2011 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11

Stage 1

;20 August 2011 — Benidorm, 13.5 km team time trial (TTT)

The Vuelta started with a team time trial in the coastal town of Benidorm. The first team on the route was , and they stopped the clock at 16' 48", a time that kept them in eighth place after the stage. did the best time at the intermediate point, a second faster than . eventually won the stage by four seconds ahead of . was the negative surprise of the day, finishing 20th of the 22 teams. 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. Xabier Zandio recovered to join his four teammates out front, limiting any further time loss. 's leader, the defending champion, Vincenzo Nibali gained 21 seconds on Joaquim Rodríguez with finishing 10th, 24 seconds on Igor Antón's and 28 seconds on Michele Scarponi's .

Jakob Fuglsang was the first Leopard Trek rider who crossed the finish line, giving him the first red jersey and his first jersey at a Grand Tour.

|| |General classification after stage 1

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Stage 2

;21 August 2011 — La Nucia to Playas de Orihuela, 175.5 km

The breakaway of the day was formed by four riders: Steve Houanard (), Paul Martens (), Adam Hansen () and Jesús Rosendo (). The only categorized climb of the day was won by Martens, giving him the first blue polka dot jersey. Adam Hansen was the last from the breakaway to remain clear, but he was caught with 18 km to go. Davide Viganò of was the first to make a move within the final kilometre, but he was caught immediately. After him there were Vicente Reynès of and Christopher Sutton of who gained a gap on the field and they stayed clear until the finish with Sutton outsprinting Reynès, with Marcel Kittel completing the podium. Daniele Bennati moved into the red jersey due to his sixth position on the stage, taking the jersey from teammate Jakob Fuglsang. Sutton claimed the first green jersey, while Rosendo earned the white jersey for the combination classification.

|| |General classification after stage 2

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Stage 3

;22 August 2011 — Petrer to Totana, 163.0 km

The initial breakaway of the day was formed by three riders: Sylvain Chavanel (), Nicolas Edet () and Ruslan Pidgornyy (), before they were joined by two Spanish riders, Pablo Lastras of and Markel Irizar of . Later, Edet had some medical problems and never rejoined the breakaway. With 16 km to go, Lastras attacked on the last slopes of the third category climb Alto de la Santa. By the time Lastras reached the top of the climb, he had 20 seconds in front of the remaining three riders from the breakaway, and two minutes ahead of the peloton. Lastras successfully maintained his advantage and won the stage by fifteen seconds, his first stage win at La Vuelta since 2002, and third of his career. Chavanel won the sprint finish for second place ahead of Irizar and Pidgornyy. The peloton, with all the race favourites in it, finished 1' 43" down on Lastras; Lastras' advantage over the main field gave him his first Grand Tour jersey, as well as the other sub-classification jerseys.

|| |General classification after stage 3

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Stage 4

;23 August 2011 — Baza to Sierra Nevada, 170.2 km

|| |General classification after stage 4

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Stage 5

;24 August 2011 — Sierra Nevada to Valdepeñas de Jaén, 187.0 km

|| |General classification after stage 5

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Stage 6

;25 August 2011 — Úbeda to Córdoba, 196.8 km

|| |General classification after stage 6

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Stage 7

;26 August 2011 — Almadén to Talavera de la Reina, 187.6 km

|| |General classification after stage 7

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Stage 8

;27 August 2011 — Talavera de la Reina to San Lorenzo de El Escorial, 177.3 km

|| |General classification after stage 8

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Stage 9

;28 August 2011 — Villacastín to Sierra de Béjar – La Covatilla, 183.0 km

|| |General classification after stage 9

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Stage 10

;29 August 2011 — Salamanca, 47.0 km individual time trial (ITT)

|| |General classification after stage 10

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Stage 11

;31 August 2011 — Verín to Estación de Esquí Alto de la Manzaneda, 167.0 km

|| |General classification after stage 11

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Footnotes

References

References

1. (9 August 2011). "Each team starts out together…". Future Publishing Limited.
2. Clarke, Les. (20 August 2011). "Leopard Trek claims team time trial". Future Publishing Limited.
3. (20 August 2011). "Team Sky falters in Vuelta team time trial". Future Publishing Limited.
4. (9 August 2011). "A sprint finish by the Med". Future Publishing Limited.
5. Cossins, Peter. (21 August 2011). "Sutton speeds to victory in Spain". Future Publishing Limited.
6. (9 August 2011). "Downhill to the finish". Future Publishing Limited.
7. Lowe, Felix. (23 August 2011). "Lastras takes win and red jersey". [[TF1 Group]].
8. Cossins, Peter. (22 August 2011). "Lastras solos to Vuelta stage win". Future Publishing Limited.
9. (9 August 2011). "First test for the climbers". Future Publishing Limited.
10. (9 August 2011). "A day of contrasts". Future Publishing Limited.
11. (9 August 2011). "The heat of the interior". Future Publishing Limited.
12. (9 August 2011). "Last sprint before the mountains". Future Publishing Limited.
13. (9 August 2011). "Record breaking climbs". Future Publishing Limited.
14. (9 August 2011). "Breakaway day?". Future Publishing Limited.
15. (9 August 2011). "The stage to make up lost time". Future Publishing Limited.
16. (9 August 2011). "Summit finish debut". Future Publishing Limited.