2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Background
In Porto's and Vitória de Guimarães's entire history, the two teams had met on 147 different occasions. Porto had accumulated 91 victories whilst Vitória de Guimarães had accumulated 22 victories. Of those 147 encounters, 34 of those games had ended in a tie. The last meeting between these two sides in this competition was a fourth round tie in the 2004–05 edition, where the Conquistadores defeated Porto 2–1 at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques. The last meeting between these two sides, prior to this encounter was a domestic league match, which took place on 5 March. Porto defeated their opponents 2–0 at the Estádio do Dragão.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Route to the final, Porto
As a Primeira Liga team, Porto entered the 2010–11 Taça de Portugal in the third round, where they were drawn in a home tie against Terceira Divisão side Limianos. Despite Porto manager André Villas-Boas making seven changes to the starting eleven, the Dragões comfortably defeated the fourth division side. A hat trick by Brazilian striker Walter and first half strike from Silvestre Varela provided Porto with safe passage to the fourth round. Liga de Honra side Moreirense were Porto's opponents in the fourth round.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Route to the final, Porto
The match which took place at the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas, saw Porto defeat the side from Moreira de Cónegos, 1–0. Despite Moreirense being a Liga de Honra side, Porto found it difficult to break Jorge Casquilha's side who played every player behind the ball and looked to capitalize on Porto's defensive mistakes. Porto broke the deadlock on 74 minutes through Colombian striker Radamel Falcao. The goal came about after Fernando Belluschi's long range strike was saved on to the bar by Moreirense's keeper Roberto Tigrão, and Falcao was quickest to react to the ball than Édson to fire the ball into the net to send his side to the next round.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Route to the final, Porto
Porto were drawn to play at home against Juventude de Évora in the fifth round. Despite Juventude de Évora being a third division side, André Villas-Boas opted for a strong starting line-up with first team regulars Álvaro Pereira and Radamel Falcao being selected ahead of players like Emídio Rafael, Ukra and Walter, all of whom had primarily been used by Villas-Boas for cup games. Villas-Boas' strong starting eleven would pay off as Porto would comfortably defeat the opposition 4–0, with goals from Pereira, João Moutinho, Falcao and Walter. For the quarter finals, Porto were drawn in another home tie with the Portistas facing third division side Pinhalnovense. A brace from Hulk near the end of the match sealed a 2–0 win.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Route to the final, Porto
For the semi-finals, Porto were drawn against rivals Benfica. The semi-finals were contested over two legs with the first leg taking place at Porto's Estádio do Dragão. Porto went into the game as favorites as they had already beaten the Encarnados on two occasions during the 2010–11 season. In the first leg match, Jorge Jesus' Benfica defeated the Azuis e Brancos 2–0. The first goal of the game came on six minutes through left back Fábio Coentrão.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Route to the final, Porto
Javier Saviola received the ball in middle of the park and played a forward pass to an onrushing Coentrão, who beat Maicon to the ball, and fired his shot through Helton's legs to give the visitors the lead. Benfica's second came twenty minutes later through midfield ace Javi García.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Route to the final, Porto
A Benfica counterattack saw Nicolás Gaitán play a forward ball to Coentrão, who crossed the ball into the box which was cleared by Porto's defense but fell to García, who from 25 yards curled a shot to Helton's right hand side which bounced in front of the Brazilian 'keeper and into the goal which would double Benfica's lead and take a two-goal advantage back to the Estádio da Luz for the second leg.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Route to the final, Porto
In the second leg, Porto were able to overcome the 2–0 deficit to claim a 3–1 win over the Encarnados to send them through to a fourth consecutive cup final. Despite a late Óscar Cardozo goal, Porto's second half goals from João Moutinho, Hulk and Radamel Falcao were sufficient for the Portistas to progress on to the away goals rule.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Route to the final, Vitória de Guimarães
Just like their opponents, Vitória de Guimarães entered the 2010–11 Taça de Portugal in the third round, where they were drawn in a home tie against third division side Malveira. Goals from Edgar, João Ribeiro, Maranhão and Marcelo Toscano saw Vitória comfortably defeat the fourth division side to grant them passage to the next round. Liga de Honra side Portimonense were Vitória de Guimarães' opponents in the fourth round. Despite Vitória's coach Manuel Machado selecting a strong line up for the fourth round tie against the Alvinegros, the Vimaranenses encountered several difficulties against the Liga de Honra side.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Route to the final, Vitória de Guimarães
The match which took place at the Estádio Algarve saw Portimonense score first, through Renatinho. Vitória went in at the break trailing. Following the restart, the introduction of Rui Miguel for João Alves proved to be game changing as the visitors would score on 49 minutes, after Bruno Teles' free kick was saved by Portimonense's Hugo Ventura in which João Paulo followed by Ventura's save to equalize for his side. On 89 minutes, the game looked destine to go toextra-time but Edgar's late header provided the winner to settle the tie.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Route to the final, Vitória de Guimarães
Vitória de Guimarães played host to Torreense at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques in the fifth round. Goals in either half from Edgar and Marcelo Toscano saw Os Conquistadores see off the third division. For the quarter-finals, Vitória de Guimarães faced another third division side, Merelinense. The match took place at the Estádio 1º de Maio in Braga as the club from São Pedro de Merelim wanted to play the cup tie in a bigger seated stadium than their home ground of the Estádio João Soares Vieira which only had a seating capacity of 5,000.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Route to the final, Vitória de Guimarães
The tie was settled within the first half. Brazilian striker Edgar would score the first goal of the game on 30 minutes and fourth of the campaign. A right wing cross from full-back Alex would find Edgar to score Vitória's first goal of the match. Vitória's second would come before the interval. A corner taken by João Ribeiro would find an unmarked Cléber who would double his side's lead and thus grant Vitória passage to the semi-finals.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Route to the final, Vitória de Guimarães
For the semi-finals, Vitória de Guimarães were drawn against fellow Primeira Liga side Académica de Coimbra. The semi-finals were played over two legs with the first leg taking place at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques. Played in front of a crowd of 8,980, just under one third of the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques' seating capacity, an 80th-minute goal from Faouzi Abdelghani saw the home side take a narrow lead back to Coimbra.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Route to the final, Vitória de Guimarães
The second leg which took place at the Estádio Cidade de Coimbra proved to be a dull encounter, as both sides did not take many attacking risks and decided to sit back and wait for their opponent to make a mistake in order to capitalize on it. The best goal scoring opportunity of the game fell to Vitória's Tiago Targino who missed the chance to put his side ahead on 34 minutes. As the game drew to a close, the home side needed a goal to send the tie to extra-time and therefore piled on the pressure.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Route to the final, Vitória de Guimarães
Académica coach Ulisses Morais brought on forward players Enrique Carreño and Ibrahim Sissoko but to no effect as the Estudantes were unable to score which resulted in the match finishing goalless and Vitória progressing to the cup final for the fifth time in their history. The 0–0 result marked the fifth clean sheet that Vitória had picked up during the cup campaign.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Pre-match, Officials
Match officials were confirmed on 17 May by the Portuguese Football Federation. João Ferreira of Setúbal was named the referee for the final. This was the first time that Ferreira had officiated a final of the Taça de Portugal. Ferreira was assisted by Pais António and Luís Ramos of Setúbal, whilst the fourth official was Elmano Santos of Madeira.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Pre-match, Ticketing
Tickets for the final went on sale on 14 May. The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) allocated tickets for both finalist clubs varying in price between of €10 and €30, and allocated 12,500 tickets to both finalists clubs. The FPF allocated an additional 4,500 tickets to Vitória de Guimarães due to the club selling their share of the tickets fairly quickly.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Match, Team selection
Unlike their opponents, Porto had less time to prepare for the cup final due to its participation in the 2011 UEFA Europa League final. Porto manager André Villas-Boas selected a squad of eighteen players to take to the Jamor. Villas-Boas left out center back Nicolás Otamendi and Colombian striker Radamel Falcao who played in the Europa League final four days prior to the cup final. Despite leaving him out in the Europa League final, Villas-Boas included midfielder Mariano González in his cup final squad.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Match, Team selection
González prior to the cup final, announced that he would leave the Dragões following the cup final. The Portistas lined up in a 4–5–1 formation. Villas-Boas opted to rest several key players who had played in the Europa League final four days earlier, and lined up with several fringe players. This was the case for goalkeeper Beto, who replaced Helton, and for James Rodríguez, who replaced Falcao. The inclusion of Rodríguez, who started on the left wing, saw Hulk play in the center forward role as a replacement for the absent Falcao.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Match, Team selection
Vitória de Guimarães went into the cup final with no major injury doubts to any of its players. Vitória striker Marcelo Toscano was a doubt going into the game, but recovered in time to be selected by manager Manuel Machado. The Vimaranenses lined up in a 4–5–1 formation. In Vitória's starting line-up, Machado opted to start Freire ahead of Mahamadou N'Diaye, and leave forward Marcelo Toscano on the bench for Faouzi Abdelghani, who would comprise Vitória's five men midfield. Manuel Machado would also start Edgar as Vitória's lone striker.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Match, Summary
The game opened with goal from James Rodríguez on two minutes. The goal came about after Hulk received the ball in Vitória's penalty area and played it to Fernando Belluschi who took a shot from the outside of the box which deflected off a Vitória player and would fall into the path of James Rodríguez who would fire the ball past an on rushing Nilson from six yards out.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Match, Summary
Vitória de Guimarães equalized on twenty minutes after an Anderson Santana free kick deflected off Porto's Rolando, and fell into the path of Álvaro Pereira who was unable to direct the ball off the goal line and headed it into his own goal. Porto took the lead a minute later after James Rodríguez picked out an unmarked Silvestre Varela who volleyed the ball past Nilson to make 2–1 to the Dragões. Os Vimaranenses equalized two minutes later after another Anderson Santana set piece found an on rushing Edgar rise above the Porto defense and head past Beto to make 2–2. The Azuis e Brancos took the lead for a third time on 35 minutes through Rolando. The goal came about after a Porto set piece found Maicon who headed the ball against the bar, and Rolando followed up Maicon's header to tap in the ball into an empty net.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Match, Summary
Porto's fourth goal came on 42 minutes after Hulk scored directly from a corner kick. On the verge of half time, Vitória were awarded a penalty. Vitória's Edgar stepped up and fired the ball to his left hand side in which Porto's keeper Beto got a hand to it to keep it out and avoid Vitória scoring their third goal of the game.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Match, Summary
Porto's fifth came one minute after Beto's penalty save as a quick Porto counterattack saw Hulk beat a Vitória player and play a through ball to an on rushing James Rodríguez to score his second goal of the game. Both sides would go into the break with Porto leading 5–2. The second half proved to be less entertaining than the first as the intensity dropped for both sides and there would be less goal scoring opportunities.


