Tour de France 2018 Stage 10 live stream: Watch online

The Tour de France hits the high mountains for the first time in Stage 10 on the ride to Le Grand-Bornand. Here is how you can catch all the action live.

After the first rest day at the 2018 Tour de France, the action is about to heat up in the French Alps. Stage 10 takes riders on the first Alpine stage of this year’s race. Beginning in Annecy near the border with Switzerland and Italy, the first major mountain stage takes riders over five mountain passes on the road to Le Grand-Bornand.

The stage warms riders up to the hard pitches of the major climbs. In the first 18 miles leading up to the early intermediate sprint in Thônes, the road gradually pitches upward and takes the peloton over the fourth-category Col de Bluffy. This first climb covers just under one mile at an average pitch of 5.6 percent. After Thônes, though, the climbing really comes in earnest.

Three first-category climbs and the beyond-category Montée du Plateau des Glières greet riders over the remaining 80 miles into Le Grand-Bornand. The Col de la Croix Fry, Col de Romme, and Col de la Colombière are all mainstays of the Tour de France that feature every few years. The Plateau des Glières, on the other hand, is a rare treat that includes the first unpaved roads at the Tour de France in at least six decades.

Entering the stage, Greg Van Avermaet was able to consolidate his hold on the yellow jersey. Van Avermaet finished second behind John Degenkolb in Roubaix. But general classification contenders such as defending champion Chris Froome, Adam Yates, Mikel Landa, Vincenzo Nibali, Rafal Majka, and Alejandro Valverde are all within two minutes of Van Avermaet. Even Nairo Quintana, the third leader at Movistar, is less than three minutes behind the current leader.

We probably won’t see an audacious solo breakaway on this first of three Alpine stages. The contenders for the yellow jersey will shadow one another’s moves and should all be together at the end in Le Grand-Bornand.

How to watch the stage

Here is how to catch Stage 10 at the Tour de France live on July 17. The action from Annecy to Le Grand-Bornand will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network. Live streaming of the action is available on NBC Sports Gold or FuboTV.

• Date: Tuesday, July 17, 2018
• Start time: 7:00 a.m. ET
• Start: Annecy, France
• Finish: Le Grand-Bornand, France
• TV Info: NBC Sports Network
• Live Stream: NBC Sports Gold, Fubo.TV

It could be showering in Annecy as riders get started on the route of Stage 10. The ride through the mountains could come with the added risk of intermittent rain. That would make the roads slick and increase the dangers on Alpine descents. Cyclists will have to be vigilant for any and all shifts in the weather.

Next: Tour de France 2018 route breakdown and highlights

This is the type of stage that could go one of two ways. In one scenario, the favorites, like Froome or the Movistar trio, decide to assert their dominance immediately. That could lead to a long series of attacks, especially over the Plateau des Glières and Col de la Colombière.

Either that or a group of folks further back on the general classification will be allowed to go a few minutes up the road. The GC contenders will remain in a main pack that keeps the breakaway in check. In this scenario, then, the favorites wait to attack one another on the Colombière. In that case the time gaps would be potentially shorter.