Soren Waerenskjold springs a surprise to deny the big sprinters and win fastest ever stage in Tour de France history

Tour de France

Stage 11 | Flat | Men | 15.07.2026

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17:32

WAERENSKJOLD MAKES HISTORY WITH FASTEST-EVER VICTORY IN STAGE 11

Norwegian powerhouse Soren Waerenskjold (Uno-X Mobility) won the fastest-ever stage in Tour de France history on Wednesday with an opportunistic surge to the line to defy his fellow sprinters in Stage 11 in Nevers.

With the road opening up as if by magic, Waerenskjold came from distance to power through a small gap by the barriers on the right-hand side of the road before launching his defiant final push to the line from the slipstream of Dutchman Cees Bol (Decathlon-CMA CGM).

Bol had burst clear in a bid to lead-out team-mate Olav Kooij, the Stage 5 winner, but he had to settle for second place behind Waerenskjold, who held on for the biggest win of his career - and a record that has stood for 27 years.

Clocking an average speed of 50.9km/h, Waerenskjold’s win was considerably faster than the previous record of 50.3km/h set by the Italian Mario Cipollini during the 1999 Tour de France.

Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) crossed the line for third place, but the former green jersey winner was later relegated to 119th place for deviating from his line during a sprint that was anything but predictable.

‘One of the most incredible wins’ - Waerenskjold triumphs in fastest-ever Tour de France stage

Video credit: TNT Sports

It was a perfect day for Waerenskjold’s Uno-X Mobility team, who were not obliged to engage in pacing duties in the peloton by dint of having Anthon Charmig up the road in the day’s four-man break.

Norway’s Charmig - a recent stage winner on the Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes - joined French duo Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling) and Mathis Le Berre (TotalEnergies), as well as the Portuguese veteran Nelson Oliveira (Movistar), in a move that formed in the opening 20km of the 162km stage, shortly before the intermediate sprint.

A fifth escapee - Belgium’s Liam Slock (Lotto Intermarche) - attempted to bridge over, but was unable to close the gap, the peloton swallowing him up on the first of two short Cat.4 climbs.

While the advantage of the quartet never grew larger than 1’30”, it was not until the final six kilometres that the peloton finally caught the remaining trio, with veteran Alaphilippe having sat up earlier on the second climb.

Cort hails ‘amazing’ Waerenskjold after Stage 11 victory: ‘He's the master of these chaotic sprints'

Video credit: TNT Sports

Astana, Soudal Quick-Step and NSN Cycling Team carried out the lion’s share of the work to set things up in the sprint for their respective fast men - Max Kanter, Tim Merlier and Biniam Girmay.

The threat snuffed out, and a tricky left-hand bend chalked off, the pace then eased considerably entering the final five kilometres as the road narrowed, and the favourites came to the fore.

Kooij’s Decathlon team blinked first, launching their train with two kilometres remaining - and it was Bol who inadvertently went clear in the final messy kilometre.

The shift that followed Philipsen’s deviation then opened a gap which Waerenskjold filled with his inspired burst of pace - the big Norwegian threading the needle before launching from the wheel of the hesitating Bol in pursuit of a place in the history books.

Eritrea’s Girmay could only take fifth place, Denmark’s Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) settled for 10th, while Merlier - hunting for his third win of the race - finished well down in fourteenth.

Pedersen consolidated his lead in the green jersey standings, while there was no change in the top 10, with yellow jersey Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) finishing safely in the pack alongside his GC rivals.

‘It’s incredible’ - Waerenskjold’s Uno-X Mobility team-mates on ‘crazy’ Tour de France stage win

Video credit: TNT Sports

But the day belonged to 25-year-old Waerenskjold, who bounced back from a crash in Tuesday’s stage in the Massif Central to win the fastest stage in Tour history, adding another arrow to Uno-X’s quiver after Torstein Traeen’s two-day stint in yellow from the opening week.

