Tour de France 2026 stage 11 preview

Look for Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quickstep) to try for a third stage victory to try to close the gap to green jersey holder Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and second-placed Biniam Girmay (NSN), who are 80 and 26 points ahead of him, respectively.

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There might be a big fight for the breakaway as the peloton leads Vichy and heads north, but expect the early intermediate sprint, 27.8km in, to inspire the green jersey contenders’ teams to keep the race together until after the sprint point.

The tiny blip of a climb, the category 4 Côte de Billonnière, could be where the day’s breakaway goes clear.

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Points at finish: 70-50-40-35-30-26-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2

After crossing the Allier river in Moulins, the route continues towards Decize, where it crosses the Loire after 90 kilometres.

Next, the second KOM of the day, the Côte de Billy-Chevannes comes with 37.9km to go before the race swings to a western direction and builds to a high-speed finish on the avenue bordering the exhibition centre in Nevers.

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With 70 points on the line for the stage winner, Merlier will need both a win or second place and top points in the intermediate sprint to grab that green jersey, but Pedersen won’t be giving it away without a fight.

Also looking to move up is Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech), who is still seeking his first stage win of the 2026 Tour de France.

Est. Speed

Est. Winner Time

Limit %

Max Time Cut

46 km/h

3:30:23

9%

0:18:56

45 km/h

3:35:04

9%

0:19:21

44 km/h

3:39:57

8%

0:17:36

43 km/h

3:45:04

8%

0:18:00

42 km/h

3:50:26

7%

0:16:08