2011 Taça de Portugal Final, Match, Summary
The only goal of the second half would come on 73 minutes through James Rodríguez, who would score his third and Porto's sixth of the game. Porto's Taça de Portugal victory would complete an impressive four trophies in one season for the Azuis e Brancos, and would tie the club with Benfica with the same number of trophies.


2011 Te Tai Tokerau by-election
The 2011 Te Tai Tokerau by-election was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Te Tai Tokerau that was caused by Hone Harawira's resignation from the seat. He chose to re-contest it with the Mana Party in order to seek a new mandate for his views. After generating several days of media interest and criticism Harawira announced on 4 May 2011 that he was delaying his resignation in order to consult his supporters in his electorate. On 11 May 2011 Harawira wrote to the Speaker of the House to resign from Parliament, with effect from 20 May 2011. On 12 May 2011 the Prime Minister John Key announced that the by-election would be held on 25 June.


2011 Te Tai Tokerau by-election, Reception
Many politicians and political commentators criticised the by-election because it would occur so close to the 2011 New Zealand general election. Under New Zealand law, a by-election will not be held if there will be a general election within the next six months and 75% of MPs agree not to hold the by-election. So if Harawira had resigned later than 26 May then the by-election may not have occurred.


2011 Te Tai Tokerau by-election, Reception
Harawira defended the by-election, which cost an estimated $500,000, by saying "It's hardly an expense in terms of democracy."


2011 Te Tai Tokerau by-election, By-elections
The New Zealand political blogging community viewed some aspects of the by-election as being very similar to the 1993 Tauranga by-election. That by-election was held on 17 April and the subsequent general election on 7 November, after Winston Peters resigned first from the National Party, following disagreements with its leadership, and then as an MP in order to seek a "fresh mandate" for his views. The Tauranga by-election was labelled by media and opposing parties as a 'Publicity stunt', as was this by-election.


2011 Te Tai Tokerau by-election, By-elections
Claire Trevett of The New Zealand Herald saw Harawira's resignation to force the election as "a direct echo" of Tariana Turia's resignation to force the 2004 Te Tai Hauauru by-election. However, Turia called her by-election 14 months before the 2005 New Zealand general election actually took place at a time when the election date had not been set. Harawira's by-election took place within six months of a general election.


2011 Te Tai Tokerau by-election, Candidates
Five candidates stood in the by-election. Besides Hone Harawira standing for the Mana Party, the Māori Party selected Solomon Tipene as its candidate (choosing him over Waihoroi Shortland and Mere Mangu for the nomination). Kelvin Davis stood for the Labour Party. Kelvyn Alp contested the by-election for the OurNZ Party while Maki Herbert stood for the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party.


2011 Te Tai Tokerau by-election, Results
Counting commenced at 7:00pm on election day, with preliminary results due by 10:00pm. Official results were declared on Wednesday 6 July 2011. With 32,855 people enrolled to vote, turnout was 37.56%.


2011 Te Tai Tokerau by-election, Results
Notes: Blue background denotes the winner of the by-election. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list prior to the by-election. Yellow background denotes the winner of the by-election, who was a list MP prior to the by-election. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.


2011 Team Europcar season
The 2011 season for the Team Europcar cycling team began in January with La Tropicale Amissa Bongo and ended in October with Yukiya Arashiro's performance in the Japan Cup. It was the team's twelfth season as a professional cycling team, although its second as a UCI Professional Continental team. Unlike fellow former UCI ProTeams Cofidis, FDJ, and Geox–TMC, they did not seek the status for 2011, thus in order to compete in any UCI World Tour event, the team had to be invited in advance, by race organizers.


2011 Team Europcar season
The season was one of the best in the team's history, with 20 victories and a Tour de France with multiple noteworthy performances. Team leader Thomas Voeckler wore the yellow jersey as race leader for ten days; the second such occurrence of his career, after also leading for ten days in 2004. Unlike that race, however, Voeckler poised himself as a serious overall contender and took fourth place overall; the best result by a French rider since 2000. While he spent most of the Tour riding in Voeckler's service, Pierre Rolland won one of the marquee stages, up Alpe d'Huez, eventually finishing 11th overall and winning the young rider classification.


2011 Team Europcar season
Voeckler was one of the more prolific winners of the early season, tallying eight victories in 2011, the last of them obtained on May 8. The veteran Frenchman won five stages at four stage races, plus the overall crowns at the Tour du Haut Var and the Four Days of Dunkirk along with the single-day Cholet-Pays de Loire.


2011 Team Europcar season, One-day races, Spring classics
The team had a solid showing at the traditional opener to the French cycling season, the Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise. While FDJ's Jérémy Roy easily won the race with a solo breakaway, Gautier rode to sixth place by finishing near the front of the peloton two and a half minutes behind. At Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne, one of the early-season Belgian races, Chavanel also turned in a sixth place, in a large field sprint. That same day, Gautier secured a podium finish at Les Boucles du Sud Ardèche, coming third in a selective 12-rider sprint at the front of the race. Chavanel rode to eighth place at Le Samyn, coming across the line 11 seconds back of the winner Dominic Klemme in a race decided by a late breakaway.


2011 Team Europcar season, One-day races, Spring classics
On the same weekend as the more prestigious Milan–San Remo, to which the team was not invited, they picked up two wins in single-day races. Veilleux won La Roue Tourangelle beating Saur–Sojasun's Anthony Delaplace in a two-up sprint five seconds ahead of the main field. Chavanel led the field across the line, giving Europcar two out of the three podium spots. That same day, team leader Voeckler won Cholet-Pays de Loire by foiling a field sprint. With 3 km (1.9 mi) left in the race, Voeckler went on the attack.


2011 Team Europcar season, One-day races, Spring classics
He opened up a ten-second time gap very quickly and just held on to win, having no appreciable gap over the peloton at the finish. Since Cholet-Pays de Loire is a UCI Europe Tour race, Voeckler had to wear the all-white jersey of Europe Tour leader and not the French national champion's jersey, something which spectators expecting to see the tricolor jersey found absurd. While Voeckler was nonetheless happy to come away with a win, he stressed after the race that it was not Milan–San Remo, and that the victory should be viewed with the proper perspective.


2011 Team Europcar season, One-day races, Spring classics
In April, Jérôme won Tro-Bro Léon. He credited the win to advice from teammate Quemeneur, who hails from the area where the race was won, about the roads on which it was run. Also working in Jérôme's favor was a timely puncture from teammate Hurel. After Hurel got a wheel change, Jérôme had bridged up to him, so Hurel went to work for Jérôme. Jérôme and Will Routley then broke away from two FDJ riders for the final sprint, which Jérôme won with a time gap.


2011 Team Europcar season, One-day races, Spring classics
Voeckler just missed out on the podium at the Tour du Finistère, finishing in second position of the peloton behind two late attackers for fourth place on the day. In late May, the team had a very strong showing at the Boucles de l'Aulne. While Vacansoleil–DCM's Martijn Keizer rode off with the victory, Team Europcar placed three riders in the top ten and four in the top twelve – Charteau on the podium in third, Gautier in fifth, Gène in seventh, and Veilleux in twelfth.


2011 Team Europcar season, One-day races, Spring classics
The team also sent squads to Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Dwars door Vlaanderen, E3 Prijs Vlaanderen – Harelbeke, Gent–Wevelgem, the Route Adélie de Vitré, the Tour of Flanders, the Flèche d'Emeraude, the Scheldeprijs, Paris–Roubaix, Paris–Camembert, the Brabantse Pijl, the Grand Prix de Denain, and the Grand Prix de Plumelec-Morbihan, but finished no higher than 11th in any of these races.


2011 Team Europcar season, One-day races, Fall races
Cousin took ninth at the Polynormande, in fourth position from the peloton behind five breakaway riders. Haddou took fifth in a field sprint at the Châteauroux Classic, behind Ag2r–La Mondiale's Anthony Ravard. Voeckler took a podium finish at the GP Ouest-France. Lampre–ISD's Grega Bole broke away in the final kilometer to win the race, and Simon Gerrans and Voeckler tried to bridge up to him. Though everyone in the peloton had the same time at the finish, Bole, Gerrans, and Voeckler finished just ahead of the main field, in that order to round out the podium. Voeckler also turned in the team's best ride at the Tour de la Somme, finishing ninth in the field sprint. At the Tour de Vendée, which took place not far from the team's headquarters, they had two riders take top-ten placings, Charteau in sixth and Quemeneur in seventh.


2011 Team Europcar season, One-day races, Fall races
The team also sent squads to the Tour du Doubs, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, Paris–Brussels, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, the Grand Prix de Wallonie, the Grand Prix d'Isbergues, Binche–Tournai–Binche, Paris–Bourges, Paris–Tours, the Giro del Piemonte, the Giro di Lombardia, and the Japan Cup, but finished no higher than 11th in any of these races.


2011 Team Europcar season, Stage races
Just as they had been in 2010 under their former guise as Bbox Bouygues Telecom – when the team won two stages and the overall classification with Charteau – the team was very successful at La Tropicale Amissa Bongo in Africa. Gène took the team's first win of the year (and accordingly, first under their new name) in stage 2, the only stage that finished outside the race's primary host nation of Gabon, winning a field sprint in Ebolowa in Cameroon. In stage 4, the event's defending champion Charteau figured into a winning breakaway.


2011 Team Europcar season, Stage races
Though he finished 24 seconds back on stage winner Daniel Teklehaymanot, he assumed the race leadership. He had a lead of four seconds over the man in second place and seven seconds over the man in third, but a good two minutes over the man in fourth, meaning it was virtually certain that he would at the very least finish on the podium. The next day, Gène added a second sprint win, as most of the field finished together and Charteau retained his advantage in the overall.


2011 Team Europcar season, Stage races
While the final stage had the potential to shake up the overall standings, with three large groups finishing four seconds after one another, Charteau held on to win the race overall for the second straight year by finishing in the first of these groups. In February, at the Étoile de Bessèges, Haddou won the sprint finish to the race's titular stage finishing in Bessèges. Later in February, Voeckler won the first stage of the Tour Méditerranéen. He had instigated the morning breakaway with four others, and they stayed away by a margin of three seconds over the fast-charging peloton.


