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Similar to stage 9, the day could go to a sprinter or a break. All of the stage is ridden at over 1,000 meters with climbs that will make it hard to control the race. Peter Sagan won the last time the Tour came to Albi in 2013, it would be three years until the Slovakian would win another Tour stage. The GC favorites will be counting on their team mates to be good samaritans.
Unfortunately the rules don't allow for real good samaritans: Simon Clarke's kindness to Richie Porte was laudable but the Giro rules are clear
Winner: Wout van Aert!!!!
Built from 1880 and commissioned from 1888, the viaduct of Garabit radiates with red as it crosses the river Truyère and shines brightly at night, as a mirage from the Arabian Nights. Conceived by engineer Léon Boyer and Gustave Eiffel, Garabit remains one of the most remarkable structures ever built. This 122-m high and 564-m long building, with a monumental arch span of 165 metres, was in its time the largest metal structure in the world. It was also and above all a real laboratory for the construction of the Eiffel Tower. A testimony of the audacity of 19th century builders and a fine example of the technology of metal structures assembled by rivets, this aging masterpiece does not pale in comparison with the neighbouring viaduct of Millau.
And from the 2018 Tour Touristique:
The Millau Viaduct is a cable-stayed bridge that spans the gorge valley of the Tarn near Millau in southern France. It is the tallest bridge in the world, with one mast's summit at 343.0 metres (1,125.3 ft) above the base of the structure (23 m taller than the Eiffel Tower). In a Franco-British partnership, it was designed by the English architect Sir Norman Foster and French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux, and as of May 2017 it is the twenty-second highest bridge deck in the world, being 270 metres (890 ft) between the road deck and the ground below.
The cost of construction was approximately € 394 million and was built over three years. The bridge has been consistently ranked as one of the great engineering achievements of all time.
Elia Viviani
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I had never heard before of Garabit viaduct, it's always astonishing what they were able to do at that time.
Not surprised to read that Eiffel was one of the designers.
It may sound stupid, but when I first saw the Eiffel tower in person, and part of the design projects, what struck me the most was thinking that all the calculations had to be done by hand. As used as we are to computers, thinking that that there was no way to simulate , check or verify your work before actually building everything, gave me even more respect for the mind of such geniuses.
Back to the race, I'll return to my pre-Tour sprint favourite: Groenewegen.
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Yeah, I never heard of it either until I did my work for this.
They sure had it a lot more difficult back then; I wonder how many times they did the same calculations before being sure they were right.
Fun fact: the term computer used to refer to a person doing calculations, often women.
And race-wise; I think Groenewegen can't be beat in a straight sprint but there's obviously still crashes, bad positioning, etc. that can stop him.
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Caleb Ewan
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Thank You
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Enjoy!
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