Cycling: The Tour de France is known for its tough mountain stages, gripping time trials and thrilling bunch sprints. From time to time the organizations also build in a stage with cobblestones. But it hasn't been as intense as this year for a long time. The field of drivers will be shaken up over 20 kilometers tomorrow before the rest day. In our Tour de France preview we take a look at the first major highlight of the tour.
Falls & breakdowns: The great fear of the "mother of all classics"
A mega event awaits us tomorrow at the Tour de France. On this highlight stage over 156,5 kilometers it goes almost perfectly flat from the citadel of Arras to Roubaix. That sounds relatively boring if you've never heard of One-day classic Paris-Roubaix heard. This race is considered "Mother of all classics" and is known by the designation "Hell of the North". Of course, the professionals in the Tour de France don't have to complete the entire route of the classic, but there are plenty on the program 21,7 kilometers on 15 pavé sections. It starts with the first sector after 47,5 kilometers. Since the sprint classification in Wasnes-Au-Bac is due after only two pavé sectors, it is probably still within reach for top sprinter Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors). Assuming that there isn't already a fall beforehand. The risk of accidents and material damage is of course enormous on the way to Roubaix. This makes it very difficult to forecast in our Tour de France preview.
Tony Martin (Katusha-Alpecin):
“It's the toughest cobblestone stage of the Tour in a long time. I expect large time gaps between the team captains.”
Pure chaos: Just don't lose the Tour de France
The finish line is expected between 16:00 p.m. and 16:30 p.m. With 70,0 kilometers to go, sector #12 on the Pavé de Warlaing à Brillon finally enters the decisive phase. The section is 2.000 meters long and is followed by the 2.400 meter long 13th sector. After that, it all happens in quick succession and there is no longer a chance to catch your breath. Because the peloton not only from Classic Specialists persists, great chaos will erupt. Especially the featherweight climber will be shaken up on the cobblestones and will struggle to follow the best. Therefore, the sentence applies today "You can't win the Tour de France, but you can lose it" like no other day. In 2014, two falls on a pavé stage saw Chris Froome lose all hope of winning the overall. Vincenzo Nibali secured this back then, also because he made the strongest impression on cobblestones and was able to gain time on his opponents.
Athletic director Andrew Klier (EF Education):
"Teams with a classification rider and a potential stage winner have to consider how much the stage win is worth to them compared to the overall standings."
Athletic director Enrico Poitschke (Bora-hansgrohe):
"Should it happen that there is a driver with Peter who we consider dangerous and whom we do not want to help, it may also happen that Peter does not drive on"
Sagan & Van Avermaet vs. Quick-Step Floors
After the bonus sprint in Wannehain, there is 17 kilometers to go in the penultimate pavé sector. The well-known Camphin-en-Pévèle section is 1.800 meters long and is followed by the 1.400 meter long Willems à Hem sector. After that, it's only about seven kilometers to the finish. Anyone who has already driven Paris-Roubaix has clear advantages over everyone else. With Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) 2018, greg van avermaet (BMC) 2017, Matthew Hayman (Mitchelton-Scott) 2016, John Degenkolb (Trek Segafredo) 2015 and Niki Terpstra (Quick-Step Floors) In 2014, the winners of the last five events are there. The Quick-Step Floors team will dominate the race. With Philippe Gilbert, Yves Lampaert and Niki Terpstra, the Belgian team has three candidates for victory in its own ranks. While the German fans are hoping for John Degenkolb, Peter Sagan and Greg Van Avermaet are usually mentioned as the top favourites. It will be questionable whether the people concerned will be given free travel or will have to work for their captains. Unfortunately, we cannot clear up this uncertainty in our Tour de France preview either.
John Degenkolb (Trek Segafredo):
"This is a stage in which I'm obviously going to win."
greg van avermaet (BMC):
“It's spectacular to win here. I hope I can keep the yellow jersey until Sunday.”
Velomotion prognosis: Sagan pulls Majka with him and wins in Roubaix
In cycling, no race is won without the right team tactics, which will be especially true for tomorrow's stage. In our Tour de France preview we bet on world champions Peter Sagan. The Slovak won Paris-Roubaix this year and, in addition to his skills on cobblestones, impresses above all with his bike control. Therefore he is the perfect pilot for Rafal Mayka. The Pole can benefit from Sagan's strength and gain time on his opponents. When it comes to winning the stage, Bora-hansgrohe will give Peter Sagan a free ride, because after all, the green jersey is also a big goal for the German team. will also convince Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida). Presumably the Italian will be in a brilliant position after this stage and get himself back into contention for overall victory. How himself Chris Froome (Sky), Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) and all the other climbers will beat, a lot will depend on their teammates and the necessary amount of luck.
***Peter Sagan
**Greg Van Avermaet, Niki Terpstra
* Philippe Gilbert, John Degenkolb, Oliver Naesen