2011 Team Europcar season, Stage races
Voeckler won the two-day Tour du Haut Var later in February. He finished one second down on Samuel Dumoulin in stage 1, but in the hillier second stage, he finished 29 seconds clear of any other riders, along with breakaway companion Julien Antomarchi. He allowed Antomarchi to take the stage win, knowing that he had the race overall won. The team entered another African race in February, the Tour of South Africa.


2011 Team Europcar season, Stage races
After winning La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Charteau was expected to be a top contender for victory, but he broke his collarbone after a stage 1 crash and had to leave the race. The squad did pick up a win, with Gène taking stage 3 from a breakaway sprint, but their best-placed overall finisher was Quemeneur over two minutes down on race champion Kristian House.


2011 Team Europcar season, Stage races
Voeckler entered Paris–Nice optimistic for results, but with the realization that the stage 6 individual time trial would limit any chances he had on the overall crown. After finishing in the peloton for the first three stages, Voeckler figured into a winning breakaway in stage 4. He and recently ousted race leader Thomas De Gendt, with two others, broke away just 6 km (3.7 mi) into the stage and stayed away by a margin of 13 seconds over the peloton at the finish.


2011 Team Europcar season, Stage races
Voeckler won the four-man sprint at the end and took the stage win, as De Gendt had spent all his energies drilling the group to the line in order to get the time gap he needed to retake the race leadership. It was Voeckler's first career Paris–Nice stage win, after having competed in the race since 2003. Voeckler lost two minutes in the mountains the next day and any chance at the overall, but he rebounded to win stage 8 from another breakaway.


2011 Team Europcar season, Stage races
Again joining the morning escape, Voeckler was one of relatively few riders who chose to complete the race by riding a slippery descent of the Col d'Eze, and stayed out front by 23 seconds over Lampre–ISD's Diego Ulissi and one minute, 22 seconds over the peloton. He finished the race in 21st place overall. He added a sixth win on the season at the Giro del Trentino. Breaking away with Michele Scarponi on the climb to Ledro Bezzecca which closed out stage two, Voeckler defeated the Italian in the sprint 25 seconds ahead of the peloton.


2011 Team Europcar season, Stage races
Upon seeing Scarponi make the juncture to him, he had been careful not to expend too much effort and leave himself fresh for the eventual sprint. Voeckler added further success at the Four Days of Dunkirk. While German sprinter Marcel Kittel won four of the race's five stages, Voeckler took the one that mattered as far as the overall classification was concerned. He put in a winning attack 20 km (12 mi) from the end of the hilly fourth stage, as the chase group he had been in caught the day's morning breakaway. He finished safely in the peloton in the final stage the next day, comfortably maintaining his minute-plus lead to win the race overall.


2011 Team Europcar season, Stage races
The team was successful in stage-hunting at events later in the season. Chavanel took his first win since rejoining the team, and first in three years, at the Circuit de Lorraine, winning a nearly full field sprint. Kern took a strong win at the Critérium du Dauphiné, finishing alone 9 seconds clear of the main field full of some of the best climbers in the world, atop the short, steep climb at Les Gets. The team had been very active in the finale, with Rolland and Voeckler launching attacks in the run into the finish before Kern got clear.


2011 Team Europcar season, Stage races
The team's performances on the race's last day got them the victory in the race's teams classification as well. Later in June, Turgot won the prologue time trial at the Boucles de la Mayenne, besting Endura Racing's Alexander Wetterhall by less than a second. The squad won the team award at this race as well. Charteau showed his climbing prowess and cunning in stage 2 at the Route du Sud, outpacing Movistar Team's Vasil Kiryienka to win alone on a Pyrenean hilltop in Cauterets. The team did not win any stage at the Tour du Poitou-Charentes, but they did win two jersey classifications, with Pichot taking the mountains classification and Gaudin the sprints.


2011 Team Europcar season, Stage races
The team also sent squads to the Tour de Langkawi, the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen, the Circuit de la Sarthe, the Tour de Romandie, the Rhône-Alpes Isère Tour, Bayern-Rundfahrt, the Tour de Luxembourg, Paris–Corrèze, the Danmark Rundt, the Tour du Limousin, and the Tour of Britain, but did not achieve a stage win, classification win, or podium finish in any of them.


2011 Team Europcar season, Grand Tours
As a Professional Continental team, Europcar needed to be selected by the organizers of any of the Grand Tours in order to participate. They were selected to ride the Tour de France, but not the Giro d'Italia, nor the Vuelta a España.


2011 Team Europcar season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
The Amaury Sport Organisation announced the wildcard entries to the Tour de France in January, much earlier than in past years. Team Europcar had among their number French national champion Voeckler, though he lost that title shortly before the Tour, a de facto national hero after he wore the yellow jersey for ten days in the 2004 Tour de France. Confident of their inclusion, they were indeed among the four teams added to the 18 UCI ProTeams obligated to attend. Voeckler was named as the squad leader, with Charteau and Kern his top support riders.


2011 Team Europcar season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
Gène was also named to the squad, the first black rider in the Tour's history. The team started quietly, with no rider finishing near the front of the race on stage 1 at the Mont des Alouettes and 13th of 22 teams in the stage 2 team time trial. The team did not really figure into the sprint finishes that happened early in the Tour, having left their best sprinter Chavanel off the squad for the Tour. Turgot's eighth place in stage 7 was their highest such finish.


2011 Team Europcar season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
Stage 9 was the Tour's toughest stage to that point, with seven climbs during the 208 km (129.2 mi) parcours. Voeckler, who entered the day in 19th place a minute and 29 seconds down in the overall classification, made a high-powered breakaway with Luis León Sánchez, Sandy Casar, Juan Antonio Flecha (all of them stage winners in one or more previous Tours) and Johnny Hoogerland.


2011 Team Europcar season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
Some 36 km (22 mi) from the finish line, a car from France Télévisions sideswiped Flecha and Hoogerland, the two front riders at the time, sending both off their bicycles and Hoogerland crashing into a barbed-wire fence. After a few uncertain minutes while he appeared to want to wait for Flecha and Hoogerland to rejoin them, Voeckler then drove the breakaway hard.


2011 Team Europcar season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
With prior race leader Thor Hushovd well back, the yellow jersey was bound to change hands, and Voeckler's time gap over the main field at the time of Flecha and Hoogerland's crash made him very likely to be the rider to take it. Voeckler's efforts left him unable to sprint at the end of the stage, and Sánchez won, but his near four-minute time gap over the peloton gave him the yellow jersey by a minute and 49 seconds over Sánchez and two minutes and 26 seconds against the best-placed overall favorite, Cadel Evans in third place.


2011 Team Europcar season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
The overall standings did not change until stage 12, on Bastille Day, which ended with the hors catégorie climb to Luz Ardiden. Voeckler finished ninth on the day, ceding 20 seconds to most of the race's top overall riders, but still had sufficient time in hand to remain race leader by nearly two minutes. Rolland finished at his side for tenth on the day. Voeckler had said the night before that he expected to lose the jersey on this stage.


2011 Team Europcar season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
After the peloton mostly stayed together in stage 13, popular expectation for stage 14, including two first-category climbs on course and another hors catégorie climb at the finish (Plateau de Beille), again was for Voeckler to lose the jersey. But he not only retained the jersey, he also finished with the main group of overall favorites, losing time to only three riders and actually putting time into other riders such as Damiano Cunego and Tom Danielson.


2011 Team Europcar season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
Voeckler himself again expressed his surprise at his successes, saying "I was very surprised to be with the best riders up the Plateau de Beille climb. I don't know how far I can go." Stage 16 ended with a lengthy descent, from the second-category Col de Manse. Voeckler lost time to nearly all the race's top riders, and expressed after the stage his certainty that he could not win the Tour, but he remained race leader.


2011 Team Europcar season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
Stage 18 was undoubtedly the most difficult in the Tour, incorporating three hors catégorie climbs, including the Col du Galibier at the finish; as such, race organisers defined the stage as the race's queen stage. When Andy Schleck, who began the day two minutes and 36 seconds behind Voeckler, surged away from the race's top riders 60 km (37 mi) from the finish and quickly made it to the morning breakaway, it seemed all but certain that he would become the new race leader.


2011 Team Europcar season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
While Schleck easily won the stage, Voeckler followed Evans as the Australian made a strenuous pull at the end of the stage to limit his time losses. At the very end, Voeckler lost Evans' wheel and fell to fifth on the day, two minutes and 21 seconds behind Schleck. Visibly so spent that he could not sit upright on his bicycle after crossing the finish line, Voeckler had retained the yellow jersey by a margin of 15 seconds. He said afterwards that while he had expected to lose the jersey earlier in the Tour, on this day all the team's efforts were put into retaining it. Post-race analyses called Voeckler a "survivor" and "astonishing."


2011 Team Europcar season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
With Voeckler having visibly given it everything he had in stage 18, and another hors catégorie finish looming (at Alpe d'Huez) in stage 19, he was no longer the favourite to keep the yellow jersey to Paris, as Evans and the Schleck brothers held an advantage over him in the high mountain stages. Though stage 19 was also the Tour's shortest, Voeckler was indeed dropped between the Col du Galibier (visited again in stage 19) and Alpe d'Huez, finally ceding the jersey to Schleck. However, the day was still a very good one for the team.


2011 Team Europcar season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
On the ascent of the Galibier, Voeckler told Rolland not to work for him any further and to ride his own race, and Rolland rode at or near the front of the race the rest of the day. Together with Spaniards Alberto Contador and Samuel Sánchez as the leading group on Alpe d'Huez, Rolland rode away from them with 2.5 km (1.6 mi) to race and took the day's honors, the first and only stage win for a French rider in this Tour.


2011 Team Europcar season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
He also claimed the best young rider white jersey by finishing two minutes the better of Cofidis' Rein Taaramäe, who had begun the day in the lead in that classification. Voeckler finished 20th on the stage, losing three minutes to most of the other top riders, but this dropped him only to fourth place overall.


2011 Team Europcar season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
The stage 20 individual time trial was to be the Tour's final competitive stage, since its final stage is traditionally mostly ceremonial and only competitive at the sprint finish. Voeckler's position was likely secure, being a minute and 13 seconds behind Evans and a minute and 21 seconds ahead of Damiano Cunego, both time gaps unlikely to be recouped due to Voeckler's and Cunego's limited time trial skills. However, Rolland's position as best young rider remained in play due to his minute and 33 seconds advantage over Taaramäe, and Taaramäe's time trial abilities well superior to Rolland's.


