After a flat, fast Stage 10, which saw Quick-Step Floors rider Marcel Kittel capture yet another stage victory, Stage 11 at the 104th Tour de France will once again provide a sprinter-friendly route for the peloton.
Stage 11 will depart from the Nouvelle-Aquitaine town of Eymet, in southwestern France, before the riders make their way 203.5 kilometers through the countryside until reaching the finish line in the city of Pau, which sits at the foot of the Pyrenees Mountains.
Pau is the the city visited the third most in the 104-year history of the Tour de France, behind only Bordeaux and Paris, and will be yet another important stage for the sprinters.
Eymet sits at only 52 meters above sea level, and only a single climb awaits the peloton during Stage 11.
The first 140 kilometers of the stage will undoubtedly be ridden at a quick clip, as the riders pass through the villages of Marmande, Casteljaloux, Lubbon, Labastide d'Armagnac, and Monlezun-d'Armagnac.
While the stage's first three hours will surely be flat and fast, as the highest point will occur at an altitude of only 156 meters in Lubbon, the field will be on watch for stiff crosswinds, which can sweep across the open fields of France and make riding significantly more difficult.
The first, and only, intermediate sprint of the day will come 142.5 kilometers into the stage in the riverside village of Aire-sur-l'Adour. The sprint in Aire-sur-l'Adour will shape up to be a dress rehearsal for teams, as they will be working to successfully position their sprinters at the intermediate sprint just as they will hope to do in the final kilometers in Pau.
Soon after riders depart Aire-sur-l'Adour, they will face the only categorized climb of the day on the category 4 ascent up the Cote d'Aire-sur-l'Adour. This climb will feature a 4.2% average gradient over 1.2 kilometers, but will do little to affect the peloton or shape the finish of the stage.
For the next 45 kilometers, the field will gradually ascend to the stage's high point in Morlaas before descending towards Pau for the next 14 kilometers.
In the final kilometer to the line in Pau, teams will be setting up their lead outs and jockeying for position, as another hectic bunch sprint is expected to occur.
After his fourth stage victory of this year's Tour de France on Stage 10, it would be foolish to bill anyone other than Quick-Step Floors rider Marcel Kittel as the favorite to win Stage 11. The electric German sprinter has captured the excitement and the hearts of crowds at the 104th Tour de France, and has capitalized thus far on the absence of high-profile sprinters Peter Sagan and Mark Cavendish. Kittel has been essentially unstoppable on the flat, straightaway sprints at this year's Tour, and there is little reason to believe he will be stopped on the flat, fast Stage 11 route. As long as a major mishap occurs for Kittel or the Quick-Step Floors team on the stage, Kittel will be expected to once again cross the line first in Pau.
If Kittel is not the rider raising their arms in triumph at the end of Stage 11, chances are the rider who is will be Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) or Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb). Both Greipel and Matthews have continued to fight for points in the green jersey classification, and have shown the ability to win intermediate sprints, but have yet to hold a stage victory to their name at the Tour so far this year. Both riders are also veterans on the World Tour, and have worn the green jersey at the Tour de France, making a victory for either Greipel or Matthews on Stage 11 far from an underdog story. While Marcel Kittel has been the talk of the Tour to this point, Greipel and Matthews are talented, experienced riders who know what it takes to wear the green jersey at the Tour de France. The 104th edition of the Tour de France is less than halfway through, which gives Andre Greipel and Michael Matthews sufficient opportunities to move up the points classification, but time is running out and these riders surely must take a victory on Stage 11 to keep their hopes for the green jersey at this year's Tour de France.
Other riders to watch throughout Stage 11 of the 104th Tour de France include Dyland Groenewegen (Lotto NL-Jumbo), Alexander Kristoff (Katusha-Alpecin), John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data), Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida), and Rudiger Selig (Bora-Hangrohe).
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