Tour de France 2018 Stage 11 live stream: Watch online

The second day in the Alps at the 2018 Tour de France will be short but intense. With four major climbs in just 67 miles, you won’t want to miss Stage 11.

This year’s Tour de France is playing around more with the course. Part of the reason it is the shortest edition so far in the 21st century is the fact that it incorporates shorter, sinister stages like the route toward the La Rosière ski resort on the second Wednesday of the race. Four categorized climbs will test riders’ legs early and often, right up to the summit finish.

Beginning in Albertville, host city of the 1992 Winter Olympics, the race covers just over 67 miles of terrain. Nearly 30 miles will be spent slogging up the four categorized climbs packed into the short stage. More than most other Tour de France stages this year, Wednesday’s course is a race of attrition.

The first seven miles climb 670 feet through the Alpine foothills to an early intermediate sprint at Villard Sur-Doron. Almost immediately afterward looms the 7.7-mile climb up the Montée de Bisanne. With 10-percent pitches consistently over the last mile and a half, it is justifiably rated beyond category.

So too is the next climb, the 7.8-mile Col du Pré. The final half-mile tapers off to a gentle 4.5-percent pitch, but the previous mile-plus averages 11-percent pitches. And the Col du Pré leads right in to the second-category Cormet de Roseland. The Roseland takes riders on another 3.5 miles of climbing at an average of 6.5 percent grade.

Then there is the summit finish to La Rosière. Rated as a first-category climb, the road to the ski resort is less steep than the earlier climbs in the stage. But at nearly 11 miles long, it is the longest of the four climbs. It is a metronomic climb that will test the finishing strength of the general classification contenders. At this midpoint stage of the 2018 Tour de France, you won’t want to miss the action on Wednesday morning.

How to watch the stage

Here is how to catch Stage 11 at the Tour de France live on July 18. The action from Albertville to La Rosière will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network. Live streaming of the action is available on NBC Sports Gold or FuboTV.

• Date: Wednesday, July 18, 2018
• Start time: 7:50 a.m. ET
• Start: Albertville, France
• Finish: La Rosière, France
• TV Info: NBC Sports Network
• Live Stream: NBC Sports Gold, Fubo.TV

It looks to be a warm, dry day into the mountains. There will be few clouds to block the sun, but temperatures will remain lower as the riders gain altitude. The thermometer should top out somewhere south of 80 degrees over the course of the stage as the elevation gain mitigates the sunshine.

Next: Tour de France 2018 route breakdown and highlights

If a general classification contender is going to stamp his foot on the 2018 Tour de France in the Alps, this is the stage to do so. Like the climb to Sestriere that launched Lance Armstrong to his first victory, the finish at La Rosière offers a chance for the strongest contenders to separate from the Tour pretenders. We will almost certainly see the yellow jersey change hands on Wednesday as a favorite steps forward.