[Closed] TdF Stage 5 - A Stage Riddled With Dangers [Spoilers]

hope this photo is accurate 😀

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Getting things into perspective, it is a lot shorter than P-R, and only 15k of cobbles as opposed to 50k (is it enough to blow the stage apart?) Should still be a pretty thrilling stage though and I reckon almost certainly a change in yellow.

OPQS will be well up for this one. Cancellara and Sagan too. Be interesting to see if some of the classics guys who have a GC rider in their team will be let off the leash (Greg VA at 2 seconds down could be a contender, and will Belkin be too busy looking after Mollema?)

Good to see Froome looking ok...

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Edit...

BTW: the last wet Paris-Roubaix was in 2002, 190 starters, 41 finishers.

Not really surprising in a one day race though, if it's grim and you've got no chance of a decent placing, then just quit. Bit like the last worlds really. Won't happen in a GT.

I'm wondering if this photo is going to be accurate...

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Might need to fit some mudguards.

Sky win the boring kit award !

Looking forward to today, have to believe there will be some risks taken and people being tested.

[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/6296489 ]forecast !!!![/url] 😯

Apparently some cobbles have been cut? Can't seem to find verification though.

Yes, apparently they've taken out sections 5 and 7.

And just tweeted by Contador..

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I think I'd want a mountain bike for this stage, or at least a cross bike with mudguards..

Heavy rain forecast I see 😉

Yes, apparently they've taken out sections 5 and 7.

Pussies.

Peleton to neutralise it and let the classics boys fight it out for the stage?

You wouldn't get rain/mud like that in Yorkshire!

bit daft really to turn the race into a lottery

The GQ boys may just agree to just get through it and elt others race as that makes sense for them all

Yes, apparently they've taken out sections 5 and 7.

Down to 7 sections and 13k of cobbles then.

Peleton to neutralise it and let the classics boys fight it out for the stage?

Be interesting to see as some of them are well up on GC. Can't see Astana working to keep Nibali in yellow.

Need a tough bike today - so Giant are getting the Defys out, they tweeted:

The team will ride the @GiantBicycle Defy from Paris-Roubaix today, making it a total of 63 bikes taken to the #TDF!

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They will probably wish they packed a couple of these:

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2200 bottles and bars... That's crazy.

and these

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It will be crashtastic. At least at P-R the field has thinned a bit on the Pave, but here there will be almost a full field hitting the Pave. I've ridden a PR sportive in rain like that. Off the crown lurks all sorts of hidden dangers in the puddles.

Anyway for Froome, with a possible stress fractured wrist, what could possibly go wrong?

"The GQ boys may just agree to just get through it and elt others race as that makes sense for them all"

There are no time gaps at the moment.

The GC guys can't let a break go too far, they wil have to ride at some point.

Any break will be caught before the cobbles with all the GC teams at the head of the field in a race to be first on tho the pave. As G said last night "last man standing".

What you've all been waiting for...

peteimpreza - Member
There are no time gaps at the moment.

The GC guys can't let a break go too far, they wil have to ride at some point.

Coming into the mountains, there aren't many who will fancy this stage who will also be up there with the main contenders when things get steep. Kwiatkowski maybe...

Cobble sections being removed from race I hear?

Still think they may try and call truce and let the rider and nto luck decide

Perhaps someone decides to test Froomes wrist

Cobble sections being removed from race I hear?

Someone hasn't read the thread. 😀

checking in, mornin' all

(love July)

Two cobbled sectors removed from the route
Due to bad weather and road conditions, two cobbled sectors have been removed from stage 5. They are sector 7, the 1,000-metres stretch of cobbles at Mons-en-Pévèle, and sector 5, which is the 1,400-metres long portion from Orchies to Beuvry-la-Forêt. It takes the total of pavés sections down to 13 kilometres but the race will remain highly attractive!

If only we'd known that 44 minutes ago bigjim! 😉

What channel is it on? I can't see it on ITV!

Also, using my dream team as a guide to who will crash / retire next it's a straight fight between Cancellara going too hard or one of the three remaining team member I actually have left!

