Great Britain’s Adam Yates (C-L) rides in the pack during the first stage of the 105th edition of the Tour de France cycling race between Noirmoutier-en-l’ile and Fontenay-le Comte, western France, on July 7, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Jeff PACHOUD
Tour de France 2018: How far is Stage 10, what time does it start and how to watch
Here’s everything you need to know about Stage 10 of the 2018 Tour de France.
Great Britain’s Adam Yates (C-L) rides in the pack during the first stage of the 105th edition of the Tour de France cycling race between Noirmoutier-en-l’ile and Fontenay-le Comte, western France, on July 7, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Jeff PACHOUD
It’s mountain time as the 2018 Tour de France heads into the Alps for stage ten on Tuesday.
A route of 158.5km between Annecy and Le Grand-Bornand certainly isn’t as the crow flies.
Four categorized climbs are spaced across the stage, with the double challenge of the infamous Col de Romme and Col de la Colombiere lurking at the back end.
And that’s not all.
The riders will reach the Montee du plateau des Glieres before halfway – a 6km, 11.2 percent gradient haul that defies classification.
It’ll be a day for the mountain men, then, with the likes of reigning champion Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana likely to come to the fore for the first time.
A rest day on Monday came as a welcome relief after a brutal, cobbled stage up to Roubaix on Sunday.
It was a chaotic stage that claimed yellow jersey hopeful Richie Porte, as the Australian crashed out with a broken collarbone.
Tour de France 2018: Stage 10
Distance: 158.5km
Profile: Good job the riders are coming off a rest day, as the first mountain stage hits hard. A climb before halfway that defies classification before finishing off with the infamous Col de la Colombiere.
How to watch and start time
The action will be live on SuperSport 5 from 13:05 and should finish at around 18:00. If you don’t have a Dstv subscription, you can follow Le Tour’s YouTube channel for all the highlights.
What happened on Stage 9
John Degenkolb won a thrilling three-man break sprint in Roubaix, as Porte crashed out on a day of cobbles carnage at the 2018 Tour de France.
The yellow jersey of Greg van Avermaet and Yves Lampaert pushed Degenkolb all the way after keeping the peloton – and the mayhem within it – at bay across 22km of rocky road.
Van Avermaet retains yellow, partly by virtue of staying clear of the mess unfolding behind.
It was an emotional success for the German, who was part of a group of six riders hit head-on by a car in a training accident in Spain in 2016.
BMC leader Porte didn’t even reach the first section of the infamous stones before he hit the deck.
A broken collarbone retires him for this year’s Tour and leaves the Australian a serious doubt for the Vuelta a Espana next month.
It was a second consecutive abandonment for the much-fancied overall contender – and the pain for the big guns didn’t end there.
Reigning champion Froome and fellow Team Sky giant Geraint Thomas both came a cropper inside the last 50km, collapsing in a heap behind the tumble of team-mate Gianni Moscon.
Local hero Romain Bardet was also in the wars once again, as was double stage winner Dylan Groenewegen.
More happily, especially for South African fans, was the presence of Reinardt Janse van Rensburg in the breakaway.
The Dimension Data man clung on with Damien Gaudin until 20km to go, before being swallowed up by the dust, chaos and whirling arms and legs of the peloton.
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