Right, that’s it from me! Thanks for your company and be sure to head back here for stage 11 tomorrow where this faces the peloton:
And, in case you missed it, here’s our report on La Course earlier:
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Here’s our snap race report:
The standings
Here’s the final kilometre of a fine ride:
Impressive Julian! 😯
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 17, 2018
Impressionnant Julian ! 😯
👏 @alafpolak#TDF2018 pic.twitter.com/VcAHTLIzJi
Here’s Egan Bernal: “I felt good. I can work for the team. Froome and Thomas felt good in the mountains.”
Next over the line is the GC group, of around 15 riders, containing all of the biggest names. Of the GC outsiders, Mollema, Zakarin, Van Garderen, Majka and Jungels are the ones to lose time.
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Calmejane is next over the line, 2min 23sec down on Alaphilippe.
Tears for Alaphilippe as he’s surrounded by his team. Meanwhile, 1min 30sec down, Taaramae and Izagirre cross the line. And right on their heels are Van Avermaet and Pauwels. Van Avermaet extends his lead in yellow. Wow.
Julian Alaphilippe wins stage 10!
The Frenchman crosses the line. What a superb ride that was – he looked a winner from the first few kilometres.
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Alaphilippe goes under the Flamme Rouge. One kilometre to go.
Yep, as I rather suspected, Van Avermaet still has plenty of time on the GC group – over two minutes. He’s going to extend his lead.
Alaphilippe enters beautiful Le Grand-Bornand with just 3km to go to glory.
The time data is slightly all over the place again, but it appears the peloton are closing in on Van Avermaet. He should still have enough to hold on to yellow.
As we saw in La Course earlier, the final 500m or so of this stage bring a sting in the tail. Alaphilippe, though, isn’t leading by 20 seconds – he has close to two minutes now. With 7km to go, barring something incredibly unfortunate, this is going to be a wonderful maiden victory in the Tour for the French rider.
Dan Martin attacks from the GC group, scuppering what was going to be quite a good “Pressure on Julian (Alaphillipe)” Blur reference (as my musical references are very much on point. The Irishman leads them over the top but only a few metres from the bunch.
Jungels begins to fall of the back of the peloton as Sky look to turn the screw on the front.
Kwiatkowski rolls off the front of the Sky train, leaving Poels to set the pace.
The crowds are out in force at the top of the Colombiere as Alaphilippe crests the col. He has 14.7km to the finish line, almost all downhill.
There’s around 22 riders in the Froome group heading up the mountain. All the chief contenders are there – Valverde, Majka, Fuglsang, Yates, Landa, Nibali, Roglic etc and so forth – with Uran and Zakarin clinging on at the back.
Van Avermaet still has a 3min 40sec lead over the peloton, with 2km to the summit. He looks set to hold onto yellow, for one more day at least. What a ride. Chapeau.
Alaphilippe’s lead is up over a minute now, with Taaramae falling back. He has 3km to the summit. And still a near-six-minute gap on the peloton.
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We’ve just had one of my perennial favourite sights on a Tour de France – a French directeur sportif leaning out of the window of a car to scream at a French rider who is away at the front of the race. Alaphillipe was on the receiving end from the Quickstep team car. Always makes me think of this:
ALLEZ THIBAUT!
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The peloton hit the bottom of the climb. Will anyone put in a meaningful attack?
Alaphilippe hits the bottom of the final Col. He has over five minutes on Froome and the GC contenders, over a minute on Van Avermaet and co, and 26 seconds on Rein Taaramae.
Julian Alaphilippe is riding a wonderful race today. He’d be a deserved winner if – and it’s quite a big if (in fact it’s about 8.5km of if, at an average gradient of 7.5%) – he can get over the Colombiere without cracking.
Van Avermaet, along with Gesink, Calmejane and Izagirre reach the summit around 45 seconds behind Alaphillipe.
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Team Sky still have six riders on the front of the peloton as they sweep up the stragglers from the earlier break. Alaphilippe, meanwhile, has dropped Taaramae and is riding himself into polka dots.
Indeed Alaphilippe has dropped his young countryman and reached Taaramae.
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Gaudu and Alaphilippe are the pair hunting down Taaramae.