Spartacus - "I've already been asked if I'll ask for the stage to be neutralised if it rains but this is different. I know that it’s not a nice stage for Froome, Contador, Nibali and even our GC [general classification] riders. But my reply is: so why not take out the climbs to make it easier for us? That never happens, so it's only right we race on the cobbles. It’s a risk for everyone, including me, but we've got to live with it and calculate the risks involved."

Quite right too. If they don't like the cobbles they could've stayed at home.

What channel is it on? I can't see it on ITV!

It doesn't start for another hour..

It doesn't start for another hour..

I see, got a bit ahead of myself there and couldn't see it on the guide. Going to try and catch it on the sly at work.

The GQ boys may just agree to just get through it and elt others race as that makes sense for them all

Not really. If Froome is crocked then this may be the opertunity for Nibbles or Contador to put some time into him. Garmin might also choose to light it up as they did on Sunday. Today could give someone a lead to defend who otherwise could climb well enough to limit losses but would have no chance of gaining time in the mountains.

If Froome's wrist is bad I bet Brailsford wishes he could sub in Wiggins. He could have put mins into Contador on a day like today.

Will the teams use a different tyre for wet or cobbled stages?

What channel is it on? I can't see it on ITV!

[url= http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/cyksqg/tour-de-france-live--2014-stage-five ]2pm on ITV4.[/url]

[url= http://tv.eurosport.co.uk/tvschedule.shtml ]12:45pm on Eurosport.[/url]

Being lazy as I know the stage timings are on the official site but when will they hit the cobbles ? Have a meeting 2:30 till 4 🙁

Will the teams use a different tyre for wet or cobbled stages?

Yeah usually, probably see a fair amount of 25mm tyres around, and ones with a bit more tread.

If Froome's wrist is bad I bet Brailsford wishes he could sub in Wiggins. He could have put mins into Contador on a day like today.

What? How?

The GQ boys may just agree to just get through it and elt others race as that makes sense for them all

GQ?

Anyway, I can't see it - Nibali will fancy anything remotely technical I reckon as his best chance of gaining time over AC or CF. Truces only work if everyone agrees to them and history says that it's unlikely that their interests align enough here for that to happen.

At least once GC contender's chances to be over after today I reckon. Who is the real question.

BTW, they're on 28-30mm tyres these days for PR and that's what they'll be using today - they're basically on full PR setups.

RealMan - Member

"If Froome's wrist is bad I bet Brailsford wishes he could sub in Wiggins. He could have put mins into Contador on a day like today."

What? How?

Because he's Lord Wiggo of bikes!

Will people stop going on about wiggins as a plan B!!

i really think brailsford would love a guy who needs a flatish parcours and has no form on the team right now!

I would love wiggins to have ridden as a thakyou and goodbye for the british stages but if froome goes out brailsford will turn to Porte, or thomas etc. etc.

they may have a pop at him but they run the risk of crashing themselves if they go for it

They just need to get the Sky Train rolling to get into the sections first, hold a line and make others try and overtake. I say that with vast* experience of racing and cobbles.

*zero, except for watching...

Suspect we'll see the GC teams at the front controlling the pace and trying to keep their boys out of trouble. Will be tricky to pull for the whole race given how many teams will wan to do that and how narrow a lot of the roads are.

Breakaway(s) with the classics boys to win? Spartacus, Vanmarcke, Chavanel, one of the OMQS riders? With the peloton a few minutes down keeping themselves safe?

Chaos and mayhem here we come - question today is not if you crash- the question is only how often and how hard you crash. Gladiators.

Jens twitter 🙂

Surely the charge for Arenberg will be on, GC or not, its just safer at the front

Crosswinds on the first 50km or so before they get to the cobbles could play a massive part too.

Contador surprised everyone last time by being OK on the cobbles (OK it was dry)

Froome probably rode surfaces worse and for longer in his youth.

Nibbles has a dropper post (!)

