2011 Tour of the Basque Country

Teams

As the Tour of the Basque Country was part of the 2011 UCI World Tour, all 18 UCI ProTeams were invited automatically and obligated to attend. Two UCI Professional Continental teams were awarded wildcards, and these were the and Caja Rural teams.

The full list of participating teams was:

• Caja Rural

Race previews and favourites

2010 race winner Chris Horner was a favourite and had teammate, and 2000 winner Andreas Klöden to help him. Other heavy contenders included Ivan Basso as he prepared for the 2011 Tour de France, Damiano Cunego and Robert Gesink. Samuel Sánchez had hopes in redeeming himself after a split in the peloton ruined his chance of victory in 2010, warming up for the race by taking the GP Miguel Induráin one-day race two days before the start of the Tour. Fränk Schleck was also expected to do well after winning Critérium International and his brother Andy was also a part of the squad in the Basque Country.

Stages

Stage 1

;4 April 2011 – Zumarraga to Zumarraga, 151.2 km

|| |General Classification after Stage 1

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Stage 2

;5 April 2011 – Zumarraga to Lekunberri, 163 km

|| |General Classification after Stage 2

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Stage 3

;6 April 2011 – Villatuerta to Zuia, 180 km

|| |General Classification after Stage 3

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Stage 4

;7 April 2011 – Amurrio to Eibar, 179 km

|| |General Classification after Stage 4

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Stage 5

;8 April 2011 – Eibar to Zalla, 177 km

|| |General Classification after Stage 5

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Stage 6

;9 April 2011 – Zalla, 24 km, individual time trial (ITT)

|| |Final General Classification

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Classification leadership table

In the Tour of the Basque Country, four different jerseys were awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, the leader received a yellow jersey. This classification was considered the most important of the Tour of the Basque Country, and the winner was considered the winner of the race itself.

Additionally, there was a points classification, which awarded a white jersey. In the points classification, cyclists received points for finishing in the top fifteen in a stage. The stage win awarded 25 points, second place awarded 20 points, third 16, fourth 14, fifth 12, sixth 10 and one point fewer per place down the line, to a single point for fifteenth.

There was also a mountains classification, which awarded a red jersey. In the mountains classification, points were won by reaching the top of a mountain before other cyclists. All climbs were categorised, first, second, or third-category, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs.

The fourth jersey represented the sprints classification, which awarded a blue jersey. In the sprint classification, cyclists received points for being one of the first three in intermediate sprints, with three points awarded for first place, two for second, and one for third.

References

References

1. Hood, Andrew. (9 April 2011). "Andreas Klöden takes overall title at Tour of the Basque Country as Tony Martin wins final TT". Competitor Group.
2. (9 April 2011). "Kloden wins in the Basque Country". [[TF1 Group]].
3. Hood, Andrew. (30 March 2011). "Chris Horner earns No. 1 start bib at Tour of Basque Country". Competitor Group.