bol had a gap and I tried to sprint up to him and hold a little bit back to go from his wheel.

“Then I saw there were 250 to go. I was just waiting for the same thing to happen when Merlier passed me, but it didn’t happen this time.

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“It means everything, it’s my biggest win so far. There are two or three guys here who are faster, but if I’m lucky and have a good sprint like today then it’s possible.

“I just have to let it sink in and then I will probably be more happy than I look now, but it’s a big surprise for myself.”

Stage 11 results

1. Soren Waerenskjold (Nor/Uno-X Mobility) 3hrs 10mins 6secs

2. Olav Kooij (Ned/Decathlon CMA CGM) Same time

3. Milan Fretin (Bel/Cofidis)

4. Huub Artz (Ned/Lotto Intermarche)

5. Biniam Girmay (Eri/NSN Cycling)

6. Anthony Turgis (Fra/TotalEnergies)

7. Clement Russo (Fra/Groupama-FDJ United)

8. Fernando Gaviria (Col/Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)

9. Pascal Ackermann (Ger/Jayco AlUla)

10. Mads Pedersen (Den/Lidl-Trek)

General classification after stage 11

1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 39hrs 25mins 8secs

2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +3mins 36secs

3. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +4:06

4. Juan Ayuso (Spa/Lidl-Trek) +4:22

5. Paul Seixas (Fra/Decathlon-CMA CGM) +4:35

6. Florian Lipowitz (Ger/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +4:44

7. Isaac del Toro (Mex/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +5:08

8. Mattias Skjelmose (Den/Lidl-Trek) +5:45

9. Lenny Martinez (Fra/Bahrain-Victorious) +6:34

10. Tom Pidcock (GB/Pinarello-Q36.5) 11:49