Rui Costa's Tour de France ended on the climb of the Col de Tourmalet, 45 km from the end of the 11th stage.

The Portuguese champion, who struggled during Tuesday's stage too, faced today's stage with the best intentions, but his legs did not allow him to continue.

“Today is a bad day: I worked a lot to be ready to face the challenge of the Tour de France, I made sacrifices to be in good condition and now I’m on the list of withdrawals. I’m so sad that my Grande Boucled has already finished and I want to apologize to the team, my mates, the sponsors and my fans because I missed the goal I had set myself,” Costa said.

“From the moment of the crash in which I was involved last Monday, I have had pain in the left leg and the back, I could not ride as I would have wanted and it took some days before my body was ok again. I could not compete at the same high level as the other riders, I did not get the feeling of complete competitiveness. I felt this gap and this limited me and made the French experience very bad. The decrease of me condition was made worse by the intensity of the stages and by the hot weather, but I’m aware these are typical characteristics of the Tour de France.

“Today I would have like to deliver a good performance, especially because yesterday's results had been bad. I was at the start full of positive thoughts but my legs did not give me the necessary feedback: I really struggled, I tried to react but I could not, so I had to quit the race. I’m going to go back home but I’d like to be able to confirm the program for my future races: I’d like to meet my fans in Clasica San Sebastian."

The stage was won by Majka, who succesfully completed a long breakaway. The first Lampre-Merida riders at the finish was Nelson Oliveira, 51st 15’54” behind the winner.