It started on 5 June in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and ended on 12 June in La Toussuire and consisted of eight stages, including a race-commencing prologue stage and an individual time trial, held as the third stage.

It was the 15th race of the 2011 UCI World Tour season.

The race was won by Team Sky rider Bradley Wiggins, who claimed the leader's yellow and blue jersey after a strong finish on the individual time trial stage, and maintained his advantage to the end of the race.

[1] Wiggins' winning margin over runner-up Cadel Evans of BMC Racing Team was 1 minute and 26 seconds,[2] and Astana's Alexander Vinokourov completed the podium, 23 seconds down on Evans.

Twenty-two teams, each containing up to eight riders, started the race:[3] The winner of the 2010 Critérium du Dauphiné, Janez Brajkovič, was looking to defend last year's victory, while other pre-race favourites like Tirreno–Adriatico and Tour de Romandie winner, Cadel Evans, as well as Ivan Basso, Robert Gesink, Samuel Sánchez, Alexander Vinokourov and Bradley Wiggins used the race as a trial-run for the Tour de France.