Tour de France 2012: Stage 11

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January 1 - July 22, Albertville, Fra, Road - WorldTour

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Welcome to our live coverage of stage 11 from the 2012 Tour de France. Today may look relatively short on paper, being 'just' 148km, but the Alpine stage that runs from Albertville to La Toussuire contains two massive HC climbs and a category one climb to the finish line.

We're about ten minutes from the start of the stage, which gets underway at 1:20pm local time...

Bradley Wiggins remains at the top of the overall GC and maintained the gap between him and his main rivals.

And we're off and running on stage eleven...

And we have an early breakaway. Waiting for the details but it looks like about a dozen riders.

Today's two HC climbs both rise past the 2,000m mark. The first one, the Col de la Madeleine, comes after 40km. The second one, the Col de la Croix de Fer, comes at the 95km point.

142km remaining from 148km

Robert Gesink (Rabobank) is also there. Just waiting on confirmation of official numbers and names as it settles down...

138km remaining from 148km

Sorry - conflicting information filtering through there. The leading 31 are actually still clear and they've built a lead of over 50 seconds.

We can see Philippe Gilbert (BMC) in this escape group. Dan Martin and Alexander Vinokourov are there too.

And the leaders are already at the foot of the first HC climb of the day, the Col de la Madeleine. There's some big ramps on this. A supreme early test of their mettle this afternoon.

The gap between the leading 31 and the peloton is now 35 seconds. We're expecting exact confirmation of them imminently...

We finally have official confirmation of the breakaway riders: Dumoulin (COF); Hoogerland (VCD);Paolini (KAT); Hutarovich (FDJ); Gesink and Kruiswijk (RAB); Karpets (MOV); Sorensen and Sorensen (STB); Grivko, Iglinskiy, Kieserlovski and Vinokourov (AST); De Weert and Pineau (OPQ); Albasini (OGE); De Kort, Gretsch and Huguet (ARG); Burghardt, Cumming, Gilbert (BMC); Popovych (RNT); Malacarne (EUC); Perez (EUS); Bole (LAM); Koren (LIQ); Martin (GRS); Cherel and Riblon (ALM).

130km remaining from 148km

And we now have a separate lead group of seven riders. And mountains classification leader Thomas Voeckler has already fallen off the back of the main peloton after yesterday's heroics.

Valverde (Movistar) and Horner (RadioShack-Nissan) have joined them to make a leading group of nine. The other seven are Chris Anker Sorensen, Koren, Vinokourov, Kiserlovski, Riblon, Martin and Hoogerland. They are over 30 seconds ahead of the main peloton.

Horner brought five others with him to the front: Malacarne (EUC), Kadri (ALM), Basso (LIQ), P. Velits (OPQ) and Weening (OGE)

120km remaining from 148km

We now have a group of 21 leaders and the race looks to have settled down a bit. they have a 20-second lead on four chasers who are Moinard (BMC), Marzano (LAM), Ten Dam (RAB) and Leipheimer (OPQ). The main peloton is over a minute further back.

It's very early days in the stage but this leading group is huge and also contains some crack climbers - the likes of Martin, Rolland, Hoogerland and Kessiakoff to name but a few. It's not hard to envisage the winner coming from this lot, even at this early stage.

So the big news before the start today was the withdrawal of RadioShack-Nissan's Fabian Cancellara. He's returned home to support his wife ahead of the birth of their second child. Read what he had to say right here.

And Leipheimer's group have joined the leaders. We now have a lead group of 26.

112km remaining from 148km

ABANDONMENT: Hearing that Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil-DCM) has abandoned...

The highest-placed rider in the GC in this breakaway is Scarponi. He was in 15th place this morning, 7:14 behind Wiggins.

And two more riders have joined the leading group: Bouet (AG2R-LaMondiale) and Izagirre (Euskaltel-Euskadi)

So that's a whopping 28 riders in this lead group. They're not getting away from the peloton very quickly though. Sky are really pushing the pace back down the road to keep them in touch. As a result, plenty of riders are falling off the back. Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) is the latest man to drop off.

110km remaining from 148km

Closing in on the summit now. Scramble for points will start. Kessiakoff is eyeing the polka dot jersey again with Voeckler struggling today.

Velits and Kessiakoff are tussling for the 25 points here. And Velits takes them. Kessiakoff takes 20 points for second and is now the new leader of the KOM standings. Full results to come when we get confirmation.

The peloton are now approaching the top of the first climb...

100km remaining from 148km

Three minutes, not two...

Full results of the Col de la Madeleine climb:

Velits and Kessiakoff attacked the other leaders on that descent and have opened up a gap quite quickly.

87km remaining from 148km

Boasson Hagen still there at the front of the peloton. He's been there almost permanently over the last 30km.

And Kessiakoff and Velits have been caught by the first chasing pack. But it appears that pack is now minus Leipheimer and Vinokourov.

