Le Tour 2018 stage 10: Annecy > Le Grand-Bornand 158,5 km

Inquitus

The first stage after the rest day in Annecy is the first mountain stage of the tour. It starts in Annecy and ends in Le Grand-Bornand: (Borrowed from here)




The first real challenge is the Col de la Croix Fry, which featured in the 2013 Tour de France.

Later, the HC climb Col du Glieres awaits for the first time in the Tour de France, which is very steep until it flattens out at the top, which is the first gravel section included in the Tour since 1991. This climb has a history with World War II, where the Maquis des Gliéres, a resistance group composed of French and Spanish maquisards, were based. In 1944, the Vichy regime declared, that anyone helping the Maquis would be executed immediately. They were getting parachute drops from the Royal Airforce. After Britain and America thought, that a big uprising in Haute-Savoie, where this story takes place, was ongoing, the Maquis became important as a part of the psychological warfare against the Nazi regime and their collaborators.

In March, the Nazis attacked the Maquis and overwhelmed the Maquis, who were given orders to retreat. A few days after the battle, most of the maquisards were found dead or tortued to death after being taken prisoner, because the Nazis considered the fallen martyrs of freedom, the maquisards, as terrorists...


After that ascent, Col de Romme and Col de la Colombiere is the last two obstacles...

...before the descent down to the finish line:



Le Grand-Bornand has been laying asphalt to a stage finish 4 times by the Tour. First time was in 2004, where Lance Armstrong won, after catching Klöden, who had caught Lance's attacking domestique Floyd Landis. 3 years later, in the 2007 race, the 8th stage finished in Le-Grand-Bornand, where the young German Linus Gerdemann won and took the yellow jersey.

2009 where Andy and Fränk attacked on today's climb Col de Romme, trying to drop the multiple Tour winner, Lance Armstrong and the 2007 winner Alberto Contador. Succeding in dropping Lance with 2 minutes. Contador could still hang on with the brothers, climbing the Col de la Colombiere together, and descending down to today's stage finish, and without really contesting the stage win, Fränk crossing the line first. Lance Armstrong finished 2'18'' behind with a young Italian named Vincenzo Nibali.

In 2013 Rui Costa arrived first, winning from the breakaway in front of breakaway companions Klöden, Bakelants, Dani Navarro, Gesink, De Marchi and others.

Will this stage be for a breakaway to take, or will the big loser of the day, Rigoberto Uran, perhaps try to get some time back? Or will we see the beginning of the promised Movistar-offensive against the SKY armada?

General classification after stage 9:
1. Greg Van AVERMAET (BMC)
2. Geraint THOMAS (SKY) + 43''
3. Philippe GILBERT (Quickstep) + 44''
4. Bob JUNGELS (Quickstep) + 50''
5. Alejandro VALVERDE (Movistar) + 1' 31''
6. Rafal MAJKA (Bora) + 1' 32''
7. Jakob FUGLSANG (Astana) + 1' 33''
8. Chris FROOME (SKY) + 1' 42''
9. Adam YATES (M. Scott) st.
10. Mikel LANDA (Movistar) st.

Notable abandons
Richie PORTE (BMC)
José Joaquin ROJAS (Movistar)

Polka-dot jersey competition after stage 9:

1. Toms SKUIJNS (Trek) 6
2. Sylvain CHAVANEL (Direct Energie) 4
3. Dion SMITH (Wanty) 4

Points jersey competition after stage 9:

1. Peter SAGAN (Bora) 299
2. Fernando GAVIRIA (Quickstep) 218
3. Dylan GROENEWEGEN (NL-Jumbo) 132
4. Alexander KRISTOFF (UAE) 129
5. André GREIPEL (Lotto-Soudal) 106

Weather forecast

Annecy:


Le Grand-Bornand:


The Bookies Take

Valverde 6/1
Allaphillippe 8/1
De Gendt 14/1
Dan Martin 16/1
Nibali 18/1
Froome 18/1
Bardet 22/1
Barguil 20/1
Calmejane 22/1
Yates 25/1
Caruso 25/1
Quintana 28/1Roglic 30/1

Inquitus

The Phony war of the first week is over, the GC is well poised, and here come the Mountains! A serious enough stage today, with some tough climbs, it does however finish on the flat, so we might expect a reduced bunch GC Sprint, which means Dan has a good chance!

irishrover99

A hard climb and then a decent to the finish means Froome in yellow by the end of the stage with the rest fighting between them on the descent.

Lusk_Doyle

Thomas De Ghent. That is all.

Zoncolon

Is there any merit in Dan now focusing on the Polka Dot jersey or is it too soon?  From interviews it looks like he remains adamant that GC is still the goal

retalivity

Was in Annecy at the 2009 tour, they did a tt around the lake. It really is a beautiful part of the world.

Majka to be up and about there today

fat bloke

Where is Dan on GC now?

fat bloke

fat bloke wrote: »

Where is Dan on GC now?

24th 3:22 down

at1withmyself

irishrover99 wrote: »

A hard climb and then a decent to the finish means Froome in yellow by the end of the stage with the rest fighting between them on the descent.

Hard to look past froomey today so I would agree he'll be in yellow this evening. Sky will drive on the pressure on the romme for his attack on the columbie. The flat at the end is short and insignificant imo.

mr spuckler

retalivity wrote: »

Was in Annecy at the 2009 tour, they did a tt around the lake. It really is a beautiful part of the world.

