Electric day on the Tour de France: the peloton led by Wout van Aert, winner in yellow the day before, took the start Wednesday at 1:59 p.m. in a 5th stage connected to cobblestone sectors between Lille and Arenberg.
The yellow jersey, like the leaders, will have to avoid falls and punctures on this 157-kilometre route that looks like Paris-Roubaix, as it is dotted with 19.4 kilometers of cobblestones, including four usual sectors for the queen of the classics.
“The big difference is the distance”, observes the sporting director of Israel Premier Tech, the Canadian Steve Bauer, beaten by half a gut by Eddy Planckaert in Roubaix in 1990. The course displays a hundred kilometers less and only a third of the cobblestone distance of the Roubais monument.
Still, “all those less than a minute behind in the general classification can hope for something”, as recalled before the start Mathieu van der Poel pointing to only 38 seconds behind his rival Wout van Aert.
The Belgian, possibly torn between defending his golden fabric – or even winning the stage – and protecting his leaders, will be one of the keys to this stage with drawers.
Very different objectives coexist within the peloton at the heart of this always very nervous first week on the Big Loop.
The last sector, from the Gibus bridge, finishing five kilometers from the line will be strategic to win at Arenberg which is hosting a Tour finish for the third time.
The successor to Norwegian Thor Hushovd (2010) and Dutchman Lars Boom (2014) will be known around 5:29 p.m. (timetable calculated at an average of 45 km/h). The name of the first beaten favorites may also be.