Sagan and Oss have given up their attempts to catch the leaders and have come back to the main peloton.

And the leaders are now at the intermediate sprint point...

And we now have a small breakaway off the front of the main escape group: Rolland (EUC), Kessiakoff (AST), Velits (OPQ), Trofimov (KAT), Kiryienka (MOV), Valverde (MOV), and Scarponi (LAM)

75km remaining from 148km

OFFICIAL RESULTS - INTERMEDIATE SPRINT

Bouet, Izagirre and Koren have been dropped by the first chase group and are now back with the main peloton again.

Looks like Boasson Hagen's exploits at the front of the peloton have taken their toll - he's dropped off the back

And the leaders have been caught again by the first chase group. We have a leading group of 22 riders now.

And Scarponi, Vinokourov, Marzano and Moinard have almost immediately been dropped as that lead group came together

Leipheimer is the next rider to feel the pinch and has dropped away. Kern and Rolland are really forcing the pace up front as they tackle this monster climb.

And Basso and Valverde are the next to crack...

ABANDONMENT: Hearing that Mark Renshaw is the latest rider to quit on this stage...

67km remaining from 148km

Trofimov, Sorensen and Weening have also now been dropped by the leaders. This climb and the pace of the Europcar riders up front is really taking its toll...

But Trofimov and Sorensen have rallied and are back in touch with the leaders now, who are a group of 11.

There are actually 12 of them: Horner, Kern, Rolland, Martin, Kadri, Trofimov, Ten Dam, Kiryienka, Sorensen, Kessiakoff, Kisierlovski and Velits

ABANDONMENT: Not a good day for Rabobank. Bauke Mollema is the next one of their ranks to abandon

64km remaining from 148km

Handing over to Susan now for a few minutes while I take a break...

Susan here, just as we hit the steepest part of the climb.

Sky driving steadily in chase of Evans.

62km remaining from 148km

Klöden has dropped out of the Wiggins group. And Evans is not really getting away.

Evans has now caught Vinokourov.

Wiggins still has three teammates at his side. Up front, Van Garderen has outpaced his captain Evans.

Schleck and Zubeldia, both RadioShack, are now together chasing the Wiggins group.

Europcar continues to drive the leading group.

The Evans group is now very close to being caught by the Wiggins group.

Situation is a bit difficult at the moment, there are so many small groups on the road, with things changing constantly.

60km remaining from 148km

59km remaining from 148km

13 riders in the Wiggins group.

Kern has dropped back from the lead group.

Now Horner takes his turn at the head of the lead group. They Wiggins group is 2:50 back.

The WIggins group also contains Froome, Rogers, Porte, Evans, van Garderen, Basso, Nibali, Pinot, van den Broeck, and Brajkovic.

Only five riders in the lead group now: Horner, Kisierlovski, Kessiakoff, Rolland, Martin, Ten Dam, and Kiryienka.

Huge crowds here as the leaders approach the mountaintop.

57km remaining from 148km

It is almost hard to see the road, there are so many fans here.

Dan Martin has re-joined the lead group, giving us six there.

And Cobo has joined the Wiggins group.

The first one to cross the mountaintop here will win a 5000 Euro bonus.

Zubeldia has also caught the Wiggins group.

We are above the tree line here.

One of the Astana riders prepares for the approaching descent, stuffing a newspaper in the front of his jersey.

55km remaining from 148km

It was neck and neck with Kessiakoff.

It looks as if the Swede was first over the top.  The two are now together in teh lead on teh descent.

Nibali lets the team car helper fill his jersey pocket with snacks, and gets a bit of oil on his bike as well.

The Wiggins group crosses over the top with a gap of about 2:10.

There is much discussion between Kessiakoff and Rolland. And there is still no official word as to who won the moutain ranking.

This is a long descent. And has its shares of sharp turns and steep fall offs and just generally makes us very nervous.

Chris Anker Sorensen has caught Ten Dam and another rider, and the three take the descent together.

47km remaining from 148km

MIck Rogers misses a curve, but comes through safely. He was lucky.

It looks like the lead group is coming back together again.

The descent is 14.3km long, but then it goes directly up the next climb, the category 2 Col du Mollard.

Rolland has been declared the winner of the last mountain ranking, ahead of Kessiakoff.

Velits has re-joined the lead group and now attacks out of it. He is joined by Sorensen and then Horner, plus Keissiakoff.

No, not Kessiakoff in the lead.  The gruop is falling apart again, and in fact in the lead we now seem to have Rolland and Kiserlovski.

Horner had to pull over to the side, apparently with a mechanical.

39km remaining from 148km

There is 11 seconds between the first two two-man groups.

38km remaining from 148km

Sorensen pulls away from Velits, and Kiryienka catches the Dane.

Wiggins still has three teammates with him.

