Dates 30 July 2011 Distance 234 km (145.4 mi) Second Carlos Barredo (Spain) | Stages 1 Winning time 5h 48' 52" | |
Winner Philippe Gilbert (Belgium) | ||
The 2011 Clásica de San Sebastián was the 31st edition of the Clásica de San Sebastián, a single-day cycling race. It was held on 30 July 2011, over a distance of 234 km (145.4 mi), starting and finishing in San Sebastián, in the Basque Country, Spain. It was the eighteenth event of the 2011 UCI World Tour season.
Similar to his late race attacks to win the Ardennes classics earlier in the year, Omega Pharma–Lotto's Philippe Gilbert accelerated away from the pack with 4 km (2.5 mi) remaining in the race and caught and passed Rabobank's Carlos Barredo on the road. Barredo could not hold Gilbert's pace and thus Gilbert opened up a gap of over ten seconds that he held to the finish, to secure his fourteenth victory of the season. Barredo, the 2009 Clásica de San Sebastián winner, finished second just ahead of a sprint finish for third place, won by Greg Van Avermaet for BMC Racing Team.
Teams and riders
As the race was held under the auspices of the UCI World Tour, all eighteen ProTour teams were invited automatically. Three additional wildcard invitations were given – Andalucía–Caja Granada, Caja Rural and Geox–TMC – to form the event's 21-team peloton.
The 21 teams invited to the race were:
Teams consisted of up to eight riders, and 168 riders started the event. The event took place less than a week after the conclusion of the 2011 Tour de France, and many of the riders who took part in that event, contested the race.