The 2011 Critérium International was the 80th edition of the

Critérium International The Critérium International was a two-day bicycle stage race held in France every spring from 1932 until 2016, typically the last weekend of March. It was formerly known as the Critérium National de la Route, first run in 1932. For many years ...

cycling stage race. It started on 26 March in

Porto-Vecchio Porto-Vecchio (, ; it, Porto Vecchio or ; co, Portivechju or ) is a commune in the French department of Corse-du-Sud, on the island of Corsica. Porto-Vecchio is a medium-sized port city placed on a good harbor, the southernmost of the mars ...

and ended on 27 March in Porto-Vecchio and consisted of 3 stages, including 2 stages on the same day; a flat stage and an individual time trial, held as the second and third stages. The race was won by Leopard-Trek rider

Fränk Schleck Fränk René Schleck (born 15 April 1980) is a Luxembourgish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2003 and 2016, for and . Schleck is the older brother of Andy, winner of the 2010 Tour de France. Their father, ...

, who claimed the leader's yellow jersey after a strong finish in the first stage, and maintained his advantage to the end of the race. Schleck's winning margin over runner-up

Vasil Kiryienka Vasili Vasilyevich Kiryienka ( be, Васіль Васілевіч Кірыенка; Łacinka: Vasil Vasilevič Kiryjenka; born 28 June 1981) is a Belarusian former racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2006 and 2020 for the OTC Doors, ...

of Team Movistar was 13 seconds, and

Cofidis Cofidis is a French company, now majority owned by Crédit Mutuel, based in Villeneuve-d'Ascq. Founded in 1982 by 3 Suisses International in cooperation with Cetelem, Cofidis specialized in the consumer credit business of the 3 Suisses Group. It ...

Rein Taaramäe Rein Taaramäe (born April 24, 1987) is an Estonian road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Cofidis (2008–14) Taaramäe turned professional in 2008 for after riding for the team as a stagiaire in late 2007 and winni ...

completed the podium, 17 seconds down on Kiryienka. In the race's other classifications, Kiryienka won the green jersey for the points classification, the

King of the Mountains The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing, Queen of the Mountains (QoM) is used. While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest po ...

classification was won by

Pim Ligthart Pim Ligthart (born 16 June 1988, in Hoorn) is a Dutch former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2007 and 2008, and also 2011 to 2020, for the KrolStonE Continental Team, , , and teams. Major results Track ;2004 : ...

of Vacansoleil–DCM, Taaramäe won the young rider classification, and Movistar finished at the head of the teams classification.

Pre-race favourites

The winner of the

2010 Critérium International 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Pierrick Fédrigo Pierrick Fédrigo (born 30 November 1978) is a French former racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2016 for the , , and teams. He was the winner of the French National Road Race Championships in 2005, and won four stages at t ...

, was looking to defend the previous year's victory, while other pre-race favourites included 2 time runner-up in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

Andy Schleck Andy Raymond Schleck (; born 10 June 1985) is a Luxembourgish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the 2010 Tour de France, being awarded it retroactively in February 2012 after Alberto Contador's hearing at the Court of Arbitration f ...

and

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the r ...

5th place,

, as well as

Alexander Vinokourov Alexander Nikolayevich Vinokourov ( Kazakh and russian: Александр Николаевич Винокуров; born 16 September 1973) is a Kazakhstani former professional road bicycle racer and the current general manager of UCI WorldTeam ...

Teams

The following teams participated in the 2011 edition of the Critérium International: ;

UCI ProTour The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI (International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, e ...

Teams * * * * * * * * * ;

UCI Professional Continental The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand cycling around the world. The five circuits (representing the continents of Africa, the ...

Teams * * * * * * ;

UCI Continental The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand cycling around the world. The five circuits (representing the continents of Africa, the ...

Teams *

Stages

Stage 1

;26 March 2011 –

to Col de l’Ospedale, 198 km

Stage 2

;27 March 2011 –

75 km

Stage 3

;27 March 2011 –

7 km

Classification leadership

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20111011151515/http://www.letour.fr/us/homepage_courseCRI.html {{DEFAULTSORT:2011 Criterium International Critérium International Criterium International Criterium International