2011 Team Europcar season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
Rolland rode one of the best time trials of his career to finish 21st. Taaramäe finished tenth, and took back 47 seconds, but it was insufficient to take back the white jersey. Eight of the nine Team Europcar riders completed the Tour, with the lone exception being Kern who had crashed out of stage 5. Voeckler finished fourth overall and Rolland tenth as the best young rider.


2011 Team Europcar season, Away from competition, Change of title sponsor
Midway through the 2010 season, Bouygues Telecom announced that they wished to reduce their involvement in financing the team, and were interested in continuing their partnership with the squad. This was on the proviso that team manager Jean-René Bernaudeau could find a primary sponsor that would allow Bouygues Telecom to contribute €1 million to the team's budget, but the rest of its finances would be covered by an incoming sponsor. At this point in time, the team had lodged an application to become a UCI ProTeam once again in 2011.


2011 Team Europcar season, Away from competition, Change of title sponsor
Following his victory in the inaugural Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, Voeckler was complacent about his team's future, believing his team manager Bernaudeau would eventually find a sponsor. Bernaudeau himself was still hopeful of acquiring a deal at that point, but that deadlines were working against him in order for the team to return as a professional team from the 2011 season onwards.


2011 Team Europcar season, Away from competition, Change of title sponsor
After talks with an organisation in Paris, which later turned out to be French multinational oil company Total, Bernaudeau set his sights on another company, a banking group, and at best, rated his team's chances of survival as "6 out of 10". Voeckler was equally pessimistic about the team's chances of survival, having stated that the team could not have done any better, than they had in 2010. Voeckler had also received offers from rival French squads Cofidis and Saur–Sojasun about joining their respective teams, if in the worst-case scenario that Bbox Bouygues Telecom folded. Bernaudeau obtained an extension from the Union Cycliste Internationale, in relation to the registration records for the team, which had to be submitted before 1 October.


2011 Team Europcar season, Away from competition, Change of title sponsor
Ultimately, Voeckler signed a contract with Cofidis on 1 October, which would have only become official if Bbox Bouygues Telecom folded. Voeckler announced a complete U-turn on his move a day later, with preliminary reports from France stating that the team had indeed found a sponsor – on a three-year deal from the 2011 season onwards – and that it was car rental company Europcar that had joined the team as sponsor on the proviso that Voeckler, the French national champion, was part of the team's roster.


2011 Team Europcar season, Away from competition, Change of title sponsor
The deal was officially confirmed later that day, but the team were no longer eligible to apply for a ProTeam licence due to the delay in finding a sponsor. Bernaudeau sent the team's dossier to the Union Cycliste Internationale on 4 October, requesting Professional Continental status for another year; this status was granted in November.


2011 Team Ice Racing World Championship
The 2011 FIM Team Ice Racing World Championship was the 33rd edition and the 2011 version of FIM Team Ice Racing World Championship season. The Final was held in Berlin, Germany on 26–27 February 2011. The championship was won by the defending champion Russia (58 points), who they beat Austria (49 pts) and Czech Republic (37 pts).


2011 Team Ice Racing World Championship, World Final, Heat details - Day One
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance • t - exclusion for touching the tapes • x - other exclusion • e - retired or mechanical failure • f - fellns - non-starter • nc - non-classify


2011 Team Ice Racing World Championship, World Final, Heat details - Day Two
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •t - exclusion for touching the tapes •x - other exclusion •e - retired or mechanical failure •f - fellns - non-starter •nc - non-classify


2011 Team Katusha season
The 2011 season for Team Katusha began in January at the Tour Down Under and ended in October at the Giro di Lombardia. As a UCI ProTeam, they were automatically invited and obligated to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour.


2011 Team Katusha season
Just days before the competitive season began, the team signed former Giro d'Italia winner Danilo Di Luca, who had recently regained eligibility following a doping ban. He rode in 2011 for no salary.


2011 Team Katusha season
The team made history by sending an all-Russian selection to the Tour de France, spearheaded by third-year pro and minor 2011 breakout star Denis Galimzyanov. While the squad did not achieve anything notable at the Tour, Galimzyanov won four races on the season and the points jersey at the year's final stage race, the Tour of Beijing.


2011 Team Katusha season
Though the team was on the whole not as successful as it was in 2010, when leader Joaquim Rodríguez was the UCI world number one rider, they had several, and varied, victories in 2011. They won four single-day races, six jersey awards at five different stage races, the overall at the Vuelta a Burgos and three stages at the Vuelta a España. Rodríguez finished fourth in the UCI standings at the end of the season, winning seven races himself. Rodríguez also had a solid spring classics campaign, finishing on the podium at both the Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne.


2011 Team Katusha season, One-day races, Spring classics
Brutt took the team's first win of the season at the Classica Sarda on Sardinia, a race run with the same teams as the Giro di Sardegna stage race earlier in the week. He had been part of a 22-man escape group that formed after only 11 km (6.8 mi). Only 21 riders finished the race, and Brutt crossed the line first ahead of Emanuele Sella and Peter Sagan after a flurry of attacks and counterattacks in the finale.


2011 Team Katusha season, One-day races, Spring classics
Pozzato was the team's leader at the first monument race of the season, Milan–San Remo, having been the last Italian rider to win the race (in 2006). He made the day's major selection, after a crash occurred on the Le Manie climb 90 km (56 mi) from the finish of the race. Despite not having as many support riders with him as other contenders who made the split, Pozzato made all subsequent selections as well, including an eight-rider group that formed on the Poggio and decided the race. Pozzato finished fifth in the finale sprint.


2011 Team Katusha season, One-day races, Spring classics
Fellow contender Philippe Gilbert, who had likewise made all the selections, criticized Pozzato after the race for chasing him down multiple times in the race's final kilometers. Pozzato and Ivanov were touted as contenders at the second monument race, the Tour of Flanders. Pozzato marked two accelerations from pre-race favorite Fabian Cancellara on the cobbled climbs, but faded toward the end and finished the race with the first large group on the road over a minute down on race winner Nick Nuyens.


2011 Team Katusha season, One-day races, Spring classics
One post-race analysis criticized Pozzato for another weak showing and suggested that internal disputes with team manager Tchmil could be to blame. The team had a notably difficult third monument, Paris–Roubaix. While Pozzato again drew mention as a pre-race contender, he and the entire team were struck hard by the notoriously difficult Paris–Roubaix terrain. Gusev was caught out in crashes as the day's principal breakaway formed, during the first cobbled sector. He did not continue in the race. Paolini also was affected by a crash, and abandoned the race from a group trying to chase to the leaders.


2011 Team Katusha season, One-day races, Spring classics
Pozzato stayed with the group of race favorites for a time, but crashed on the Mons-en-Pévèle sector and he too left the race. In what one post-race analysis called "possibly the lowest moment in the team’s short history," not one rider from their squad so much as finished the race. The mechanical incidents sustained by riders were made worse because even the team car punctured and failed to finish the race. Pozzato in particular had been left stranded – his crash at Mons-en-Pévèle had not injured him, but he needed a full bike change to be able to continue. Neutral service vehicles only provide wheels, so he would need to wait for his team car, which was not coming.


2011 Team Katusha season, One-day races, Spring classics
Team leader Rodríguez rode well in the Amstel Gold Race. Katusha had been the team who did most of the work in chasing down the day's principal breakaway group, and Rodríguez effectively stayed at the front of the race most of the day. After Andy Schleck attacked for victory, Rodríguez was part of the chase group that overhauled the Luxembourger on the Cauberg, the final of the race's 31 climbs. However, it was Omega Pharma–Lotto's Philippe Gilbert who was first over the line, leaving Rodríguez second.


2011 Team Katusha season, One-day races, Spring classics
Rodríguez admitted after the race that the finish suited Gilbert more than him, but he expected to do him better in the upcoming La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège. La Flèche Wallonne played out almost exactly as Amstel Gold did. Rodríguez thought that the Mur de Huy climb which finished Flèche Wallonne would, due to being steeper than anything visited in the Amstel, favor him more than Gilbert, but Gilbert again took the win with Rodríguez second. He was impressed that Gilbert had attacked from far out on the Mur, and that he had held on to win after doing so.


2011 Team Katusha season, One-day races, Spring classics
The team did not fare well at Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Rodríguez finished 26th, being affected on the day by the high pollen count in the air and had respiratory difficulties. Kolobnev finished 11th, and admitted after the race that he had been distracted and missed the crucial move from the Schleck brothers and Gilbert that had decided the race.


2011 Team Katusha season, One-day races, Spring classics
The team also sent squads to the Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise, Trofeo Palma, Trofeo Cala Millor, Trofeo Palmanova, Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne, Nokere Koerse, Gent–Wevelgem, the Brabantse Pijl, the Grand Prix de Denain and Halle–Ingooigem, but placed no higher than 11th in any of these races.


2011 Team Katusha season, One-day races, Fall races
The team also sent squads to the Coppa Bernocchi, the Vattenfall Cyclassics, the GP Ouest-France, the Grote Prijs Jef Scherens, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, the Grand Prix de Fourmies and the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, but placed no higher than 12th in any of these races.


2011 Team Katusha season, Stage races
After having been shut out in several stage races to open the season, Galimzyanov took the team's first stage win in the Three Days of De Panne. He bested John Degenkolb and Peter Sagan, both of whom had had multiple victories to that point in 2011, at the head of a 64-rider sprint. Adding in a second place in the road race on day three gave Galimzyanov enough points to win the event's points classification.


2011 Team Katusha season, Stage races
Team leader Rodríguez won stage 1 of the Tour of the Basque Country, finishing a second clear of any other riders, but drawing Samuel Sánchez and Andreas Klöden with him. The Tour of the Basque Country does not award time bonuses at any point in the race, so the three were tied on time after the stage, and remained so after all five road race stages, with only the individual time trial remaining.


2011 Team Katusha season, Stage races
Rodríguez is a vastly inferior time trialist to Sánchez and Klöden, and while his ride (33rd place out of 131 riders) was perhaps a bit better than expected, he still lost nearly two minutes and slipped from first to eleventh in the overall classification. Brutt took a strong win in the first road race stage at the Tour de Romandie. He had been part of a four-man escape group that formed only 6 km (3.7 mi) into the stage, and he soloed to victory ahead of his three former companions. He took the race lead with this stage win, and held it until the stage 4 time trial, eventually finishing the race in eighth place.


