TOULOUSE, France — Norwegian rider Jonas Abrahamsen attacked from the start and won the 11th stage of the Tour de France while race favorite Tadej Pogačar crashed near the finish Wednesday.
Pogačar, the three-time champion, crashed with about 3.5 miles remaining. His rivals for the general classification slowed down so he could get back on his bike and rejoin them.
Abrahamsen finished just ahead of Swiss rider Mauro Schmid by a photo finish in a final sprint between the two after Belgian rider Mathieu van der Poel made a late push to catch them. It’s the Norwegian rider’s first stage win at the Tour and the first in this race for his team, Uno-X Mobility.
Van der Poel was 7 seconds behind in third, while the general classification group including Pogačar and yellow jersey-holder Ben Healy finished 3:28 back.
Healy still leads by 29 seconds over Pogačar.