Honestly, if you just glance at the official roadbook for Tour de France stage 11 2025, you might think it’s a day for the sprinters to finally breathe. It’s a 156.8km loop starting and ending in Toulouse. On paper? Flat. In reality? It’s a total leg-breaker that’s going to ruin someone’s podium dreams.
Coming right off the first rest day, the peloton is usually twitchy. You’ve got guys whose legs have "shut down" after 24 hours of doing nothing but eating pasta and getting massaged. Then, they get thrown into a 150-kilometer pressure cooker. This isn't just a scenic ride through the Haute-Garonne. It’s a tactical nightmare.
The Pech David "Wall" That Changes Everything
Most people are talking about the distance, but the real story is the Côte de Pech David. This isn't some long, grinding Alpine pass. It’s a nasty, 800-meter vertical ramp with an average gradient of 12.4%.
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That number is a lie, though.
In the real world, the base of this thing hits nearly 20%. And here is the kicker: it’s positioned only 8.8km from the finish line. Imagine sprinting for 140 kilometers and then suddenly hitting a brick wall. Most of the pure sprinters—think the big-bodied guys who live for the last 200 meters—are going to be dropped like stones here.
Positioning is going to be violent. Because the road narrows right as the climb starts after a sharp right-hand turn, if you aren't in the first 15 riders, you’re basically walking. We saw this kind of chaos at the Rampe Saint-Hilaire in Rouen earlier in the race. If you lose momentum on a 20% grade, you don't get it back.
Why the "Flat" Label is a Scam
The organizers called it flat, but there are actually five categorized climbs.
- Côte de Castelnau d’Estrétefonds (Cat 4)
- Côte de Montgiscard (Cat 4)
- Côte de Corronsac (Cat 4)
- Côte de Vieille-Toulouse (Cat 4)
- Côte de Pech David (Cat 3)
That is 1,750 meters of elevation gain. For context, that’s more climbing than some "hilly" stages in the Giro d'Italia. Calling this a flat stage is like calling a habanero a "mild bell pepper."
Who Actually Wins in Toulouse?
Forget the pure sprinters. Unless someone like Jonathan Milan finds superhuman climbing legs, this is a day for the "puncheurs" and the monsters who can sprint after a massive effort.
The smart money is on Wout van Aert or Mathieu van der Poel. These guys eat 12% gradients for breakfast. They have the raw power—we're talking 7 to 8 watts per kilogram for two minutes—to blast up Pech David and still have a 1,400-watt sprint left for the Boulevard de Lascrosses.
But keep an eye on the GC (General Classification) guys. Tadej Pogačar doesn't know how to "rest." If he sees Jonas Vingegaard struggling even slightly with his positioning before that final turn into the climb, Pogačar will attack. He won’t do it to win the stage, necessarily. He’ll do it to steal five or ten seconds and put everyone on the limit before the Pyrenees.
The Breakaway Factor
A lot of people think a breakaway will take this. It's a short stage, and the big teams might want to save their energy for the massive mountain stages coming up in the next 48 hours.
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If a break with guys like Ben Healy or Victor Campenaerts gets five minutes, the peloton might just let them go. The UCI points for a stage win are huge, but the energy cost of chasing on these twisting, windy roads near the Garonne river is even bigger.
What to Watch For if You’re Watching Live
If you’re planning your day around this, don’t bother tuning in for the first two hours. It’ll be a standard break-of-the-day formation.
The real race starts at the intermediate sprint in Labastide-Beauvoir (km 97.3). From there, the road gets exposed. If the Tramontane wind picks up—and it usually does in this part of France—the peloton will split into echelons.
Pro Tip: Watch the riders' faces at the 148km mark. That’s the summit of Pech David. If a rider is gapped by more than 10 seconds there, they are finished. The descent is fast and wide, but 8km isn't enough time to organize a chase if the group in front is flying at 60km/h toward the city center.
Actionable Insights for Tour Fans
If you want to follow Tour de France stage 11 2025 like a pro, stop looking at the results and start looking at the gaps at the top of the final climb.
- Check the Wind: If the forecast shows 30km/h winds from the Northwest, expect chaos 50km out.
- Watch the Turn: The sharp right into Pech David is the most important 5 seconds of the stage.
- Monitor the Gaps: Anyone over 65kg is going to struggle. Look for the light sprinters (Biniam Girmay or Kaden Groves) to see if they can survive the "Wall of Toulouse."
The most important thing to remember is that this stage is a bridge. It bridges the gap between the flat North and the brutal Pyrenees. It’s designed to tire out the domestiques so their leaders are unprotected when the real mountains start tomorrow.
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Keep your eyes on the time gaps. Even if the GC doesn't change today, the fatigue certainly will. Watch the team buses after the finish; the riders who look like ghosts are the ones who will lose minutes on the Hautacam tomorrow.