The Italian sprinted to a top five finish at the end of the an intense day of racing that saw the GC contenders going head to head.
At the start of the day, this stage was earmarked as one for the breakaway riders but Giulio Ciccone was primed and ready to go for Stage 11 of the Tour de France IF the General Classification riders decided they wanted to race for the victory.
Spoiler: they did!
Lidl-Trek were key players in the fast and furious fight to form a breakaway with Toms Skujins and Julien Bernard both in various attacks and the Frenchman eventually getting into the most successful move of the day. However, the peloton, led by UAE Team Emirates, was not willing to allow any group to gain a potentially race winning advantage.
The yellow jersey of Tadej Pogacar attacked on the Puy Mary-Pas de Peyrol and what was left of the main bunch was quickly spread out across the road. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma – Lease-a-Bike) was the only rider to be able to bridge to the yellow jersey and went on to take the stage win while, behind another battle played out.
Ciccone looked strong and managed his effort well to stay with the third group on the road before unleashing a sprint of his own in the closing meters to take fifth on the line, a result which also sees him move up into the top ten overall.
#TDF2024 A DEEP effort by @giuliocicco1 to finish 5th 👏 pic.twitter.com/EkBXwamvw7
— Lidl-Trek (@LidlTrek) July 10, 2024
Giulio’s Reaction
It was a crazy start, really fast and we pushed hard to have someone in the breakaway but then we saw straight away that today was not a day for that. It was clear that UAE really wanted to win the stage. My job was just to follow and I think, today, was a good day for me, my feelings were better than the first week, the shape is there and so I am confident for the rest of the Tour.
We know that, especially for me, it is sometimes impossible to do that tempo with those two [Vingegaard and Pocagar] so I knew that, in that moment, I needed to manage my effort and do my best with my values and that’s it. For sure though, with the feelings that are there, I am excited to race and to see what will happen in the rest of the mountains.
Ciccone’s ride in photos
LE-LIORAN, FRANCE - JULY 10: Giulio Ciccone of Italy and Team Lidl - Trek competes during the 111th Tour de France 2024, Stage 11 a 211km stage from Evaux-les-Bains to Le Lioran (1239m) / #UCIWT / on July 10, 2024 in Le Lioran, France. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
LE-LIORAN, FRANCE - JULY 10: (L-R) Adam Yates of The United Kingdom and UAE Team Emirates, Remco Evenepoel of Belgium and Team Soudal Quick-Step - White best young jersey, Joao Almeida of Portugal and UAE Team Emirates, Giulio Ciccone of Italy and Team Lidl - Trek and Carlos Rodriguez Cano of Spain and Team INEOS Grenadiers compete during the 111th Tour de France 2024, Stage 11 a 211km stage from Evaux-les-Bains to Le Lioran (1239m) / #UCIWT / on July 10, 2024 in Le Lioran, France. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
