The wind dominated stage 11 of the Tour de France to Montpellier. The peloton broke several times and world champion Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) won from a small move of four with race leader Chris Froome (Sky). Team LottoNL-Jumbo rider Dylan Groenewegen sprinted to 13th behind the winning group of four.

"It was a hectic day, even in villages the peloton suffered in the cross-winds,” Sports Director Merijn Zeeman said after the 163 kilometres between Carcassonne and Montpellier. “The peloton split up several times and we always had right people in the front.

 "We were hoping for a small group that could fight in the sprint, but then the attack of four men was a surprise. They were four of the strongest riders, so it was difficult to get it back. Together with the other teams, we tried, but unfortunately, we arrived too late. "

 "You expect that it is going to be echelons in the finale, but not that those four men would attack,” Groenewegen added. “I had expected and hoped that we would be sprinting with a small group. The four men attacked and we put our team a little earlier in front. It is our own fault that we were not sharp enough at that time.

“Maarten Wynants put me up front and then I let myself drift back slightly. At 450 metres, I was alone, but that was because we were already in the front before. We rode a good race, only the result is not super."

Vanmarcke

"It was war the whole day,” explained Sep Vanmarcke. "It was surprising that the split happened just then. We sat perfectly as a team in position and I assumed the sprinters’ teams would control the race.”

He just missed the split with Sagan.

“All day, I sit near Sagan and then it happens and I'm not there. That's frustrating. At that time, I was ready to prepare the sprint with Dylan."

Early in the stage, George Bennett crashed. He suffered bruises, but he quickly got back on his bike and said that he is OK now.