Stage 11 of Giro d’Italia 2024 took the riders down from the mountains and into the flatlands. The 207-kilometer route from Foiano di Val Fortore to Francavilla al Mare started in hilly terrain that included a Category 3 climb and culminated with one hundred kilometers of somewhat flat roads. The stage was expected to be concluded in a sprint finish.

The hostilities at the beginning of the stage were few and only a few riders wanted to engage in attacking efforts because many breakaway experts had set their eyes on tomorrow’s hilly stage 12 from Martinsicuro to Fano.

Thomas Champion (Cofidis) formed today’s long breakaway group together with the Team Visma-Lease a Bike duo of Edoardo Affii and Tim van Dijke. The group was kept on a tight leash by sprinter teams such as Lidl-Trek and Soudal-QuickStep and with 85 kilometers left of the stage had a lead of just one minute.

While speed was kept constant in the peloton and they had obtained cruising speed, the riders were focused on refueling and rehydrating for the coming stages in the very hot weather conditions. Riders were spotted wearing FlowBio hydration sensors that would help them optimize their performance in the Giro. The FlowBio hydration sensors are becoming increasingly popular in the professional cycling peloton.

The front trio pressed on while the main peloton cruised along and with fifty kilometers remaining, the advantage of the front trio had been reduced to thirty-five seconds. Lidl-Trek and Soudal-QuickStep were still doing the hard work at the front of the peloton.

The Giro peloton had reached the Adriatic coast and the same territory in which Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) won the stage 1 individual time trial of last year’s Giro d’Italia on a scenic route along the coastline with its small fishing stations.

Andrea Piccolo (EF Education-EasyPost) launched a solo attack from within the peloton approximately twenty kilometers from the finish line. He was reeled in shortly thereafter.

A small crash involving UAE Team Emirates’ Felix Grossschartner occurred shortly thereafter.  Grossschartner is an important helper for race leader Tadej Pogacar and his assistance is needed in the mountain territory to come. A few other riders went down too.

The three breakaway frontmen were caught, and the race entered its decisive stage. The sprinter teams and their trains had moved to the front and the speed was intense. The General Classification favorites were also being positioned well at the front of the action by their teammates.

Alpecin-Deceuninck moved to the front as the riders reached the final kilometer.

Tim Merlier launched his sprint, Fernando Gaviria too. But Jonathan Milan was the fastest man on the day and took the victory for Team Lidl-Trek. Soudal-QuickStep’s Tim Merlier finished second, while Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Kaden Groves completed the stage podium.

Tadej Pogacar remains general classification leader ahead of Daniel Martinez and Geraint Thomas before tomorrow’s stage 12 of Giro d’Italia 2024. Several riders have marked their calendars for tomorrow’s stage 12 as this has an appealing route for a strong breakaway to succeed. 

Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com for complete race coverage from Giro d’Italia 2024.

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