I don't reckon in an uneventful trip over the cobbles any of those are going to loose much on any of the others.

However, the randomness factor is key. If someone is unlucky with a tyre/mechanical/painful wrist/crash and the others see a chance, it's going to be pain time.

Anyway Sparticus ftw

Froome has ridden P-R too, but 7/8 years ago (IIRC) and pulled out after crashing into the back of a commissaire's car.

and Frank Schleck to fall off and abandon

I somehow have the feeling I'm about to be part of something epic and historical. A day I might never forget. Better make it a good memory!

Koen de Kort twitter

is their any eventuality that hasn't been covered above?

is their any eventuality that hasn't been covered above?

We haven't actually talked about the possibility of Kittel winning (again).

It is flat enough..

[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01wbkdy ]rob hayles bespoke paris-roubaix[/url]

Will the teams use a different tyre for wet or cobbled stages?

Yeah usually, probably see a fair amount of 25mm tyres around, and ones with a bit more tread.

Most of the peleton are actually on 25mm tyres for every stage now. More aero and less rolling resistance. For cobbles they will be on 28/30mm and 75PSI ish.

If Froome's wrist is bad I bet Brailsford wishes he could sub in Wiggins. He could have put mins into Contador on a day like today.

What? How?

Well obviously the how is impossible hence the "wishes" part of the statement.

But Brailsfords unflinching attitude that maxmising the probability of plan A suceeding is the best route to sucess is all very sound logic. He explained it very well on the latest Cycling Podcast. But it is only sound logic up until the point plan A goes up shit creek and the probablity of sucess drops to zero.

So before the tour Chris Froome's (and therefore Team Sky's) probability of winning the tour is increased if Wiggins isn't in the team so he isn't in the team. But right now, if Froome has broken his wrist and can't ride the cobbles properly then Team Sky's probablity of winning the tour would be higher if BW was in the race. Someone who was Top 10 in Roubaix could put mins into a skinny climber on wet cobbles.

And BW not being in form is a red herring. If he was selected for the tour he would have been on form.

So leaving him out may have been the right choice 5 days ago when the decision had to be made but if Brailsfor knew then that CF would fall off on stage 4 he might have made a different decision.

We haven't actually talked about the possibility of Kittel winning (again).

Hope not, swapped him out for Spartacus in my Road CC team.

"There are four possibilities on this stage," says two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador. "Either nothing happens, or you lose time, or your rivals lose time, or you go home in a crash."

The Spaniard adds: "I'm not scared, but I have a lot of respect for the pave."

Not really. If Froome is crocked then this may be the opertunity for Nibbles or Contador to put some time into him.

one can only assume contador is baby jake and froome is a hamsternaut

RealMan, loving your posts....this is my essential TdF reading..cheers fella!

🙂 😆 🙂

Martin has got himself in the break... Perhaps to set up Terpstra?

sagan for yellow

Cancellara is the obvious choice for this so i'll go for him. By the end of the day I'm putting Sagan in Yellow and Nibali to gain time over the other gc contenders. But anything could happen. Looking forward to it. Hope I get to see it.

contador is baby jake and froome is a hamster nautical

Goggi gi yaa!

Froome crashed...

froome down again !!!! they seem to have the hammer down very early

Some guys there testing the tarmac again.

From the BBC website:

"Earlier chatted to Eddy Merckx, who basically said cobbles are part of riding and that the peloton should just get on with it."

That's them told then.

taking the piss a bit running right behind the team car

Tony Martin for the win. Solo break.

Looks a grim old day out here. Froome is keeping those Rapha tailors busy.

Holy s**t this is with 50m to go!

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And Martin has crashed too...

sky boys look well nervy out there bringing Froome back

Well I will be very surprised if Froome doesn't come off again on the Pave, this turning into a right calamity!

Froome back in the peloton, the break down to 6 riders.. Not sure if the break is going to get caught, or if they're just going to crash/have a mechanical one by one until there's no one left?

#whereswiggo

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the entire peleton or just the breakaway ...signing out this is turning into one stage to watch when I get in