Norwegian Soren Waerenskjold launched a long-range sprint to claim victory at the Tour de France on Wednesday in the fastest stage in the race's history.
Dutchman Olav Kooij, who won the fifth stage, took second at the end of the 161km 11th stage from Vichy to Nevers with Belgian Jasper Philipsen third.
At an average speed of 50.91kph, it was the fastest ever road stage in the 113 editions of the Tour.
A flat stage with a tailwind, one of the sprinters’ last chances = the fastest road stage in the history of the Tour!
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 15, 2026
Etape de plaine, vent favorable, l’une des dernières chances pour les sprinteurs = l’étape en ligne la plus rapide de l’histoire du Tour !
👋 Capgemini… pic.twitter.com/fHBqJMwqjX
"It means everything, it's my biggest win so far," said the 26-year-old who was second in the seventh stage to Bordeaux and last year won the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad one-day classic.
"When I came here, I knew that there are two or three guys that are faster than me, but if I'm lucky and I have a good sprint like today, then it's possible.
"Sometimes I have really good confidence and I believe in myself, but there's many, many times where I feel super tired and it's impossible to win here."
Once again, there was a fairly disjointed sprint finish with none of the teams able to organise a sprint train to set up their fast man.
Kooij's lead-out rider Cees Bol launched off the front as the main sprinters hesitated, but Waerenskjold was the first to chase after the Dutchman.
He picked the perfect moment to attack and claimed his first Tour stage win. 👏
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 15, 2026
Un timing parfait, une première victoire sur le Tour. 💛
Hear today’s winner 🎙️#TDF2026 pic.twitter.com/xpUc6cAFtC
He instantly put several bike lengths of daylight between himself and the rest and although both Kooij and Philipsen caught him by the line, they did not have enough strength to edge past Waerenskjold.
Philipsen was initially demoted after the race with his compatriot Milan Fretin given third place but that sanction was overturned on appeal.
Belgian Tim Merlier, who had won the seventh and eighth sprint stages, finished a disappointing 14th.
Eritrean Biniam Girmay finish fifth to cut Mads Pedersen's lead in the sprinters' green jersey competition to 43 points after the Dane could finish only 10th.
It was the second Tour stage victory for the Norwegian Uno-X Mobility team, which is in its first year as a World Tour outfit, after Jonas Abrahamsen succeeded once last year.
The team also held the yellow jersey for two stages this year with Torstein Traeen before he crashed out with a concussion and broken ribs.
'STRONG BREAKAWAY'
Reigning champion Tadej Pogacar finished safely in the pack to retain his overall lead of more than three and a half minutes to two-time former winner Jonas Vingegaard.
He put down the rapid pace partly to the strength of the breakaway riders.
"There was a lot of chance for the breakaway to go to the finish line, and the sprint teams, they control and they need to catch them," said the 27-year-old world champion.
"Today was a strong breakaway, that's why the speed has to be high.
"Once we caught them, we slowed down immediately and it was so funny to ride from 5km to 2km to go – we ride the slowest of all day.
"The biggest reason is also the tailwind. With the headwind will be much, much less speed.
"But when you have such a strong breakaway in front, you go fast."
A four-man breakaway had set off early into the stage which began in the ancient spa town of Vichy.
After the suffocating heat of the first 10 days of the Tour – when temperatures frequently topped 40C – there was some welcome rain at the start and milder temperatures, although those did not last long.
💪 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒏 👑#TDF2026 pic.twitter.com/3KhKFkqHBe
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 15, 2026
The break were never allowed a longer leash than 1min 40sec and four became three when Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe, a former world champion and yellow jersey-wearer, was dropped on a short climb with around 40km left.
But Anthon Charmig, Mathis Le Berre and Nelson Oliveira collaborated well together to resist the inevitable return of the peloton.
With 10km to ride their lead was down to just 20sec.
But within four kilometres, their resistance was over and the expected sprint took centre stage.
STAGE 11 RESULTS
1. Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility) – 3:10:06
2. Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – same time
3. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) – same time
4. Milan Fretin (Cofidis) – same time
5. Huub Artz (Lotto Intermarché) – same time
6. Biniam Girmay (NSN Cycling Team) – same time
7. Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) – same time
8. Clément Russo (Groupama-FDJ United) – same time
9. Fernando Gaviria (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) – same time
10. Pascal Ackermann (Team Jayco AlUla) – same time