2014 Tour de France, Stage 5: Ypres – Arenberg Porte du Hainaut: 156km

[Dazed and Confused]

Secteur 2, Hornaing, is a five star secteur in Paris-Roubaix, isn't it?

Usually 3 stars.

 

[ILovecycling]

Secteur 2, Hornaing, is a five star secteur in Paris-Roubaix, isn't it?

Usually 3 stars.

4 stars in recent years,via cobble expert Netserk
of course confirmed from official sources

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Usually 3 stars.

Right thanks. It was four stars this year, though, I found out.

 

[MartinGT]

Firstly, can I say a superb preview of this stage, thanks ILovecycling.

Secondly, I have a serious hard on over the stage today, I cannot wait for it to get going!

Main GC man to lose a lot of time? Froome dawg out?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Ugh, terrible weather forecast. And those cobbles posted earlier look horrific. Please everyone stay safe

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Karma could hit Cancellara today if everyone else wants to neutralize the stage

In sincerely hope that they won't neutralize it though. I want rain, mud, chaos, anarchy, punctures, crashes, winners and losers.

 

[Miburo]

Ugh, terrible weather forecast. And those cobbles posted earlier look horrific. Please everyone stay safe

Sadly enough you know there will be crashes, i'll eat my hat if everyone stays safe

 

[coimbrawu]

some pic from twitter

at least there will be mud everywhere...

 

[pastronef]

I fear for Froome after his tumble and sore wrist. If he loses time, I hope, I pray at least Talansky can stay up front with Summie Langeveld and Ramunas.

 

[Fight.The.Power]

Weather for the finish line looks dry . . . .

http://www.tameteo.com/meteo_Saint+Amand+les+Eaux-Europe-France-Nord--1-25346.html

Wind will be the biggest problem but will also help dry the cobbles out quicker but will remain muddy.

Of course, as has already been pointed out - things can change !!

 

[LaFlorecita]

some pic from twitter

at least there will be mud everywhere...

That looks perfect for a slippery crashfest. Love it

 

[LaFlorecita]

Sadly enough you know there will be crashes, i'll eat my hat if everyone stays safe

Yeah it's just wishful thinking on my part

 

[el_leleu]

No rain for now where I live (6km from the first cobbles section). A lot of clouds and wind though.

 

[Fight.The.Power]

No rain for now where I live (6km from the first cobbles section). A lot of clouds and wind though.

Ah great - please keep us posted !

 

[ILovecycling]

Firstly, can I say a superb preview of this stage, thanks ILovecycling.

Secondly, I have a serious hard on over the stage today, I cannot wait for it to get going!

Main GC man to lose a lot of time? Froome dawg out?

Thanks
To your question,probably 'outsiders' from my preview.Terrible bikehandlers or gc man with bad team (Rui Costa for example).
Of course it will be a lottery,even a good rider can have a puncture or crash on wet cobbles.I think with this kind of weather prediction there is not objective stage prediction

 

[veji11]

to me the first 50 ks should already be quite an indication : long straight roads going north than south, with westerly winds up to 50ks/h..... This is the place where echelons can happen because later the road keeps on twisting and is in quite heavily urban areas.

 

[el_leleu]

Spoke too soon - it started pounding really hard just now

 

[Netserk]

Spoke too soon - it started pounding really hard just now

Great!

 

[Pricey_sky]

Got the day off today so will be doing a few little jobs this morning so my afternoon is free to watch some hell!

Without Cav I have a feeling OPQS will go mental here and Kwia will win putting minutes into GC guys.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

to me the first 50 ks should already be quite an indication : long straight roads going north than south, with westerly winds up to 50ks/h..... This is the place where echelons can happen because later the road keeps on twisting and is in quite heavily urban areas.

Cross winds would help a very strong experienced team here.
Imagine 3 -4 groups fighting before we hit the first sector.
It would setup the stage in a fantastic way.

Anyway, must keep my expectations lower.....

 

[MartinGT]

Got the day off today so will be doing a few little jobs this morning so my afternoon is free to watch some hell!

Without Cav I have a feeling OPQS will go mental here and Kwia will win putting minutes into GC guys.

I hope so, Ze Panzer smashing it in the cross winds.

I have a feeling Boom will do something today

 

[Jagartrott]

Don't know why everyone seems to think OPQS has a really good cobbles team here. They have only one real specialist, Terpstra, and Kwiatkowski who may do well. They left most of their classics team at home though. I expect more from Belkin.

 

[jens_attacks]

Spoke too soon - it started pounding really hard just now

hehe keep us updated plz from time to time. this can be an unforgettable day

 

[Eclipse]

Got the day off today so will be doing a few little jobs this morning so my afternoon is free to watch some hell!

Without Cav I have a feeling OPQS will go mental here and Kwia will win putting minutes into GC guys.

good stuff good stuff. The nice thing about being self employed is I can easily watch my cycling...but the bad thing is that I then have to make it all up at odd hours =(

Would love to see a coordinated OPQS move. They can do so much to bring the rest of the race to life.

 

[ILovecycling]

The good news is,that there is a massive chance for echelons from km 30 up to 1st secteur (70.km) - perfect tail/crosswind up to 40km/h .We can have a groups of 40,50 riders,so it should be safer.I think a lot of DS will urge their teams to split peloton cuz they know it will be a lot safer then.