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

[Arredondo]

And this is a pic of sector 2, Ennevelin

 

[ChewbaccaD]

Let the cobbled specialists race, none of them are a real threat to GC even if they take 5+ minutes. If the GC guys are that worried then form a group and come in together with a few riders from each team herding them through.

So full of "YES!"

 

[LaFlorecita]

Grow a set.

Honestly, I'd rather not.

 

[indianfanboy]

The GC guys should think about gaining time on their rivals it could be crucial

if one of the top 4(Contador,Froome,Nibali,Valverde) gains 2 or 3 min then he might walk away with the tour in the bag after this stage

 

[Fight.The.Power]

Honestly, I'd rather not.

Nice answer !

 

[cineteq]

Methinks Belkin will destroy the race today.

Vanmarcke is living in a parallel universe where riding over wet cobbles is fun
Boom is a former cyclocross world champion
Belkin are good in echelons
Mollema, the GC rider they have to protect, likes bad weather too.

+1 Yup, but will it work in practice? Drooling.

 

[ChewbaccaD]

Honestly, I'd rather not.

That was self-evident.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

And this is a pic of sector 2, Ennevelin

again, very raceable. Good vision, clear path, but of course it pays to be in front on PR cobbles. Always.

Wheelsuckers have only limited advantage and sometime there is a downside as they can't see the line.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

There's also a difference in mentality between the GC riders

Mollema said even before the Tour that the cobble stage is a good stage to gain time with the team he has.
Van den Broeck said that he has afraid of the stage and only hopes to stay upright and stay in front..

If you're already afraid.. well most of the time you'll have a bad time. Even though Van den Broeck won't lose much because he's from Flanders so he should have the cobble-riding genes

I think Contador and Talansky will do well too. Froome not so much

 

[willbick]

Is it crazy to suggest riders could wear some protection e.g. Knee and elbow pads like MTB riders

 

[whittashau]

The race shouldn't be neutralised. The idea is against the notion of sport

 

[infeXio]

The Danish cycling blog Veloropa is now quoting a journalist from a major Danish newspaper, saying that sectors 8 and 9 are being considered as well.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Is it crazy to suggest riders could wear some protection e.g. Knee and elbow pads like MTB riders

They should that would be fun to see

 

[LosBrolin]

 

[willbick]

They should that would be fun to see

Imagine Froome coming out of the Sky bus totally padded up!!

 

[ChewbaccaD]

The Danish cycling blog Veloropa is now quoting a journalist from a major Danish newspaper, saying that sectors 8 and 9 are being considered as well.

Yep, can't allow the possibility of any major time gaps to open. Gotta keep the divas happy.

 

[deValtos]

From AC's twitter:

Assuming they actually *race* the sections left in I think it still has potential to be as or even more exciting than the unchanged route in good conditions.

 

[Vino's Mum]

Is it crazy to suggest riders could wear some protection e.g. Knee and elbow pads like MTB riders

Yes.

Unless you're...

...then it's: "Hey, where can I get some of these pad things?"

 

[ILovecycling]

Last weather update online on the First page.If you want to look.
Looks more positive,precipitation is dropping.Still cobbles will be wet as fvck.
Wind same as in the morning.

 

[willbick]

Imagine the crowds, the selfies, the carnage, if this stage was in yorkshire!!

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Is it crazy to suggest riders could wear some protection e.g. Knee and elbow pads like MTB riders

soon you will be suggesting helmets too...

 

[murali]

Presumably exactly the same, except stay on the D953 after Orchies to avoid Sector 5; and D917 before Bersee to avoid Sector 7.

ty.
so it might mean reduction in distance

 

[LaFlorecita]

Imagine Froome coming out of the Sky bus totally padded up!!

That would be funny as hell

From AC's twitter:

Assuming they actually *race* the sections left in I think it still has potential to be as or even more exciting than the unchanged route in good conditions.

This might be one of the cancelled sectors

 

[Fight.The.Power]

Yes.

Unless you're...

...then it's: "Hey, where can I get some of these pad things?"

Now we know why his form is suffering if he wakes up with a spliff in his hand every day !

Quote should be "Hey man, you got any king-size skins ? "

 

[cineteq]

2 cobbled sectors scratched off due to bad weather, but which ones?