Tour de France 2022: Cobbles on Stage 5 will be pivotal to General Classification hopes, says Robbie McEwen

Surviving the cobbles on Stage 5 will be “pivotal” for those hunting the yellow jersey at the Tour de France, according to 12-time stage winner Robbie McEwen, who predicts misery for some GC hopefuls. While it will not throw up the same drama as cobbled classic Paris-Roubaix – the stage finishes in Arenberg but without first visiting its famous trench – Wednesday’s stage still promises drama and incident as 11 sections of pavé await. Ad/> In total, around 20km of cobbles must be navigated by the peloton with punctures and crashes a near-certainty.

Tour de FranceWarner Bros. Discovery Sports revolutionise coverage for Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes27/06/2022 AT 08:50 Those hoping to dislodge two-time champion Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) know this is an opportunity to attack – although only a handful of riders will feel comfortable on the terrain, including cyclo-cross stars Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers). “The Roubaix stage, as we'll call it, is going to be pivotal to so many riders with GC hopes,” said Eurosport expert McEwen.

“And we see it every time that the race has gone to the cobbles it's counted a number of guys out of contention. For GC, they're losing two, three, five, seven minutes in one day, through crashes, punctures. Just being behind a split and never getting back.

“It creates so much tension and nervousness in the bunch. I think it's obvious it's going to split and some riders are going to lose time. “Again, I hope people's races aren't decided by crashes.