If Tour de France leader Tadej Pogachar's debacle at Col de Granon was the biggest surprise of stage 11, Frenchman Romain Bardet (Team DSM) made an unexpected but impressive entry.

Bardet, who had set his sights on the Giro d'Italia and rode a strong race but retired in the second week due to illness, said he would aim for a stage win in the Tour.

Perhaps so, but he has consistently finished ahead of the Crunch stage in the opening three rounds of the 2022 Tour de France and is currently in third place in the Granon and provisionally second overall.

Bardet fought back after Vingegaard went up, and soon opened up enough of a gap to get in front of Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates) and Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers), who was previously second in GC.

Pogachar, who finished third on the summit and has two Tour de France podiums, has now moved up five places on GC, passing Thomas for second place.

"It was very tough," Bardet told France 2 TV after the stage. From the Col du Télégraphe it was flat and it didn't stop."

"I had to use my strength carefully, but my legs responded well. It was a very good day."

Bardet, like other leading riders, was dropped by Vingegaard and Pogachar near the top of the Galibier.

The Frenchman, who thanked his team for their tremendous help during the day, said he expected the final climb to be very tough. And so it turned out to be.

"We were all a bit damaged on the previous climb, the Galibier, so we're going to rest well tonight. So we're going to rest well tonight."

[20] "Tomorrow we have another big battle in the Alps. There are a lot of fans along the way, but we are only halfway done."