2011 Team Katusha season, Stage races
The team also won lesser classifications at the Giro di Sardegna, the Three Days of De Panne, the Critérium du Dauphiné, the Vuelta a Burgos, and the Tour of Beijing.


2011 Team Katusha season, Stage races
The team also sent squads to the Tour Down Under, Étoile de Bessèges, the Tour Méditerranéen, the Tour of Qatar, the Tour of Oman, the Vuelta a Andalucía, Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen, Paris–Nice, Tirreno–Adriatico, Volta a Catalunya, the Giro del Trentino, the Four Days of Dunkirk, the Tour of Belgium, the Tour de Suisse, the Tour of Austria, the Tour de Wallonie, the Tour de Pologne, the Eneco Tour, the Tour du Poitou Charentes, the Tour de Wallonie-Picarde and the Herald Sun Tour, but did not achieve a stage win, classification win, or podium finish in any of them.


2011 Team Long Track World Championship
The 2011 Team Long Track World Championship was the fifth annual FIM Team Long Track World Championship. The final took place on 21 August 2011 in Scheeßel, Germany. The Championship was won by the defending champion Germany who beat the Netherlands and Great Britain. It was fifth champion title for German riders.


2011 Team Long Track World Championship, Results, Heat details
M - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance • T - exclusion for touching the tapes • X - other exclusion • E - retired or mechanical failure • F - fell


2011 Team RadioShack season
The 2011 season for Team RadioShack began in January at the Tour Down Under and ended in October with Robbie McEwen's participation in the Noosa Grand Prix. As a UCI ProTeam, they were automatically invited and obligated to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour.


2011 Team RadioShack season
The team merged with Leopard Trek for the 2012 season, with the resultant team based in Luxembourg, meaning this formation is considered defunct after the 2011 season.


2011 Team RadioShack season
While the team had 28 wins in 2011, and showed well enough to briefly be the leading team in the UCI World Tour rankings, they were nearly invisible in the Grand Tours, the races which have defined manager Johan Bruyneel's managerial career. A Tour de France besieged by crashes and injuries led to Haimar Zubeldia in 15th place being their best finisher, the worst showing for a Bruyneel-led team at the Tour in five years.


2011 Team RadioShack season
The team's principal successes were the three major stage races in the United States, the Tour of California, the Tour of Utah, and the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. Team RadioShack fielded the overall winner in all three events, Chris Horner in California and Levi Leipheimer in Utah and Colorado. The team also won seven other stage races, easily the most of any major team on the season.


2011 Team RadioShack season, One-day races
Before the spring season and the races known as classics, Team RadioShack was active in the Vuelta a Mallorca series of single-day races. In the Trofeo Inca, Hermans figured into a winning breakaway that formed 40 km (25 mi) from the finish, on the Puig Major climb. When this group's lead stretched to a minute with only 10 km (6.2 mi), it was clear they would stay away. Hermans stated that he had not felt confident going into the sprint, but he proved fresher than breakaway companions Arkaitz Durán and Xavier Tondó, winning the race.


2011 Team RadioShack season, One-day races
Later in February, Hunter won the field sprint finish to the second day of the Tour de Mumbai, restyled for 2011 as two one-day races in a similar vein to the Vuelta a Mallorca. The 11-lap 79 km (49 mi) criterium was originally meant to be a lap longer, but after the start was delayed for over an hour due to amateur riders and photographers crowding the course, it was shortened from the planned length of 108 km (67 mi).


2011 Team RadioShack season, One-day races, Spring classics
Much like the Bruyneel-led Astana teams, Team RadioShack was not a major player in the spring classics. They did, however, attain a notable result in the season's third monument race, Paris–Roubaix. After a breakaway group of ten riders had first gone clear right about the time the cobbled sectors first began, Rast worked his way into a chase group which formed at the Arenberg sector. His group caught up with the leaders, and while Garmin–Cervélo's Johan Vansummeren soloed to victory, Rast stayed with the next group on the road through to the end of the race.


2011 Team RadioShack season, One-day races, Spring classics
He, Fabian Cancellara, and Maarten Tjallingii contested the sprint for second place. Cancellara took second with Tjallingii third, leaving Rast just off the podium in fourth. Thanks to this result and the team's strong showing at the Tour of the Basque Country stage race, they became the number one team in the UCI rankings after Paris–Roubaix.


2011 Team RadioShack season, One-day races, Spring classics
The team also sent squads to the Trofeo Palma de Mallorca, Trofeo Cala Millor, Trofeo Deià, Trofeo Palmanova, the Classica Sarda, Milan – San Remo, Gent–Wevelgem, the Tour of Flanders, the Brabantse Pijl, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège, but placed no higher than 12th in any of these races.


2011 Team RadioShack season, One-day races, Fall races
The team also sent squads to Paris–Brussels, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, Paris–Bourges and the Giro di Lombardia, but finished no higher than 12th in any of these races.


2011 Team RadioShack season, Stage races
The Tour Down Under, the first stage race of the season, was Armstrong's last professional race. Despite claiming that he was "definitely not flying halfway around the world to sit in the bunch," Armstrong only showed combativity at one moment during the race, during an ultimately unsuccessful breakaway attempt during stage 5 to Willunga. He finished the race in 67th place, 6'42" down on overall winner Cameron Meyer. Elsewhere, McEwen was, for a time, an overall contender in the race.


2011 Team RadioShack season, Stage races
He was third in the sprint finish to the first stage, with the time bonus affording him that same position in the first general classification standings. The next day, a second place left him tied for first overall with Ben Swift and Matthew Goss, and gave him the ochre jersey as race leader. After slipping slightly over the next two days, McEwen lost any chance at overall victory on the Willunga stage, finishing in the same group as Armstrong 1'48" down on stage winner Francisco Ventoso and the majority of the overall contenders. He finished the race in 28th place.


2011 Team RadioShack season, Stage races
At the Ruta del Sol in February, Irizar finished second in the short stage 1 time trial, mere tenths of a second behind stage winner Jimmy Engoulvent. The next stage ended in a 43-rider sprint, and Engoulvent was dropped on the day's first climb, finishing nearly 23 minutes back. As a result, Irizar took the race leadership. The remaining race stages were similar – stage 3 featured an 85-rider sprint, stage 4 a 90-rider sprint, and stage 5 a 33-rider sprint. Irizar finished safely in the bunch on each stage, winning the race overall by a single second over Jurgen Van den Broeck and two over teammate Leipheimer, who had similarly ridden good stage 1 time trials. The squad also won the teams classification.


2011 Team RadioShack season, Stage races
With a squad made up of younger riders, the team was quite successful at the Three Days of West Flanders stage race. Sergent won the prologue time trial, with Rosseler and Bewley in second and third ten seconds off his pace. Kwiatkowski also clocked in ten seconds off Sergent's time, for fifth on the day. The first of the two road race stages ended in a full field sprint with little change to the overall standings, and the second featured a reduced group sprint.


2011 Team RadioShack season, Stage races
Bewley missed an early selection and finished five minutes back, but Sergent, Rosseler, and Kwiatkowski all finished with the front group. They finished in that order in the final overall classification, giving the team a clean sweep of the event's final podium; Sergent also won the young rider classification and the squad also claimed the teams classification. At Paris–Nice in March, Klöden won the first major mountain stage, stage 5, from a very selective eight-rider group that finished together at the front of the race.


2011 Team RadioShack season, Stage races
He took the overall race leadership with the result, eleven years after he had won Paris–Nice overall. He finished fourth in the individual time trial the next day, but fourth place was a good 46 seconds down on stage winner Tony Martin, as the younger German took the race leadership. Klöden was unable to make back any time in the last two road stages, finishing second overall. The squad also took the team award.


2011 Team RadioShack season, Stage races
At Critérium International in March, Klöden won the stage 3 time trial, but managed only 22nd overall, having lost time in both the mountainous and flat road race stages. At the concurrent Volta a Catalunya, the team experienced both success and hardship. Cardoso won stage 4 in a full field sprint – so full that only two riders failed to finish with the rest of the peloton. Leipheimer had finished well-placed in the race's mountainous third stage, ceding 23 seconds to former teammate Alberto Contador but occupying a podium position, third, with the result.


2011 Team RadioShack season, Stage races
He continued to hold it through the sixth stage, but had to pull out of the race before the seventh and final stage due to stomach problems. He had spent the night before in the hospital with an abdominal sub-obstruction, an injury dating back to his childhood when he was kicked in the stomach by a horse. Being physically unable to complete the race cost him his podium position and the team 70 UCI World Tour points. Horner was the squad's best finisher, fourth overall.


2011 Team RadioShack season, Stage races
Rosseler won the closing time trial and, consequently, the overall crown of the Three Days of De Panne at the end of March. He had entered the stage as one of a great number of riders within ten seconds of pending race leader Bert De Backer. After teammate Kwiatkowski had first set a time solidly better than those which came before, Rosseler did him 14 seconds better to win both the stage and the race overall. Kwiatkowski took third in the stage and overall, while the squad earned the teams classification win.


2011 Team RadioShack season, Stage races
The team entered the Tour of the Basque Country in April with defending champion Horner heading their squad, along with Klöden. Both finished near stage 1 winner Joaquim Rodríguez, with Horner a second back and Klöden tied on the same time. The race's top riders marked one another closely, and since the Tour of the Basque Country did not award bonus time anywhere in the race, these positions held through the fifth and final road race stage, with only the individual time trial remaining.


2011 Team RadioShack season, Stage races
Rodríguez is a vastly inferior time trialist to Horner, Klöden, and the other riders who populated the top of the overall standings going in, meaning the overall victory was very much in play. The winning time came from HTC–Highroad's Tony Martin. Horner clocked in 55 seconds down on Martin in ninth place for the day. Klöden actually surpassed Martin's best time at the intermediate time check, but could not maintain his pace. He still finished very strongly, only nine seconds down for second on the day. True to reputation, Rodríguez struggled, ceding two minutes to the stage winner.


2011 Team RadioShack season, Stage races
Klöden's performance won him the race overall; he had previously won this race in 2000 while riding for Team Telekom. He also won the points classification. Klöden turned in another fine race against the clock at the Giro del Trentino. He won the 13.4 km (8.3 mi) time trial by a single second over Lampre–ISD's Adriano Malori and eight over teammate Machado. He cracked on the climb to Ledro Bezzecca in stage 2, however, losing six minutes and any chance at winning the race.