Taaramae has 40 seconds on the chasers, where Alaphilippe and a couple of cohorts are beginning to drop the estimable Greg van Avermaet.
Taaramae has just 23 seconds on the yellow jersey group. Meanwhile, Barguil has been swept up by the peloton and might end up being spat out the back.
Barguil has spoke about deliberately losing time in order to go for stage wins … but at 2min 37sec down he could ride himself into yellow in he makes this attack work. He’s a long, long way from the finish line though and has more than five minutes to make up on Taaramae and co at the front of the race.
The pace is shredding the back of the pack – by the time we get to the summit of the Col de Romme we’ll have a very select group at the front of the race.
Warren Barguil attacks from the peloton. No reaction from the bunch as yet.
Astana, Movistar and Team Sky are prominent on the front of the group. Meanwhile, Taaramae has made his move stick and has a few seconds on the rest of the leaders.
Taaramae jumps off the front, completing the old one-two from Direct Energie. Meanwhile, five and a half minutes down the road, the peloton have reached the foot of the climb.
Attacks from the front. Calmejane – again – steps up the pace. He has a Direct Energie teammate in the break, in the shape of Rein Taaramae. Impey is the next to drop off the back.
The early slopes of this climb are the steepest and the break is quickly labouring. Gilbert immediately falls off the back.
The break hit the foot of the climb with an advantage of just over six minutes – very much a will-they-won’t-they lead.
Here are the two final climbs of the day, followed by 13km downhill and a little ramp to the finish (as Anna van der Breggen discovered to her cost earlier):
The Romme-Colombiere combo, not used since 2009. Absolutely perfect for a long range attack. I understand that being the first mountain stage, some won't go in the attack and prefer to wait. But Movistar MUST test Team Sky every day and at least force a selection. #TDF2018 pic.twitter.com/3SeCpr2RzK
— Mihai Cazacu (@faustocoppi60) July 17, 2018
Before we hit the penultimate climb of the day, take a minute to read up on the extraordinary finale to La Course earlier. Here’s Jeremy Whittle’s report:
Sagan at last gets swept up into the peloton, along with his teammate Lukas Postlburger, the Austrian national road race champion. The pair wave at the Sky train as it trundles past.
Sign up now! Up now sign! Now sign up! Sign up now!
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There’s just over 55km to go – given the terrain ahead that means about 90 minutes of racing is still ahead. The breakaway group still have over seven minutes. The first haymaker of the finishing double-punch, the Col de Romme, starts with around 37km to go.
This is shaping up as a cracking stage @John_Ashdown. Everyone talking up G's chances (except him) but really Sky will be happy not defending so early. Van Avermaet's been superb, but I'd still expect him to go the way of Voeckler this week. Oh, Tommy.https://t.co/Rgma0b7xhr
— Guy Hornsby (@GuyHornsby) July 17, 2018
Ah, I miss Tour Tommy V.
Froome’s issues have slowed an already not-exactly-flying peloton further so that gap to the break has grown once more. There’s enough buffer now for someone to stay away. If his legs are there, it strikes me as a stage for Tony Gallopin, though he has 17 rivals in that lead group.
Bardet is being paced back to the peloton after a mechanical/comfort break. This wide, flat valley road is a good time to sort out any minor “inconveniences”.
Another mechanical for Chris Froome on the valley road this time. It’s not a major problem for him, though, and he’ll quickly be back in the line.
And as I type that, it drops below seven minutes – clearly some issue with the time gap data.
There’s a stiff ramp here – the Col des Fleuries. It’s not categorised but it’s still tough. The lead for the break is close to eight minutes now.
Van Avermaet’s grip on the yellow jersey is tightening too – he’s still in the lead group. Of the other riders up front, Calmejane is just over 5min behind on GC, as is Serge Pauwels.
There’s a chance for the 14-man breakaway here – the lead is over seven minutes now.
Froome is safely back in the peloton, having bagged a wheel from Jonathan Castroviejo.
Why always him? If one rider was to puncture on this gravel section – and it does seem to be only one – Chris Froome would be your first guess.
