"The Col de Tourmalet has a mythological reputation, but many climbs are harder. What really makes it so difficult is the high altitude, because after 1800m you really feel the lack of oxygen."

Those were the words of Astana's Tanel Kangert after stage eleven at the Tour de France. Kangert led teammate Vincenzo Nibali up the 2115m Col de Tourmalet on Wednesday, effectively reducing the peloton to an elite group of two dozen riders over 17km of climbing.

On a humid and hot day in the Pyrenees under a blistering sun, Kangert and Nibali sought to weaken the climbers in five hours of racing over six categorized climbs. Lieuwe Westra and Andrei Grivko both jumped into early breakaways to reduce pressure on the their teammates as the stage moved through the mountains, each finding a small measure of cooperation among peloton rivals.

In the big mountains, Kangert, Nibali, Jakob Fuglsang and Michele Scarponi all increased their pace at the front of a 50-man group, leaving many other riders behind into the thin air of the Tourmalet.

Polish rider Rafał Majka held a long, solo breakaway to take victory with more than six minutes advantage to Nibali and Kangert's elite group, with Chris Froome of Great Britain remaining race leader ahead of another Pyrennean mountain stage on Thursday.

Astana Pro Team rider Rein Taaramäe withdrew from competition and left the race during stage eleven after two days of illness.