2011 Team RadioShack season, Stage races
Always a race which had been a target for Johan Bruyneel-led teams, Team RadioShack sent a strong squad to the Tour of California, headed by Horner and three-time winner Leipheimer. After the first stage was canceled and the first two to be run both favored sprinters, the team showed strongly in stage 4. This stage ended with a summit finish on Sierra Road. Horner won this stage 1'15" clear of any other riders, a massive time gap in a race which has historically been decided by seconds.


2011 Team RadioShack season, Stage races
The 2011 Tour returned to Solvang for its individual time trial after the race against the clock in 2010 had been in Los Angeles. Leipheimer, three times a winner on this course, could only manage second 14 seconds the lesser of Garmin–Cervélo's David Zabriskie. Horner was sixth, 51 seconds down, but still held a lead of 38 seconds over Leipheimer and over a minute against the next highest rider. The two captains dominated stage 7 to Mount Baldy.


2011 Team RadioShack season, Stage races
They broke away from the lead group with 3 km (1.9 mi) to go to the summit and finished 43 seconds clear of any other riders. Horner allowed Leipheimer to cross the line first – though Leipheimer had won the overall at the Tour of California three times, and similarly the Solvang time trial, this was his first road race stage win at the event. The two finished safely in the peloton in the finale stage, ending the race as the first two of five Americans at the top of the overall standings.


2011 Team RadioShack season, Stage races
The team also won lesser classifications at the Volta ao Algarve, Volta a Catalunya, the Eneco Tour, the Tour of Utah, the Tour du Poitou-Charentes, the Tour de Wallonie-Picarde, and the Tour of Beijing. The team also sent squads to the Tour Down Under, the Giro di Sardegna, Tirreno–Adriatico, the Tour de Romandie, the Tour de Luxembourg, the Critérium du Dauphiné and the Tour de Pologne, but did not achieve a stage win, classification win, or podium finish in any of them.


2011 Team Sky season
The 2011 season for the Team Sky cycling team began in January at the Bay Classic Series and ended in October at the Noosa Grand Prix. As a UCI ProTeam, they were automatically invited and obligated to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour. Improving upon 20 victories in the 2010 season, Team Sky managed 28 victories during the season, including four Grand Tour stage wins, two each at the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España.


2011 Team Sky season
Also at the Vuelta, the team achieved their best Grand Tour showing to date with Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins finishing the race in second and third places – behind Geox–TMC's Juan José Cobo – having both held the red jersey for the general classification lead at some stage of the race.


2011 Team Sky season
Outside of the Grand Tours, the team achieved stage victories at four other World Tour events and the overall victory at two, with Wiggins winning the pre-Tour warmup event, the Critérium du Dauphiné and Edvald Boasson Hagen claimed victory at the Eneco Tour held in Belgium and the Netherlands. The team were not as successful in single-day races, with three wins taken by Christopher Sutton, Boasson Hagen and Mathew Hayman. With the performances of Froome, Wiggins and Boasson Hagen, Team Sky made a substantial leap up the World Tour rankings; having finished fifteenth in the 2010 UCI World Ranking, Team Sky finished as runners-up in the 2011 rankings, just 40 points behind overall winners Omega Pharma–Lotto.


2011 Team Sky season
On 13 June 2019, the sport's governing body, the Union Cycliste International (UCI), announced that Juan José Cobo had been found guilty of an anti-doping violation, according to findings from his biological passport. As a result, the UCI penalised him with a three-year period of ineligibility. Cobo was officially stripped of the title on 18 June 2019. On 17 July 2019, as the time for Cobo to appeal the decision expired with no application, the UCI announced it recognised Chris Froome as the 2011 champion, making him retroactively the first Briton to win a Grand Tour, and simultaneously promoting Bradley Wiggins to 2nd place.


2011 Team Sky season, One-day races, Spring classics
The team's first single-day race of the year was Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in February, where Flecha had tasted success in 2010. Prior to the race, Flecha stated that it would be difficult for him to win the race again, but felt that the team was in a good position to aid him along the way. In the race, following an earlier attack from former Rabobank team-mate Sebastian Langeveld, Flecha attacked from the chasing group with 30 kilometres (18.6 mi) left, on the Paddestraat, having trailed Langeveld by over a minute on the road.


2011 Team Sky season, One-day races, Spring classics
Flecha caught him halfway to the finish, and the two worked together on the run into Ghent, in order to stay clear. Flecha tried to gap Langeveld with 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) left, but could not sustain a big enough margin to get clear. The two riders contested the sprint in the wet conditions, and Langeveld just got the better of Flecha on the line, winning by 10 centimetres (3.9 in). Hayman made it two Team Sky riders on the podium, as he finished the best of the chasing group, in third place.


2011 Team Sky season, One-day races, Spring classics
Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne, held the next day, resulted in the team's first single-day win of the year. Flecha and Stannard tried to break the field with around 70 kilometres (43.5 mi) left in the race, but were eventually pulled back as were several other riders down the road from their group. After several further attempts by riders to gain breathing space from the field, it was left for a sprint finish to decide the winner of the race.


2011 Team Sky season, One-day races, Spring classics
Flecha pulled on the front to set up one of their sprinters in the race, Boasson Hagen or Sutton, and when Flecha stepped aside, it was left to Boasson Hagen to build the pace and released Sutton to the line, who won by almost a bike length. In March, Thomas put in a strong performance in Dwars door Vlaanderen; with 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) left in the race, Thomas and Saxo Bank–SunGard's Nick Nuyens attacked off the front of the peloton to catch up with the leaders on the road, Landbouwkrediet's Frédéric Amorison and Rob Goris of Veranda's Willems–Accent.


2011 Team Sky season, One-day races, Spring classics
Nuyens and Thomas later dropped the pair and contested the sprint finish between them, with Nuyens taking the victory. April started with another top-ten finish in the second of the Cobbled classics, as Thomas finished tenth in the Tour of Flanders, having bridged up to the lead group prior to the final climb of the race, the cobbled Bosberg hill, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the finish in Meerbeke. The following weekend, Flecha finished in ninth place at Paris–Roubaix, leading home team-mate Hayman, 47 seconds down on race-winner Johan Vansummeren of Garmin–Cervélo.


2011 Team Sky season, One-day races, Spring classics
The Amstel Gold Race was next up, and the team were aiming to ride for Gerrans and Nordhaug. Gerrans did indeed feature in the closing stages of the race, but only for third place as Omega Pharma–Lotto's Philippe Gilbert and Team Katusha rider Joaquim Rodríguez had already accelerated away from the field. Urán placed best for the team at Liège–Bastogne–Liège, finishing in fifth place. The team also sent squads to Milan–San Remo, Gent–Wevelgem, the Scheldeprijs, and La Flèche Wallonne, but placed no higher than 19th in any of these races.


2011 Team Sky season, One-day races, Autumn races
Shortly after the Tour de France, Urán finished within the lead group at the Clásica de San Sebastián, where he placed ninth. In August, Boasson Hagen tasted success in Germany, by winning the Vattenfall Cyclassics; Boasson Hagen attacked from 250 metres (820 ft) out, and held off Gerald Ciolek, who took second place for Quick-Step, while Borut Božič completed the podium for Vacansoleil–DCM. The following week, at the GP Ouest-France, Gerrans finished second behind Lampre–ISD's Grega Bole, after Bole had attacked the field within the final 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) of the race.


2011 Team Sky season, One-day races, Autumn races
For the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, Sky looked to control the race in order to protect Urán, Gerrans and Boasson Hagen. Urán did eventually feature in the race's closing stages; he made it into a ten-man lead group, and when Rabobank's Robert Gesink attacked with 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) left, Urán went with him but both riders were closed down quickly. Philippe Gilbert then attacked the group again and eventually beat Gesink to the line, with Urán completing the podium, nine seconds behind the pair.


2011 Team Sky season, One-day races, Autumn races
In October, Gerrans and Nordhaug both took top ten placements in the Coppa Sabatini race in Tuscany, which also saw Urán make an error by mistakenly believing that he had won the race, when there was still another lap of the circuit to be completed. The same day, in France, Hayman won the Paris–Bourges event in a sprint finish, having been in a breakaway from 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) into the 190.4 kilometres (118.3 mi) race.


2011 Team Sky season, One-day races, Autumn races
Two other Team Sky riders finished in the top ten, as Henderson finished third behind Saxo Bank–SunGard rider Baden Cooke, while Sutton finished in tenth position, the last rider to finish in the same time as Hayman, who claimed his first victory since the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Urán took another third-place finish, in the Giro dell'Emilia, coming home in a group of four riders, over 20 seconds behind race-winner Carlos Betancur of Acqua & Sapone.


2011 Team Sky season, One-day races, Autumn races
The next day, at Paris–Tours, Stannard made several aggressive attacks before the race had reached Tours, but could not react to a joint move by Marco Marcato of Vacansoleil–DCM and BMC Racing Team rider Greg Van Avermaet, who contested the top two places at the finish. Stannard attacked in the final 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) but could only finish fourth in the end, just behind Saxo Bank–SunGard's Kasper Klostergaard.


2011 Team Sky season, One-day races, Autumn races
The team's year was concluded by a tenth-place finish by Löfkvist at the Giro del Piemonte, and third-place finishes for Dowsett at the Chrono des Nations, and Sutton at the Noosa Grand Prix. The team also sent squads to the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, the Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli, and the Giro di Lombardia, but placed no higher than 15th in any of these races.


2011 Team Sky season, Stage races
At the Tour Down Under in January, Swift took the team's first win of the season in the second stage into Mannum. Swift avoided two crashes within the closing 3 kilometres (1.9 mi), which saw several of his team-mates fall, to out-sprint Australian pair Robbie McEwen (Team RadioShack) and Graeme Brown (Rabobank) to the line. After two further top-ten placings on the fourth and fifth stages, Swift claimed his second stage victory on the final stage, a circuit race in Adelaide.


2011 Team Sky season, Stage races
Within the closing stages, the team set up a perfectly executed sprint lead-out for Swift, and also Henderson; the two riders completed a 1–2 finish, and with ten bonus seconds on offer on the line for the stage winner, Swift moved from sixth place to an eventual third-place finish in the general classification.


