Tour de France wrap after stage 11

There has been plenty of talk in this year’s Tour de France about long, flat, boring stages leading to bunch sprints.

Wednesday’s stage 11 may have fit into that pattern on paper, but in reality the road to Pau was filled with hazards for the general classification riders.

Fabio Aru saw key domestique Dario Cataldo crash out while his Astana team-mate Jakob Fuglsang, fifth overall, went to the hospital for checks on his injuries – which could prove a significant blow to their tactics in chasing down Chris Froome. Romain Bardet and Alberto Contador also hit the deck before Marcel Kittel broke the heart of solo escapee Maciej Bodnar to take his fifth win of the Tour so far.

Late for school

Simon Yates got a slap on the wrist from race officials after being late to sign on before Tuesday’s stage to Bergerac. The 24-year-old Orica-Scott rider, who is leading the young riders’ classification, was fined 100 Swiss francs (£80) at the end of the stage, and got a visit from the race jury prior to the start of Wednesday’s stage to remind him of the rules – which have changed this year. “I was a minute late for sign-on,” the Bury rider said with a shrug. “They have new sign-on this year. I thought I had to be in the last 10 minutes, but you need to be signed on before then.”

The price is rising

Kittel was asked about his future after the stage, with the possibility still open that he moves on from Quick-Step Floors. He said he was in no hurry to sort anything out however, and who can blame him as the price surely rises by the day. “Talks are ongoing with several teams,” he said. “I’m in a position where I don’t have to force any decision. I can just keep going.”

Tomorrow never dies

Froome’s return to Peyragudes on Thursday is highly anticipated, given it was where he was made to wait for Sir Bradley Wiggins when on domestique duty in 2012. Many believe Froome could have gone on to win the Tour for himself that day, but Froome refuses to engage in the speculation. “No regrets,” was pretty much all he would say. There will be a twist this time around with the stage finishing on the Peyresourde-Balestas airfield, which was used in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies. With gradients of 20 per cent, can his rivals use it as a launch pad for yellow?

Quote of the day

“It is incredible because sometimes when you are on your top level, on your top game in the sprint, it’s like playing Tetris and the last days I always got the right gaps and I never made a mistake. All the lines were perfect” – Kittel on his dart to the line.

Tweet of the day

While the peloton headed towards the Pyrenees, 2012 Tour winner Sir Bradley Wiggins was on the other side of France ready for Thursday’s gathering on Mont Ventoux to remember Tom Simpson on the 50th anniversary of his death during the 1967 race.