And here is Mark back again!

Thanks Susan. Hi everyone.

VIDEO: While I was at lunch we've sorted a video of the finish. We drove up the final climb of today's stage in the Cyclingnews car this morning and filmed every single twist and turn. Footage is at 1500% speed. Really worth a look, even if we do say so ourselves. Watch it right here.

35km remaining from 148km

And the leaders are over the penultimate climb. Results as follows:

And they're on to the next technical and fast descent. Then there's another climb straight after...

Road surface is a bit of a mixed bag here - some fresh tarmac, some old tarmac, plenty of cracks and loose stones too. Not ideal as the pace quickens down the slopes.

CRASH: Rolland undercooks a left-hand turn there and hits the deck. He's quickly back on his feet and on his bike though.

24km remaining from 148km

Rolland has caught the leading duo

Almost all the major GC players are in the Wiggins group back down the road. Menchov is the only exception and he has fallen off the back. This final climb could see a shakeup in the standings.

20km remaining from 148km

And here we go. The leaders have started their final climb. A full 18km of category one. They will be bracing themselves for pain after what has come before...

Check out @cyclingthealps preview of stage 11 from Albertville to La Toussuire. Explore the route on a Google Map, with a Google Earth Tour or cycle it virtually! Watch profiles, Street View tours, detailed Google Earth tours and a lot more of each climb. Visit the website right here.

Rolland and Kiserlovski have attacked immediately on this climb. Bold move with 17km of it left to go...

17km remaining from 148km

And Michael Rogers has cried enough after riding selflessly on the front of the Wiggins group for what seems like an eternity. Porte and Froome are there for the yellow jersey holder now.

With Porte and Froome there it makes things difficult for the other big names to attack. But there is still a long way to go.

At the front, Rolland and Kiserlovski have been rejoined by Sorensen and Velits now.

14km remaining from 148km

This gap is now coming down quite quickly. Suddenly it's at 2:51. Porte seems to be lifting the pace but it's still looking a tall order for them to catch the four leaders...

CORRECTION: It is, of course, Kiryienka and not Velits who is part of this leading quartet...

Janez Brajkovic (Astana) attacks from the yellow jersey group...

And almost at the same time, Rolland attacks on the front. Kiserlovski goes with him and they have almost immediately opened up a ten second gap on the other two...

Pinot (FDJ-BigMat) and Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Lotto-Belisol) counter the attack of Brajkovic and have already reached him

10km remaining from 148km

And Kiserlovski has cracked. Rolland is left all alone up front. Can he emulate last year's win on the Alpe d'Huez?

Amazing work here by Froome. He is dragging the main yellow jersey pack back to Nibali

And Nibali attacks again. Is this psychological warfare? He just had a long look at Wiggins

Nibali is about 70m clear of the Wiggins group. Froome and Wiggins don't seem to be worried. Evans and Van Garderen are there with them.

8km remaining from 148km

7km remaining from 148km

Nibali has caught Pinot and Van Den Broeck. He's got a 23 second lead on the Wiggins group.

Rolland is looking like a good bet to hang on up at the front now

Evans looks like he's in trouble here...

Van Garderen has dropped back to help his struggling teammate. Puts his own position as leading young rider in jeopardy with Pinot up the road...

Froome seems to have found more strength from somewhere. Him and Wiggins have really turned the screw. They have left Schleck and Evans for dead and are closing on Nibali.

4km remaining from 148km

And sensationally Wiggins has been dropped by Froome. Temporarily. Team orders have seen him slow down...

3km remaining from 148km

2km remaining from 148km

Looking like two stages in a row for Europcar...

Final kilometre now for our leader

Brilliant performance from the Frenchman. He could now be in the top ten in the GC

Rolland wins in 4:43:57

1 Rolland

Wiggins and Nibali cross the line together in fourth and fifth

Bad day for Evans, who finishes 2:23 (unofficial) behind the winner and looks like he might be out of the top three in the GC...

He finishes alongside Van Garderen and Schleck

Really deserved victory for Rolland. He was up in the breaks almost from the start and survived a crash on one of the descents. His attack with 11km to go on the final climb proved decisive.

Hearing confirmation that Evans is indeed down to fourth in the overall general classification. Froome and Nibali in second and third behind Wiggins.

Let's not forget that it was a 1-2 for France today. It's been a great couple of days for the host nation.

Selfless performance of the day? Van Garderen aiding his floundering teammate Evans through the last few kilometres. The American was looking much the stronger and had to sit with Evans while his rival for the white jersey, Pinot, was up the road.

TOP TEN FINISHERS - STAGE 11

TOP 10 IN THE GC AFTER STAGE 11

That's all from stage 11. Another great day for France and also for Europcar, who win their second consecutive stage. Rolland was a deserving winner with a display of power, stamina and courage after being up near the front for almost the whole day.

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