The 2014 Tour de France rolls on with Stage 5, and things are set to get a little bumpy. It’s another flat stage, but one that features a stretch of cobblestones.
Tour de France 2014, Stage 5: Route, TV schedule and more
Even though it is flat, the fifth stage will provide a tough test for riders.
Doug Pensinger
The fifth stage begins in Ypres, Belgium before heading northeast and then winding south back into France. It ends in Arenberg Porte du Hainaut, covering 155.5 kilometers. Vincenzo Nibali will try to hold on to his two-second general classification lead and avoid trouble on the rough cobblestoned road.
via LeTour.com
Here’s a look at the stage profile, which doesn’t feature any major climbs.
via LeTour.com
From Podium Cafe:
Stage glory is probably the subtext for this stage, because the real significance will be the test of the GC contenders. You can pretty much guarantee that a couple of them will have trouble. Hopefully not of the crashing variety, but if the weather is bad, then there’s that too. More like the falling back variety, where it’s just really damn difficult to hold wheels on this stuff. The smart teams -- or at least the ones with enough resources -- have a cobbles ace to pace their main guy to safety.
Behind Nibali is a logjam of 20 riders who are two seconds off the lead.
TV: NBCSN
Time: 7:30 a.m. ET
Map: Click here
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