Merlier, Philipsen, Kooij and the other sprinters will get an instant chance to make amends on Thursday’s Stage 12, a 179km ride that features three Cat.4 climbs, but should culminate in another bunch sprint in Chalon-sur-Saone.

16:55

WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS FOR PHILIPSEN

We’re just hearing that the race jury has relegated Jasper Philipsen to 119th place today after the Belgian was adjudged to have seriously deviated from his line on the home straight. Robbie McEwen, a sprinter at heart, doesn’t accept that – but it appears that the decision is final. So Philipsen will lose his third place and the green jersey points he picked up.

Things just got that bit worse for Philipsen and his Alpecin-Premier Tech team. They have won a stage through Mathieu van der Poel but can’t get the sprints right for their fastman, who is lacking zip and confidence. He’s also clearly missing having Kaden Groves in his train.

16:50

16:50

NO CHANGE IN THE GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

The yellow jersey and all his rivals finished safely in the pack so there’s no change in the top 10 today as the race passes the halfway point.

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
2. Jonas Vingagaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) +3:36
3. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) +4:06
4. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) +4:22
5. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) +4:35
6. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) +4:44
7. Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +5:08
8. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) +5:45
9. Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) +6:34
10. Tom Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling) +11:49

16:48

PEDERSEN STILL IN GREEN

The Dane lost a bit of ground to Biniam Girmay in the points classification by finishing a few placed behind the Eritrean, but he retains the green jersey and still has a good lead in that competition.

1. Mads Pedersen 317pts
2. Biniam Girmay 272pts
3. Jasper Philipsen 255pts
4. Tim Merlier 223pts
5. Max Kanter 203pts

16:44

WAERENSKJOLD TALKS US THROUGH THE BIGGEST WIN OF HIS CAREER

”I thought I was too far back but it opened up on the right side – usually it doesn’t do that. It was the same feeling as my first ever WorldTour win in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad – that was also when I was too far back and then I was suddenly at the front.

”It’s surreal. It’s unbelievable. It means everything. It’s my biggest win so far. I said when I came here that I knew there were two or three guys who were faster than me but that if I was lucky and have a good sprint like today then it’s possible.

”Usually, I have really good confidence and I believe in myself, but there are many, many times when I feel super tired and like it’s impossible to win here. It’s crazy that it happened today after my crash [yesterday]. I felt really sh*t at the start but then my body got going and I felt better in the final with the adrenaline and everything.

”To finish it off with the team – we’ve had some highs and lows in this race – so it’s incredible to take this win. I just have to let it sink in, then I will probably be more happy than I look now.”

It was a strange sprint. With all the favourites in the front with 6km to go, it stopped because they wanted to take advantage of that. We had the sprint into the last corner and I got a bit flushed, but I wanted to save some energy. A gap opened on the right and suddenly I saw Cees Bol with a gap so I just tried to sprint up to him, hold a little bit back and go from his wheel. But then I saw it was still 250 metres to go so I was just waiting for the same think to happen when Merlier passed me last time. But luckily it didn’t happen this time.

16:31

WATCH WAERENSKJOLD WINNING FASTEST EVER TOUR STAGE

That breaks the 1999 record of 50.3km/h by 0.6km/h and look how deep Waerenskjold came from when he launched his early push to the line – what an extraordinary threading of the needle there from a rider who crashed yesterday and looked to be on the ropes.

16:28

STAGE 11 RESULT – TOP 10 IN NEVERS

Well, well, well – who saw that coming? Uno-X have enjoyed two days in yellow with Torstein Traeen, and now they have their stage win, after a string of second places.

1. Soren Waerenskjold (Uno-X)
2. Olav Kooij (Decathlon)
3. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin)
4. Milan Frentin (Cofidis)
5. Huub Artz (Lotto)
6. Biniam Girmay (NSN)
7. Anthony Turgis (TotalEn)
8. Clement Russo (Groupama)
9. Fernando Gaviria (Caja Rural)
10. Pascal Ackermann (Jayco)

The green jersey Mads Pedersen could only finish eleventh, while double stage winner Tim Merlier was crowded out for fifteenth.

