Stage 11 of the 2017 Tour de France will cover 203.5kms from Eymet to Pau, bringing the race closer to the Pyrenees. This day will probably be marked with another long break that comes together in the closing kilometers if the sprinters’ teams are willing to work, especially since this is the last “sprint stage” before Paris. Remaining non-mountain stages still have a bit of a roll to them, favoring classics riders and attackers.
In store today, after 100kms, the race will pass the Notre-Dame-des-Cyclistes. Then, there is one cat-4 climb at 145.5kms—the Côte d’Aire-sure-l’Adour (1.2kms at 4.2%). This comes almost immediately after the intermediate sprint in Aire-sure-l’Adour at 142.5kms.
This is the 59th time the Tour has finished in Pau, largely due to its proximity to the Pyrenees. But, leading up to Pau, the stage is a bit flatter than Stage 10. So it will be interesting to see how determined the sprinters are—go for the stage win, or preserve energy to help get over the climbs the next few days?