2011 Team Sky season, Stage races
February's Volta ao Algarve resulted in Cummings taking a stage win on the third stage, a mountain-top finish at the Alto do Malhão; having been a part of five-man sprint to the line, Cummings got the better of HTC–Highroad's Tejay van Garderen and Saxo Bank–SunGard rider Alberto Contador – only competing in the race after being cleared of doping charges the day before the race – and moved into the race lead, holding an advantage of six seconds over Contador.


2011 Team Sky season, Stage races
He held the lead until the final day time-trial, where he finished over a minute down on the quickest time and fell to seventh place in the general classification. Henderson won a stage at Paris–Nice in March, taking the second stage into Amilly, in a sprint finish after a lead-out from Thomas. Wiggins finished the event third overall, after taking the same place on the sixth stage time trial.


2011 Team Sky season, Stage races
Swift continued his strong run at the Vuelta a Castilla y León in April, where he won the final stage of the race after help from Downing, to take his third win of the season. Swift repeated the feat a fortnight later at a World Tour event, as he won the final stage of the Tour de Romandie in Geneva.


2011 Team Sky season, Stage races
Following on from that success, the team took two more stage wins in the Tour of California, held later in May.


2011 Team Sky season, Stage races
After stage one was cancelled due to a snowstorm and unsafe riding conditions, the second stage was run over a shorter distance, and rain started to fall as the race headed into the finishing circuit in Sacramento, where the team came to the front to assume control for the in-form Swift; he was favored instead of the team's regular sprinter Henderson, who had not raced since the Scheldeprijs in early April, but Henderson was utilised as the leadout man for Swift, and released him to his fifth victory of 2011, securing the first yellow and green jerseys – for the lead of both the general classification and the sprints classification – of the race.


2011 Team Sky season, Stage races
The following day, it was Henderson's turn to win a stage, although not in the manner that he had been accustomed to. Henderson led the sprint from 500 metres (1,600 ft) out, but Swift was not in a position to challenge for the sprint, so it was left to Henderson to bring home the laurels for the team, winning the sprint by a bike length, and assuming the race lead on countback from Swift. Henderson surrendered the race lead on the mountainous fourth stage, however, but both he and Swift took further third place stage finishes before the Tour was complete.


2011 Team Sky season, Stage races
At the end of May, the team also had a successful outing in the Bayern-Rundfahrt, held in Bavaria, Germany. In stage one, Boasson Hagen took his first victory of the season after a lead-out by Sutton, and won the race's longest stage – over a distance of 223.2 kilometres (138.7 mi) – since its inception.


2011 Team Sky season, Stage races
Boasson Hagen retained his overall lead with third place in stage two, but lost it to HTC–Highroad rider Michael Albasini after the third stage, which Albasini won ahead of Thomas – after the pair, along with six other riders made a breakaway – with Thomas moving into second place overall. In the penultimate stage time-trial, Wiggins comfortably won the stage; his margin over world champion Fabian Cancellara (Leopard Trek) was 32 seconds. Boasson Hagen finished third, 45 seconds slower than Wiggins, and Thomas took the overall lead with a fifth-place finish. Thomas confirmed his first overall stage race win, with an eleventh-place finish on the final stage. Boasson Hagen took third place on the stage, and also won the sprints classification, with the squad winning the teams classification by over two minutes.


2011 Team Sky season, Stage races
Appollonio took his first victory as a professional during June's Tour de Luxembourg, winning a bunch sprint into Roost. A fifth-place finish the following day, on the final stage, ensured that Appollonio won the points classification, taking the jersey from Team Katusha rider Denis Galimzyanov. Consistent finishing from Wiggins at the Critérium du Dauphiné earned the team their first overall race win at World Tour level.


2011 Team Sky season, Stage races
After finishing third in the opening prologue, Wiggins placed second behind Tony Martin (HTC–Highroad) on the third stage time trial, held over the course that would later be used for the penultimate day time-trial of the Tour de France, to take the overall lead by over a minute from nearest challenger, BMC Racing Team's Cadel Evans. Wiggins took sixth-place finishes on stages 5 and 6, and with a tenth place on the final stage, secured the overall win by 86 seconds ahead of Evans. Boasson Hagen also added World Tour points with third behind Wiggins in the time trial, and second to HTC–Highroad rider John Degenkolb on stage 4.


2011 Team Sky season, Stage races
Kennaugh added a third place overall finish a few days later, at the Route du Sud. In July's Tour of Austria, Sutton placed second to Team RadioShack's Robert Hunter on the opening stage. Stannard sprinted to his first professional victory in stage 5, beating out his other four breakaway companions. Possoni took two seventh places during the race, and eventually finished in that position overall. Gerrans performed strongly in the Danmark Rundt in August, finishing second to Leopard Trek rider Jakob Fuglsang on the third stage. Gerrans maintained his advantage until the end of the race, eventually winning by nine seconds over Fuglsang's team-mate Daniele Bennati, while the squad won the teams classification.


2011 Team Sky season, Stage races
The Eneco Tour later in August also resulted in success for the team. Boasson Hagen finished the opening prologue stage in second place, with only BMC Racing Team rider Taylor Phinney getting the better of him over the 5.7 kilometres (3.5 mi) course. Boasson Hagen finished the next two stages in sixth and third places respectively, but could not close on Phinney, as he himself finished in the top ten – within the main field sprint – on both occasions.


2011 Team Sky season, Stage races
Two ninth-place finishes followed, the second of which coming during the time trial stage in Roermond to help him overhaul Philippe Gilbert for the race lead, with two stages remaining. Boasson Hagen held the lead to the end of the race, and won the final stage of the event in Sittard, to take a 22-second victory over Gilbert. He also played a prominent part in the other classifications, as his six top-ten placings over the week earned him victory in the points classification, while his overall triumph also meant victory in the young rider classification. The squad provisionally won the teams classification on-the-road, but an eventual protest from Team RadioShack general manager Dirk Demol, resulted in RadioShack winning the classification on time trial timings.


2011 Team Sky season, Stage races
In the Tour du Poitou-Charentes, the week following the Eneco Tour, Appollonio earned his second victory in a first stage sprint finish; with the team having upped the pace during the closing stages, Dowsett, Kennaugh – who had been in a breakaway earlier in the day – and Henderson enabled Appollonio to contend for the sprint, winning by a comfortable margin, with only eleven other riders finishing in the same time. The team book-ended the race as Dowsett earned the victory in the final stage of the race, soloing away from the peloton with 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) remaining.


2011 Team Sky season, Stage races
Appollonio completed a 1–2 on the stage by taking the field sprint for second place. The Tour of Britain in September, resulted in a stage win and two minor classification victories for the team. Dowsett claimed victory in the time trial held on the morning of the final day, while Thomas won the points classification, taking the lead on the finish line, after six top-ten placings out of the eight stages enabled to usurp the total of general classification winner Lars Boom (Rabobank), for an eventual three-point winning margin over HTC–Highroad's Mark Cavendish.


2011 Team Sky season, Stage races
The squad also triumphed by over 90 seconds in the teams classification. Sutton claimed the team's final stage win of the season with victory in stage two of the Tour de Wallonie-Picarde. He finished second to Skil–Shimano rider Tom Veelers the next day, before the squad ultimately won the teams classification.


