The 2011 Critérium International, was the 79th running of the Critérium International

Critérium International

The Critérium International is a two-day bicycle stage race held in France every spring. It was formerly known as the Critérium National de la Route, first run in 1932....

 cycling stage race. It started on 26 March in Porto-Vecchio 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, who claimed the leader's yellow jersey after a strong finish first stage, and maintained his advantage to the end of the race. Schleck's winning margin over runner-up Vasil Kiryienka of Team Movistar was 13 seconds, and Cofidis' Rein Taaramäe completed the podium, 17 seconds down on Kiryienka.

In the race's other classifications, Team Movistar rider Vasil Kiryienka won the green jersey for the points classification, the King of the Mountains classificationwas won by Pim Ligthart of Vacansoleil-DCM, Cofidis' Rein Taaramäe won the young rider classification, with Movistar finishing at the head of the teams classification.

Pre-race favourites

The winner of the 2010 Critérium International, Pierrick Fédrigo

Pierrick Fédrigo

Pierrick Fédrigo is a French racing cyclist who rides for . He was the French national road champion in 2005 and won Stage 14 of the 2006 Tour de France in Gap, Stage 9 of the 2009 Tour de France in Tarbes, and Stage 16 of the 2010 Tour de France in Pau...

, was looking to defend last year's victory, while other pre-race favourites like 2 time runner-up of the Tour de France

Tour de France

The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...

 Andy Schleck

Andy Schleck

Andy Raymond Schleck is a Luxembourgish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . He is the younger brother of Fränk Schleck, who also rides for . Their father Johny Schleck rode the Tour de France and Vuelta a España between 1965 and 1974...

 and Vuelta a España

2010 Vuelta a España

The 2010 Vuelta a España was held from August 28 to September 19 and was won by Vincenzo Nibali. The race began in Seville and ended, as is tradition, in Madrid.The race covered...

 5th place , Fränk Schleck

Fränk Schleck

Fränk René Schleck is a Luxembourgish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . At the start of 2005, Schleck was joined by his younger brother Andy on , and they split the 2005 national championships between them, with Fränk winning the road race and Andy winning the time trial...

, as well as Alexander Vinokourov

Alexander Vinokourov

Alexander Nikolaevich Vinokourov, also written Alexandre Vinokourov, is an ethnically Russian Kazakhstani professional road bicycle racer who currently competes with the UCI ProTeam Astana...

.

Stage 1

26 March 2011 – Porto-Vecchio

Porto-Vecchio

Porto-Vecchio is a commune in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the island of Corsica.It is the seat of the canton of Porto-Vecchio, which it shares with Sari-Solenzara, Conca and Lecci. Port-Vecchio is a medium-sized port city placed on a good harbor, the southernmost of the marshy and...

 to Col de l’Ospedale, 198 km

Stage Result and General Classification after Stage Rider Team Time 1 2 + 20" 3 + 28" Rider Team Time 1 2 + 20" 3 + 28"

Stage 2

27 March 2011 – Porto-Vecchio

Porto-Vecchio

Porto-Vecchio is a commune in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the island of Corsica.It is the seat of the canton of Porto-Vecchio, which it shares with Sari-Solenzara, Conca and Lecci. Port-Vecchio is a medium-sized port city placed on a good harbor, the southernmost of the marshy and...

 75 km

Stage Result and General Classification after Stage Rider Team Time 1 2 s.t. 3 s.t. Rider Team Time 1 2 + 20" 3 + 28"

Stage 3

27 March 2011 – Porto-Vecchio

Porto-Vecchio

Porto-Vecchio is a commune in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the island of Corsica.It is the seat of the canton of Porto-Vecchio, which it shares with Sari-Solenzara, Conca and Lecci. Port-Vecchio is a medium-sized port city placed on a good harbor, the southernmost of the marshy and...

 7 km

Stage Result and General Classification after Stage Rider Team Time 1 2 + 4" 3 + 10" Rider Team Time 1 2 + 13" 3 + 20"

Classification leadership

Stage	Winner	General classification General Classification The general classification in bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for bicycle riders in multi-stage bicycle races...	Mountains classification	Points classification Points classification The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning intermediate sprints. The points classification is the top prize for many cycling sprinters and therefore is often known as the Sprint Classification;...	Young rider classification	Team Classification
1	Fränk Schleck Fränk Schleck Fränk René Schleck is a Luxembourgish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . At the start of 2005, Schleck was joined by his younger brother Andy on , and they split the 2005 national championships between them, with Fränk winning the road race and Andy winning the time trial...	Fränk Schleck Fränk Schleck Fränk René Schleck is a Luxembourgish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . At the start of 2005, Schleck was joined by his younger brother Andy on , and they split the 2005 national championships between them, with Fränk winning the road race and Andy winning the time trial...	Pim Ligthart Pim Ligthart Pim Ligthart is a Dutch professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam .-Palmares:20092010...	Fränk Schleck Fränk Schleck Fränk René Schleck is a Luxembourgish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . At the start of 2005, Schleck was joined by his younger brother Andy on , and they split the 2005 national championships between them, with Fränk winning the road race and Andy winning the time trial...	Rein Taaramäe Rein Taaramäe Rein Taaramäe is an Estonian road bicycle racer for UCI Professional Continental cycling team .-Career:Taaramäe turned professional in 2008 for after riding for the team as a stagiaire in late 2007 and winning a stage at the Circuit des Ardennes early in the season. In 2008 he won two stages of...
2	Simon Geschke Simon Geschke Simon Geschke is a professional German road cyclist, currently riding for Skil-Shimano. He is the son of former track cyclist Jürgen Geschke.-Palmarès:2009...
3	Andreas Klöden Andreas Klöden Andreas Klöden is a German professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . His major achievements include a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games and second place in the 2004 Tour de France and 2006 Tour de France...			Vasil Kiryienka Vasil Kiryienka Vasili Kiryienka is a Belarusian racing cyclist for UCI ProTeam . Kiryienka finished 2nd in the 10th stage of the 2010 Tour de France, he was outsprinted at the line by Sérgio Paulinho after basically leading him out to the finish...
Final		Fränk Schleck Fränk Schleck Fränk René Schleck is a Luxembourgish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . At the start of 2005, Schleck was joined by his younger brother Andy on , and they split the 2005 national championships between them, with Fränk winning the road race and Andy winning the time trial...	Pim Ligthart Pim Ligthart Pim Ligthart is a Dutch professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam .-Palmares:20092010...	Vasil Kiryienka Vasil Kiryienka Vasili Kiryienka is a Belarusian racing cyclist for UCI ProTeam . Kiryienka finished 2nd in the 10th stage of the 2010 Tour de France, he was outsprinted at the line by Sérgio Paulinho after basically leading him out to the finish...	Rein Taaramäe Rein Taaramäe Rein Taaramäe is an Estonian road bicycle racer for UCI Professional Continental cycling team .-Career:Taaramäe turned professional in 2008 for after riding for the team as a stagiaire in late 2007 and winning a stage at the Circuit des Ardennes early in the season. In 2008 he won two stages of...