I passed there en route to a ski resort one year, was completely taken aback by it.

also - that's some quality OP work again

retalivity

at1withmyself wrote: »

Hard to look past froomey today so I would agree he'll be in yellow this evening. Sky will drive on the pressure on the romme for his attack on the columbie. The flat at the end is short and insignificant imo.

I dont see froome putting a minute into thomas tbh, think he will move into yellow

dastardly00

I'll be very surprised if Thomas is not in yellow this evening

dastardly00

30 km to go in the La Course.
Live on Eurosport1

Rock Lesnar

dastardly00 wrote: »

30 km to go in the La Course.
Live on Eurosport1

Watching it, looks very tough

Down to the two Dutch ladies in a dash to the line. 10km to go mostly down hill with some flat.

dastardly00

https://twitter.com/LaCoursebyTDF/status/1019168021737365504

Some great camera work there.

Rock Lesnar

What a great finish

Wow. Speechless.

Chips Lovell

Could be a bit of a shakeup today. GC guys had to endure a battering stage on Sunday, followed by a rest day. You never know how your legs are going to be after that. Good chance a few people at least will have a bad day.

Lusk_Doyle

mr spuckler wrote: »

also - that's some quality OP work again

It's not even his!

dastardly00

I'm gobsmacked

https://twitter.com/LaCoursebyTDF/status/1019173228118409216

WinnyThePoo

Right on the line!

eeeee

Jesus Christ. That was incredible. Incredible. AvV is untouchable right now.

retalivity

Hah thats outrageous!

MPFGLB

Fancy Dan Martin to take another stage but not sure about today because of the downhill finish but he will be right up there...and he is looking very confident and bouyant at the moment and that really helps

I think Nibali and his teamwill go for today as he needs to get time and downhill finish suits him and the Izagrrie bothers

Others like Valverde & Quintana will do well ...also Roglic & Mollema


I would like Uran to do well as he was so misfortunate on Sunday and want to see him do well becasue he si a cool guy

Dumoulin will be there too

My pick today though is Bardet

dastardly00

Crash for Landa in the neutral zone

Borderfox

Sagan at the front burning all the other sprinters off the back

RIGOLO

MPFGLB wrote: »

Fancy Dan Martin to take another stage but not sure about today because of the downhill finish but he will be  right up there...and he is  looking very confident and bouyant at the moment and that really helps

I think Nibali and his teamwill go for today as he needs to get time and downhill finish suits him and the Izagrrie bothers

Others like Valverde & Quintana will do well ...also Roglic & Mollema


I would like Uran to do well  as he was so misfortunate on Sunday and want to see him do well becasue he si a cool guy

Dumoulin will be there too

My pick today though is Bardet

you could be right there alright ... :D
The reduction in team size from 9 to 8 riders will start to kick in here, especially after the cobbles  'car crash TV'.   Im expecting/hoping for a less controlled Tour than normal for the next weeks with today to be the first day where the elastic of a teams domination will be broken .

Rock Lesnar

A chap i know went over there a couple of weeks ago to cycle a tour route, turns out this was the route today.

CrowdedHouse

First day in the hills and the Sky bots are out already.

RIGOLO

Havent seen this sort of race in a long team. 
The yellow jersey is in a small break with 39secs on another group contining the green, which has 3'20 further back to the SKY train dragging the peloton to the foot of the next few hills and under a 100K to go. 
Great to see no one helping SKY, and with both breaks containing high quality riders it will require alot of energy to pull them back.

Chips Lovell

Lad on a mountain bike just jumped off a ledge over the road, across the break

py

Baron de Charlus wrote: »

Lad on a mountain bike just jumped off a ledge over the road, across the break

Think he's been doing that the past few years.

mloc123

Froome on a neutral wheel now... he'll want to change that out before the final climb

mrcheez

Has Froome done his patented "riding on bike bar instead of saddle" this year yet?

RIGOLO

mrcheez wrote: »

Has Froome done his patented "riding on bike bar instead of saddle" this year yet?

Yeah he did it coming off the last col chasing onto the back of the group he lost touch with after his brake issues. 
You could see the effect, he was booking it.

lissard

mrcheez wrote: »

Has Froome done his patented "riding on bike bar instead of saddle" this year yet?

Might still be a little too tender to attempt that after Sundays outing over cobbles

Boscoirl

Craddock has gotten the most exposure of any rider so far, he is sitting on the back of the peloton every day

WinnyThePoo

He must be in some pain. What a warrior.

mrcheez

RIGOLO wrote: »

You could see the effect, he was booking it.

"booknig it" ? That "fast" or... ?

retalivity

Warren barguil - 'I want to lose time to go for stages'

Attacks off the front

fat bloke

Boh! Ring!

velo.2010

6 Sky riders at the front. It never changes does it? We hope but it doesn't.

I'd imagine Sky may allow Froome and Thomas to race up the last climb and see who's boss for the rest of the Tour.

irishrover99

GVA could have about 3 minutes over the main GC after today

irishrover99

alaphilippe seems to be going for the KOM and the stage.

dahat

Sky will have to leave the GC boys go try get back sometime on the yellow Jersey.

dastardly00

dahat wrote: »

Sky will have to leave the GC boys go try get back sometime on the yellow Jersey.

GVA is no threat no matter how much time he gains today

dahat

dastardly00 wrote: »

GVA is no threat no matter how much time he gains today

In effect he is being disregarded by all teams then?

retalivity

dahat wrote: »

In effect he is being disregarded by all teams then?

Pretty much. He'll not be let go again and will ship 10mins+ some day

Uran getting dropped