16:20

WHAT A WIN FOR WAERENSKJOLD!

Cees Bol went early – or was it a lead-out for Kooij? – but when he looks over his shoulder and sees that the Dutchman is not there, he peels off, just as Soren Waerenskjold decides to throw the dice early.

The big Norwegian opens up a large gap – and despite tiring towards the line, he just holds off Olav Kooij and Jasper Philipsen to take the biggest win of his career.

An incredible day for Uno-X and Norwegian cycling with Waerenskjold winning the fastest ever Tour de France stage in history!

16:19

FINAL KILOMETRE

Uno-X take it up with Alpecin and Soudal on the wheel. And here comes Van der Poel with Philipsen on his wheel, while Kooij is poised.

16:15

2KM TO GO: DECATHLON LAUNCH

And that opens things up as other teams follow suit and the peloton strings out…

16:14

3KM TO GO: TENSE, TACTICAL AND STANDOFFISH

As the road is so narrow, it’s proving impossible for riders to improve on their current positions, so the race has almost been postponed until we get closer to the finish and things open up. Who will blink first?

16:11

5KM TO GO: NOW THE PACE SLOWS

With the break neutralised and that danger over, the pace has eased dramatically. Decathlon, Uno-X and NSN are on the front of this narrow road, while Fernando Gaviria has managed to battle back after his puncture.

16:10

6KM TO GO: BREAK CAUGHT

After a tight left-hand turn onto a narrower road, the three leaders are reeled in and it’s now showtime. Unless something drastic happens, today is going to be the fastest stage in Tour history.

16:08

7KM TO GO: SLIGHT SLOW-DOWN IN THE PACK

The calm before the storm – at least, if you believe the commentators. The aerial views show the opposite – they’re going hell for leather as they bring the three leaders to within five seconds of their destiny…

16:05

10KM TO GO: SPRINT TRAINS START TO FORM

Astana have edged back towards the front alongside Alpecin-Premier Tech as the leaders pass under the 10-to-go banner with 20 seconds to play with. They are not giving up just yet. In fact, Oliveira has just boshed a gel.

Fernando Gaviria, meanwhile, has picked up a puncture for Caja Rural. Terrible timing for the veteran Colombian sprinter.

16:03

12KM TO GO: SOUDAL AND ASTANA PROTECT THEIR ASSETS

Soudal Quick-Step and Astana have disappeared from the front of the pack and are now looking after their respective sprinters Tim Merlier and Max Kanter. Given how much work they have done, they’re perfectly entitled to do this. Besides, the gap is now just 20 seconds.

16:00

15KM TO GO: JUST 30 SECONDS NOW

The peloton breathes in as it narrows through a chicane without any fuss. They’ve reduced the lead of the trio to 30 seconds but Charmig, Le Berre and Oliveira have not yet thrown in the towel.

15:57

18KM TO GO: CHARMIG BURYING HIMSELF

The Norwegian won a stage on the Dauphine last month and he’s giving it his all on the nose of the break. In fact, his face is anything but charming as he grimaces the gamut of pain-faces on a slight uphill dig. The speed is back above the average speed record – and it doesn’t look like it’s going to ease up any time soon. The gap is 37 seconds.

15:54

20KM TO GO: THE DEATH THROES OF THE BREAK

Just 44 seconds now for our three leaders as they pass under the 20-to-go banner. It’s been a decade since Nelson Oliveira’s last professional win – but the Portuguese veteran of 25 Grand Tours is going to have to wait at least another day before he can end that long wait.

15:48

25KM TO GO: ALAPHILIPPE DROPPED FROM THE PELOTON

The French former world champion is feeling the pinch from his earlier efforts in the break and he will coast into the finish from here on.

The gap, meanwhile, is down to 51 seconds thanks to the fresh legs on the front to help with the chase. It should be fine for the sprinters’ teams.

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