Tuesday's opening trek through the Alps during stage 10 of the 2018 Tour de France included a stretch of gravel road leading to the Plateau des Glières, some 60 kilometres in to the day's 158.5km stage.
Reminiscent of gravel sectors in one-day races such as Strade Bianche and the Tro Bro Léon, and in keeping with the current popularity for amateur 'gravel grinder' mass-start events, the stage between Annecy and Le Grand-Bornand featured 1.8km of rolling, dusty gravel that added another unusual obstacle following the stage 9 trip to Roubaix over 15 sectors of cobblestones.
The Plateau des Glières is where 121 Résistance fighters died in March 1944 during a German assault, according to the Cyclingnews stage preview, and a massive national monument commemorates the tragic event. But stage 10 was more of a tribute to those heroes of World War II than an exercise in trying to see a rider turn the Tour upside down, as Chris Froome (Team Sky) did on the gravel roads of the Colle delle Finestre at this year's Giro d'Italia.
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Indeed, of the GC contenders, only Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First-Drapac) fell on hard times, losing 2:36 to his main rivals on the stage, and even that was more due to the injuries the Colombian suffered in a crash on the stage 9 cobbles.
Click or slide through the gallery above for a glimpse of Tuesday's action.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/a-gravel-grinder-at-the-tour-de-france-gallery
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