2011 Team Sky season, Stage races
The team also won lesser classifications at the Bay Classic Series, the Tour of Oman, and the Tour of Beijing. The team also sent squads to the Tour of Qatar, the Tour Méditerranéen, the Vuelta a Andalucía, the Vuelta a Murcia, Tirreno–Adriatico, Volta a Catalunya, the Critérium International, the Three Days of De Panne, the Tour of the Basque Country, the Tour de Picardie, the Tour de Suisse, the Ster ZLM Toer, the Brixia Tour, the Tour de Wallonie and the Tour de Pologne, but did not achieve a stage win, classification win, or podium finish in any of them.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Giro d'Italia
Löfkvist was named as the team's leader for the race, having previously held the lead of the race in 2009. Barry, Carlström, Cioni, Nordhaug and Possoni were named to the team in order to support Löfkvist in the mountain stages, while the remaining three members of the squad – Appollonio, Downing and Kennaugh – were named to provide the main threats in the stages designed for the sprinters. The team's showing in the stage 1 team time trial was average, as they came home ninth of the 23 teams, 37 seconds off the winning pace set by HTC–Highroad.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Giro d'Italia
Appollonio finished near the front of the field in the Giro's first road stage, taking sixth in the mass sprint finish to the second stage, in Parma, before bettering that several days later, with a fifth place on the sixth stage into Fiuggi. Another sixth place followed for Appollonio on stage 8, thanks to build-up work from Carlström, Barry and Downing, before a fourth top-ten finish – his second fifth place of the race – after the rest day, on stage ten to Teramo.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Giro d'Italia
As the race moved into its second half, Appollonio continued his impressive form, taking second place on stage 12, with only Mark Cavendish getting the better of him by around three-quarters of a bike length; the result moved him into the top five of the points classification. It would be his last stage finish of the race, as he abandoned the next day, unlike some of the other sprinters, who did not take to the stage.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Giro d'Italia
Downing, on his Grand Tour début, placed eighth on stage 18, as a result of a split in the main field, which allowed no fewer than 20 riders to make headway, all of whom posing no major threat in the general classification. Despite not finishing in the top ten of any stage, Löfkvist finished as the best-placed rider in the team, finishing 21st overall, nearly 44 minutes down on Saxo Bank–SunGard rider Alberto Contador, the race winner.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
The team helped to raise awareness and support for the Sky Rainforest Rescue, a three-year partnership between Sky and the World Wide Fund for Nature to help save a billion trees in the state of Acre in northwest Brazil. As such, instead of their normal team kit of black with blue trim, the squad wore black with green trim, for the duration of the race. Following on from a 24th-place finish in 2010, Wiggins was the team's leader for the race, with Swift, Thomas, Boasson Hagen, Urán, Flecha, Zandio, Knees and Gerrans making up the nine-man outfit.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
Thomas assumed the lead of the young rider classification, after finishing sixth in the opening stage to Mont des Alouettes, after Boasson Hagen had tried to track down the eventual stage winner Philippe Gilbert. The squad set the third-fastest time in the stage 2 team time trial; having set the quickest time at the first intermediate sprint – by one second ahead of Garmin–Cervélo – the team were eventually beaten by Garmin–Cervélo and BMC Racing Team, but the performance was good enough to move Thomas into fourth place overall and Boasson Hagen into eighth place.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
Urán placed fourth on the fourth stage, finishing with many of the overall contenders for the race, on the steep uphill finish to Mûr-de-Bretagne. Wiggins became the team's best placed rider, moving into sixth place despite losing time to the top ten on the stage – a result that left him pleased at the end of the stage – and Thomas and Boasson Hagen also remained in the top ten, in seventh and eighth respectively.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
Boasson Hagen tried to make a solo bid for victory the next day, within the closing stages, but could not hold the pace, and was usurped by the field. Thomas placed fifth on the stage, aiding eventual stage winner Mark Cavendish's progress, as he maintained his lead in the young rider classification. Boasson Hagen earned the team's first Tour win on the sixth stage into Lisieux. Having held their attack until the time was right, Swift and Thomas formed the lead-out for Boasson Hagen to win the longest stage of the 2011 race.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
Wiggins' Tour ended on stage 7, after a large crash in the main field with 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) remaining on the stage; Wiggins was one of many riders to hit the ground, and after getting back to his feet, he was seen to be holding his left arm, and was eventually diagnosed with a broken collarbone. All the team's remaining riders lost three minutes to the majority of the field, with Thomas losing the young rider classification lead to Rabobank rider Robert Gesink as a result.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
Flecha attacked the peloton 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) from the end of stage 8 with Astana's Alexander Vinokourov, to chase after several riders further down the road, but Vinokourov dropped Flecha prior to the final climb to Super Besse. Flecha made another break from the peloton on the ninth stage, as he was joined by five other riders who extended their lead over the field.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
With 36 km (22.4 mi) remaining, Flecha and fellow escapee Johnny Hoogerland of Vacansoleil–DCM were involved in a dramatic crash; while attempting to overtake the riders, a support car from France Télévisions sideswiped Flecha, and as a result, caused Hoogerland to crash into a barbed wire fence, and Flecha also fell to the ground. Flecha suffered whiplash, as well as cuts and lacerations to his knee, but was fit enough to continue in the race after the rest day.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
Thomas and Boasson Hagen each placed in the top ten again before the first half of the race drew to a close. Thomas later made the breakaway on stage 12, and was out front for the entire day until part-way up the final climb to Luz Ardiden, when he and companion Jérémy Roy (FDJ) were caught with 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) remaining by Jelle Vanendert (Omega Pharma–Lotto) and Euskaltel–Euskadi's Samuel Sánchez; the latter pair eventually went on to finish in first and second on the stage. Thomas was later awarded the most aggressive rider prize for the day.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
The following day, Boasson Hagen also made into the breakaway, eventually finishing in sixth place on the stage, after three riders escaped from the front, but stayed clear of the main field. Urán finished fifth on stage 14, finishing at Plateau de Beille, and as a result, earned the lead of the young riders classification, from FDJ's Arnold Jeannesson.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
Swift finished sixth on stage 15, before Boasson Hagen finished second to fellow Norwegian Thor Hushovd on stage 16, after both riders were part of a group that got clear of the field with 60 kilometres (37.3 mi) left; Urán moved into the top ten overall at the expense of Quick-Step rider Kevin De Weert. Boasson Hagen went one place better the following day, taking his second victory of the Tour on stage 17, as the race ventured into Italy and the stage finish in Pinerolo.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
After being part of a 14-man breakaway, Boasson Hagen led over the final mountain, the Colle Pra Martino, and retained his lead on the descent to win the stage by 40 seconds. Urán surrendered the young rider lead on stage 18, after losing over seven minutes to stage winner Andy Schleck (Leopard Trek), and lost the lead to Cofidis rider Rein Taaramäe.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
Swift tried to force himself into a victory on the Champs-Élysées, but was caught with 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) remaining, but Boasson Hagen again finished second on the line, to Cavendish, as he finished sixth in the final points classification. Urán finished the Tour as the team's best placed rider, nearly 43 minutes down in 24th place.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
Having recovered from his injuries suffered in the Tour de France, Wiggins was the team's leader at the Vuelta, competing in the race for the first time. Wiggins was joined in the race by Arvesen, Cioni, Zandio, Possoni and Löfkvist, who were named to the team in order to support Wiggins in the mountain stages; Froome was named on the team for mountain assistance, and for his time-trial skills, with Stannard and Sutton mainly contesting the sprint stages.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
In the opening stage team time trial, the squad finished 20th of 22, after a number of events left the team at one point with four riders, with a team's time recorded when a fifth rider passes the finish line. Zandio recovered to join his four team-mates out front, limiting any further time loss.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
The following day, in the Vuelta's first road stage, Sutton earned the victory in a disjointed mass sprint finish to the second stage, in Orihuela; he and Vicente Reynès of Omega Pharma–Lotto gained a gap on the field and they stayed clear until the finish with Sutton outsprinting Reynès for his first Grand Tour victory.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
With Froome and Löfkvist protecting Wiggins and any potential time losses during the early mountain stages, Arvesen was involved in his second crash of the race – having also crashed during the team time trial – on stage 5, in which he hit a young spectator at 70 km/h (43 mph). He completed that day's stage, but abandoned the race the following day due to injuries suffered in the crash, which included bruises and lacerations, as well as a knee complaint.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
Froome and Wiggins both gave away some time over the rest of the week, and they trailed Joaquim Rodríguez (Team Katusha) by nearly two minutes at the conclusion of the eighth stage. The next day, Froome and Wiggins made it into the front group on the climb to La Covatilla, and with Wiggins pushing the pace on the front of the group, the number of riders that were in contention for the stage victory dwindled. Ultimately, Wiggins and Froome finished fourth and fifth on the stage, but moved up to 13th and 14th in the general classification, just a minute behind new race leader, Rabobank's Bauke Mollema.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
In the race's only individual time trial, held the next day, it was Froome rather than Wiggins that performed best for the team, as he finished second to Tony Martin (HTC–Highroad) on the stage and moved into the lead of the race by 12 seconds ahead of Leopard Trek rider Jakob Fuglsang. Wiggins himself finished third on the stage, having at one point set the quickest intermediate split on the course, but moved into the same position overall, 20 seconds behind Froome.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
After the race's first rest day, Wiggins assumed the race lead at its halfway point, as he responded to several late-race attacks to the finish at Manzaneda, while Froome could not, and eventually lost 27 seconds to his team-mate, giving Wiggins the lead by seven. Wiggins and Froome again finished together on stage 14, as they put more time into several of their rivals, including Rodríguez and Liquigas–Cannondale's Vincenzo Nibali, the defending champion.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
The race changed again as it went into its final week, with the 15th stage – the queen stage of the Vuelta – to the Angliru, with an average gradient of 10% and a maximum gradient of over 23% at the Cueña les Cabres section of the climb. Geox–TMC rider Juan José Cobo broke free of the group that had been controlled by Froome and Wiggins, with 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) remaining on the stage, and eventually soloed to victory, and assumed the overall race lead from Wiggins.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
Wiggins himself struggled on the climb, and eventually cracked later on the climb, losing a total of 81 seconds to Cobo, while Froome stayed with a select group of riders, finishing in fourth place on the stage, 48 seconds down on Cobo and in the same time as Vacansoleil–DCM rider Wout Poels and Cobo's team-mate Denis Menchov. Froome and Wiggins gave up several more seconds on stage 16, after a split in the field on the run-in to the finish in Haro; Cobo extended his lead to 22 seconds over Froome and 51 seconds over Wiggins. The following day was the last real summit finish of the race, the climb to Peña Cabarga, at an altitude of 565 metres (1,854 ft).


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
Froome shadowed Cobo on the slopes of the climb, and it was not until the final 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) that Froome and Cobo pulled clear of the remaining riders of their group, including Wiggins, after pulling back Omega Pharma–Lotto's Jurgen Van den Broeck. After the duo had pulled clear, Froome attacked Cobo and looked to have gained enough of an advantage to make his way back into the lead of the race, but Cobo bridged back to Froome with around 150 metres (490 ft) left.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
Cobo kicked for the line from there, but Froome took the inside line on the final corner and won the stage, but could only gain nine seconds – one second on the road plus eight bonus seconds on the line – on Cobo, to reduce his advantage to 13 seconds. Froome's victory was the first mountain-top stage win by a British rider in a Grand Tour since Robert Millar at the 1989 Tour de France.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
Wiggins finished twelfth on the stage, 39 seconds down on Froome, which meant that he trailed Cobo by over 90 seconds, which effectively ended his chances of winning the race. Froome tried to make his move in the Basque Country on stage 19, but was well guarded by Cobo, and no time gains were made.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
Froome made a decisive error in the penultimate stage, misjudging an intermediate sprint banner, and as a result went for the points and elusive bonus seconds 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) too soon, and as a result, could not affect Cobo's 13-second lead prior to the final stage. Cobo secured victory at the end of the final stage, a processional affair until hitting the streets of Madrid, with Froome finishing just in front on the stage results. Cobo's winning margin of 13 seconds over Froome was tied for the third-closest in Vuelta history, while Wiggins completed the podium in third place, 1' 39" down on Cobo.


2011 Team Sky season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
On 12 June 2019, the UCI released a statement that Cobo was found guilty of an anti-doping rule violation when abnormalities related to the use of performance-enhancing drugs were found on his biological passport and was stripped of the title several days later along with his results during a time period between 2009 and 2011, also receiving a three-year ban. On 17 July 2019, nearly eight years since the race ended, the UCI formally awarded the title to Froome, now recognizing him as the first British rider to win any of the Grand Tours. This result also elevated Wiggins into second place.


2011 Team Speedway Junior European Championship
The 2011 Team Speedway Junior European Championship was the fourth UEM Team Speedway Junior European Championship season. The Final will be place on August 20 2011 in Lendava, Slovenia. Defending Champion are Poland team. The champion title was won by Russia team (42 points) who beat Denmark (36 pts), Sweden (26 pts) and an Adria Team, join team of Croatia and Slovakia (16 pts).


2011 Team Speedway Junior European Championship, Results
Because SF Two date was postponed from Saturday to Sunday, defending champion, Poland team was withdrew from the competition by Polish Motor Union (Sunday is date of the Polish Speedway Ekstraliga play-off matches). Poland was replaced by "Europe Team" (Latvia and Russia).


2011 Team Speedway Junior European Championship, Heat details, Semi-Final One
M - exclusion for exceeding two-minute time allowance • T - exclusion for touching the tapes • X - other exclusion • E - retired or mechanical failure • F - fell