Tour De France 2015: Stage 11 Route, Distance, Live Stream and TV Schedule

Chris Froome and Team Sky detonated during Tuesday's 2015 Tour de France action, and going into Stage 11 of this year's race, the 2013 champion is in full control of the yellow jersey. With another day of climbing on the schedule, more fireworks are expected. NBC Sports and ITV will provide full coverage of Wednesday's stage.

Fresh off a rest day, Team Sky rode the peloton into obliteration on Tuesday, and there won't be any respite for the likes of Vincenzo Nibali and Alberto Contador on Wednesday. With the Tourmalet awaiting the pack, it should be another brutal stage.

Don't expect another incredible attack from Froome, however. The finale seems better suited for a long flight, and with Tuesday's shocking stage still fresh in the minds of the riders, the peloton may decide to take it easy during Stage 11. Here's a look at the upcoming stage.

Stage 11: Pau—Cauterets Vallee de Saint-Savin, 188 kilometres

Date: Wednesday, July 15

Profile: High Mountains

TV Info: NBC Sports (U.S.), ITV4 (UK)

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S.), ITV Player (UK)

For a look at the Stage 11 route and others throughout the competition, check out the Guardian’s interactive guide.

Standings

Pos	Rider	Time
1	Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky	35:56:09
2	Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:02:52
3	Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team	0:03:09
4	Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team	0:04:01
5	Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky	0:04:03
6	Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo	0:04:04
7	Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal	0:04:33
8	Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo	0:04:35
9	Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin	0:06:12
10	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team	0:06:57

Pos	Rider	Points
1	Andre Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal	225
2	Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo	222
3	Mark Cavendish (GBr) Etixx - Quick-Step	172
4	John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin	169
5	Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar	108
6	Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky	81
7	Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team	73
8	Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal	70
9	Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx - Quick-Step	63
10	Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team	53

Pos	Rider	Points
1	Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky	51
2	Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky	40
3	Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team	32
4	Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo	28
5	Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team	24
6	Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky	20
7	Adam Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdge	16
8	Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar	12
9	Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal	8
10	Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) MTN - Qhubeka	4

Preview

The Col du Tourmalet is one of the most iconic climbs in the Tour's long history, a favourite of cycling fanatics all over the world. It deservedly got a spot in Global Cycling Network's list of Epic Climbs, and even former professionals like Daniel Lloyd will struggle during the long, steep climb:

All of this may sound like music to the ears of fans hoping for more attacks and drama on Wednesday, but Stage 11 should actually be a quiet one. The top favourites should still be reeling from the massive blow Team Sky landed on Tuesday, and Thursday's climb toward Plateau de Beille is more likely to draw the attention of Contador and Nairo Quintana.

The Tourmalet is a fierce climb, but Wednesday's stage will finish at Cauterets, which is a comparatively easy ascent. It's not well suited to make up time in the general classification, so expect the favourites to be relatively quiet.

Former Tour winner Greg LeMond explains it best, via Cycling News:

"

I don’t envisage this stage causing major damage. A lot of guys will have an eye on Plateau de Beille the next day, knowing how hard that finish is. Having said that, in 2014 I didn’t think a whole lot would happen at Hautacam and I turned out to be wrong. This is a hard way to go up the Tourmalet and an incredibly fast descent down the other side. It could also be quite slippy - at least it was when I went down here last year. There’s not much recovery at all before the last climb so a group or riders who go over the Tourmalet summit with a decent gap could win the stage.

"

Froome already has a massive lead in the general classification, so Team Sky will gladly give some of the less heralded riders the opportunity to break away on the Tourmalet and battle it out for the stage win. The attack may even come sooner, at the Col d'Aspin, as riders position themselves for the polka-dot jersey, given to the King of the Mountains.

As for Froome's main rivals, expect them to shift their focus to Thursday's stage and the Alps. The Col d'Aspin and Col du Tourmalet can be killers if you have bad legs, and getting dropped at this stage of the Tour could be lethal. Contador suffered such a fate on Tuesday, and he explained how it felt, via CafeRoubaix:

Contador, Nibali, Quintana and Tejay Van Garderen need to gather themselves, first and foremost, and have their top helpers carry them through Wednesday's stage. Froome is running away with the Tour at this point, but the race is far from over.

There's always the risk of mechanical failure or a devastating crash, and in the past, Froome has been vulnerable in the Alps. Quintana easily dropped him at Alpe d'Huez in 2013, and the schedule looks eerily similar in 2015:

Froome looks ridiculously strong in 2015, but the Tour is a marathon, not a sprint. You can't win the Tour de France in the Pyrenees, and all it takes is one bad day in the Alps to lose the race.

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