Tour de France Stage 11 winner Soren Waerenskjold has admitted that watching British great Mark Cavendish as a child is his main source of inspiration as he developed his distinctive sprint technique.
Cavendish, who was one of the smallest riders in the peloton, could not be more physically different from the hulking Waerenskjold, who is one of the biggest. The Norwegian stands at 1m95cm and weighs 92kg, compared to Cavendish who was 20cm shorter and more than 20kg lighter. And yet the 26-year-old has modelled his entire sprint style on the Manx Missile.
“Since I was young, I’ve been sprinting this way. I think when I was 14, I was probably watching Cavendish sprint — his face was almost touching his front wheel. Maybe it was some inspiration from that. I started sprinting that way when I was young, then it’s hard to change. I don’t really think about my style of sprinting, even though I’m a tall guy.”
— Soren Waerenskjold, after winning Stage 11
Waerenskjold launched his sprint from a long way out on the 161km stage from Vichy to Nevers in central France, while other sprinters hesitated as no lead-out train functioned for anyone. He then held off the fast-finishing Olav Kooij and Jasper Philipsen to claim the victory.
The longer sprint suited Waerenskjold’s diesel engine, according to his Uno-X Mobility sporting director Stig Kristiansen.
“He’s well above 90kg — that’s why he needs to come with a certain momentum from the back. You saw today the gap open on the right side; he even got the shortest line around the right-hander.”
— Stig Kristiansen, Uno-X Mobility sporting director
A team making Tour de France history
Waerenskjold’s victory continued an impressive Tour showing for Uno-X Mobility, which was admitted to the World Tour for the first time this year. The Norwegian team held the yellow jersey for two days earlier in the race through Torstein Traeen, who subsequently crashed out with concussion and broken ribs.
Remarkably, it was the second consecutive year the team had won Stage 11 of the Tour de France, after Jonas Abrahamsen claimed the same stage in 2025. Team member Anders Johannessen suggested they would try to make it a tradition to win the 11th stage every year.
“It’s incredible. Another Stage 11 victory for the team.”
— Anders Johannessen, Uno-X Mobility
“It’s crazy. We really didn’t believe we were going to win today.”
— Tobias Johannessen (twin brother of Anders)
Waerenskjold had actually crashed in Tuesday’s Stage 10 and raced with bandaged fingers, making his Stage 11 victory all the more impressive.
The 2026 Tour de France started on Saturday, 4 July in Barcelona, Spain, and will finish in Paris on Sunday, 26 July 2026.