Portuguese rider makes the break of the day along with Ventoso and Gutiérrez, gets caught by favourites in final ascent to Plateau de Beille The 2011 Tour de France completed its pass through the Pyrénées with another demanding race towards the Plateau de Beille climb, where Belgian Jelle Vanendert jumped in the ending kilometers from the favourites' group to overtake the remnants of the escape leading the 5-hour race into the mountains.
Practically from the starting line, twenty riders went apart into a breakaway that forced Movistar Team to react behind, first with Ventoso, then Iván Gutiérrez taking Rui Costa on his wheel. The Portuguese rider made it to the head of the race at the descent of the Portet d’Aspet, the first out of six categorized climbs into the programme, a situation he would stick to until the final climb to Plateau de Beille, despite troubles suffered during the downhill of the Cat. 1 Col de la Core, where the Iberian shortly lost contact with the group as tendinitis in his left leg, suffered during the last few days, show up to spoil his performance. David Arroyo was again the best representative from Movistar Team at the finish, as the telephone squad takes on another fight for the green jersey on their way to Montpellier on Sunday, with José Joaquín Rojas contesting his final sprint finish before the Grande Boucle’s finale in the Champs-Élysées in Paris.