🏁 - 84 km
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 17, 2018
Puncture for @chrisfroome, who is now catching up with the bunch all alone in the dust 🔧
Crevaison pour @chrisfroome qui remonte seul dans la poussière 🔧#TDF2018 pic.twitter.com/KSMWM7DQIM
Team Sky and the peloton hit the gravel path now.
On the way up, by the by, the leaders were jumped by a mountain biker:
Nothing to see here ... just a BMX jumping over the peloton 😲 #TDF2018 pic.twitter.com/sNqaomztly
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) July 17, 2018
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Also well worth mentioning is the fact that the top of this mountain is home to the national museum to the French Resistance. More than 100 resistance fighters were killed by the Wehrmacht on these hills during a battle in the second world war.
The uphill section of the gravel is a little more lumpy but I’ve seen cycle paths in the UK that are much, much worse. (Though that may say more about the UK’s cycle paths than it does about the road at the top of the Glières.)
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They hit the gravel section, with Alaphilippe briefly powering off on his own. No one seems to discomfited by the surface, which isn’t the potholed farm track that you might imagine.
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Gaudu attacks the summit, with Alaphilippe following. The older man nips past and takes full points.
One kilometre to the finish for the break, which is a big bunch once more. Gaudu leads the way.
Pauwels, Gaudu, Molard, Taaramae and Van Avermaet are the five remaining members up front. They have over five minutes on the peloton but only a few seconds on Gesink and co.
The lead group is down to five men and Greg van Avermaet is still there. Gilbert has gone, as has Moinard.
Robert Gesink of Lotto-Jumbo is bringing the second group on the road back to the leaders. Meanwhile, Vincenzo Nibali drops back to his team car for something or other then blasts past the backmarkers with enviable ease.
Five kilometres to the summit for the peloton. No fireworks yet.
Glières approaching. This makes me feel a little faint:
The steepest climb of this Tour is about to begin. Deadly black from the bottom to the top. Unfortunately, so far from the finish... #TDF2018 pic.twitter.com/bwVhDABnR6
— Mihai Cazacu (@faustocoppi60) July 17, 2018
That octet have just over four minutes on the Team Sky-led peloton – which isn’t really much of a margin given the terrain to come.
The 21-man break is no more – there’s now eight riders off in a group of their own: Gilbert, Pauwels, Moinard, Molard, Taaramae, Gaudu, Postlberger … and Greg van Avermaet, who may lose the yellow jersey today but a) is doing his damnedest to hang onto it and b) may get himself the combativity numbers for tomorrow instead.
So, one down, three to go. It’s a long steady decent to the foot of the Montée du plateau des Glières, around 20km away.
@John_Ashdown re: the loose section - having (just about) cycled it last week, and walked over a cobbled section of stage 9 I can confirm if they can get over the cobbles, the gravel will be a walk in the park!
— Nick Hughes (@iamnickjh) July 17, 2018
Molard and Taaramae duke it out with 400m to go as their former (and future) breakaway colleagues close in. Molard thrashes his way to the top to take maximum points.
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I assumed there were too many riders in the break to play “What is the breakaway?” today, but apparently Paul Griffin is up for the challenge: “You’ll be well aware of course that van Avermaet, Gilbert, Sagan, Calmejane, Pauwels, Impey, Moinard, Martin, Alaphilippe, Gallopin, Slagter, Vichot, Gesink, Molard, Taaramae, Degand, Gaudu, Bauer, Postlberger and Gesbert were the names of the Fimbles in the disastrous Hungarian original children’s series, which was too confusing, and also drew too much on nihilism, free love and existential terror for its pre-school audience. Episode 7: Gaudu gives in to Hate, was particularly hard to stomach.”
It’s all got a little bit broken up at the front as the summit approaches. Molard and Taaramae jump away and open up a 45sec gap.
Here’s Jeremy Whittle’s report on La Course:
“Can someone explain why Van Avermaet has made an effort to get in the break?” wonders Luke Harrison. “He is not interested in Sprint points and can’t think he is going to extend his lead today. Surely his only chance of holding on to Yellow would be to just have a storming day trying to hang on to the leaders and limit his loses. I seem to remember Cancellara surprising everyone a few years back by holding on to Yellow in to the mountains for a bit longer than expected. Or is it just that he knows he is doomed and wants to show off the yellow jersey as long as he can?”
