Tony Gallopin bounced back from a disappointing finish in the previous stage to win the 11th stage of Tour de France 2014 Wednesday, while Vincenzo Nibali retained the yellow jersey.

Gallopin, who wore the yellow jersey before losing it in the 10th stage, leaned on a late breakaway to finish first in the 187.5-kilometer race from Besancon to Oyonnax.

The Lotto-Belisol rider initially tried to break away from the peloton with about 13.5 kilometers left in the race, but was stopped in his tracks.

However, when Gallopin saw another opportunity with less than three kilometers left in the race, he made sure that it was a successful attempt, and he succeeded, winning the stage by several bike lengths against John Degenkolb and Matteo Trentin.

"Incredible. I came to train for the Tour de France here, that really served me today," said Gallopin, who scored his first stage win in this year's LeTour. "It's really a victory that feels good."

Nibali remains on top of the general classification after finishing in the same pack as Gallopin. The Astana rider is still two minutes, 23 seconds ahead of second-running Richie Porte of Team Sky and two minutes, 47 seconds clear off Alejandro Valverde of Movistar. Frenchmen Romain Bardet and Gallopin round off the top five.

With the comfortable lead heading into stage 12 on Thursday, Nibali remains the heavy favorite to win this year's Tour De France after early favorites Chris Froome and Alberto Contador crashed out of the tournament.

Below are the top 10 finishers for the 11th stage:

Top 10 for Stage 11

  1. Tony Gallopin (France / Lotto-Belisol) 4:25:45
  2. John Degenkolb (Germany / Giant)
  3. Matteo Trentin (Italy / Omega Pharma - Quick-Step)
  4. Daniele Bennati (Italy / Tinkoff - Saxo)
  5. Simon Gerrans (Australia / Orica)
  6. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spain / Movistar)
  7. Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium / BMC Racing)
  8. Samuel Dumoulin (France / AG2R)
  9. Peter Sagan (Slovakia / Cannondale)
  10. Kevin Reza (France / Europcar)

Below is the general classification top 10 after 11 stages:

Top 10 (After 11 Stages)

  1. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita/Astana) 46:59:23
  2. Richie Porte (Aus/Team Sky) +2mins 23secs
  3. Alejandro Valverde (Spa/Movistar) +2mins 47secs
  4. Romain Bardet (Fra/AG2R) +3mins 01secs
  5. Tony Gallopin (Fra/Lotto-Belisol) +3mins 12secs
  6. Thibaut Pinot (Fra/FDJ) +3mins 47secs
  7. Tejay van Garderen (US/BMC) +3mins 56secs
  8. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra/AG2R) +3mins 57secs
  9. Bauke Mollema (Ned/Belkin) +4mins 8secs
  10. Jurgen van den Broeck (Bel/Lotto-Belisol) +4mins 18secs

Classifications and Video Highlights

The complete classifications are available here, while highlights of Tour De France 2014 stage 11 can be viewed with this link.

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