I imagine there’s a little from Column A, a little from Column B. Presumably he thinks his chances of hanging onto yellow are slim either way, and at least by getting in the break there’s one last chance of a bit of panache. More power to him, I say.
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Team Sky – quelle surprise – are on the front of the peloton, controlling the pace and allowing the break close to three minutes. Up at the front, Calmejane leaps away in an attempt to take the mountain points, but Slagter reels him in.
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As someone who cracks on the gentle hills of north London (yes, like anyone else who enjoys the Tour and commutes on two wheels, the slopes over the past few days or so have become “the Col de Co-op” and “the Mur de Caledonian Road”) these gradients are wince-inducing. The pace and the percentage are not enough to shed Peter Sagan from the lead group though, but Marcel Kittel is already having a tough time at the back of the peloton.
“Any word on whether the riders have gravel bikes to swap onto or have made any other accommodations for the loose sections?” wonders Craig Fawcett. No, I think it’s just “cling on and hope for the best”. The gravel section is fairly flat – there’s some interesting info on it all here and here.
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The breakaway hit the foot of the Col de la Croix Fry, 11km at an average of 7% though there are some flat sections.
Sagan, predictably enough, takes the sprint points as the gap extends over two minutes.
After that slightly chaotic start we finally have 21 riders in the fully established break, including the yellow jersey Greg van Avermaet. Deep breath:
Greg van Avermaet, Philippe Gilbert, Peter Sagan, Lilian Calmejane, Serge Pauwels, Daryl Impey, Amael Moinard, Guillaume Martin, Julian Alaphilippe, Tony Gallopin, Tom Slagter, Arthur Vichot, Robert Gesink, Rudy Molard, Rein Taaramae, Thomas Degand, David Gaudu, Jack Bauer, Lukas Postlberger and Elie Gesbert.
Fair point of order:
True that the women didn't ride all of it it as part of La Course but the 13 women of @desELLESauVELO rode the whole stage yesterday (and are riding the entire Tour a day before the men)!
— Chloe (@chloesaurus) July 17, 2018
Julian Alaphilippe, who seems in the mood to make mischief today, crests the Bluffy first to take the solitary mountain point.
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The green jersey, Peter Sagan, is determined to get himself into the first break of the day – sprint points are available 10km after the summit of Bluffy, which he’s likely eyeing.
@John_Ashdown Lots of people looking forward to this stage as it was used for the Etape last week. Glieres really was a tough climb so it’ll be interesting to see how the pro’s do. Disappointing that the women didn’t ride the whole thing earlier though.
— Paul Cooke (@paulSW15) July 17, 2018
With the first climb of the day, the pleasantly-named Col de Bluffy, just 19km into the stage there’s a panic at the front of the peloton as about half the pack try and get into the breakaway. Nothing has fully formed yet, though.
In case you missed it …
The 2018 edition of La Course has already been over the final hills of this stage. It was a superb race, won in the final metres by Annemiek van Vleuten.
How things stand
- Greg van Avermaet (BMC) 36h 7min 17sec
- Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) at 43sec
- Philippe Gilbert (Quick-Step) at 44sec
- Bob Jungels (Quick-Step) at 50sec
- Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) at 1min 31sec
- Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe) at 1min 32sec
- Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) at 1min 33sec
- Chris Froome (Team Sky) at 1min 42sec
- Adam Yates (Michelton-Scott) same time
- Mikel Landa (Movistar)
Van Avermaet begins the day in yellow but there’s every chance of Geraint Thomas donning the maillot jaune by the end of the day. In any case, the BMC rider is unlikely to be able to stay with the GC contenders over these hills so we’re almost certain to see a new name in the leader’s jersey this evening.
Preamble
Hello all and welcome to live coverage of stage 10 of the 2018 edition of the Tour de France. And what a stage it should be – we’re into the mountains!
The Col de Romme and Col de la Colombiere (both category one climbs) await in the final 40km but before then we’ve got the Col de la Croix Fry and the hideously steep HC climb of Montée du plateau des Glières, which includes gravel roads near the summit.
