The bone-shaking pavé of Paris-Roubaix took centre stage on Sunday – and 24 hours later Alberto Contador took to the cobbles to recce stage five of the Tour de France.
The stage will take the Tour de France peloton from Ypres to Arenberg on a route designed as a World War One tribute – and with 15.4km of pavé.
The rough cobbled roads will provide the first serious test of the race for the likes of Contador, who is more at home on the Col du Tourmalet than the pavé of northern France.
Contador, fresh from winning the Tour of the Basque Country, his second overall victory of the season after Tirreno-Adriatico, rode eight of the nine of the sectors as he continues preparations for the 101st Tour.
The Tinkoff-Saxo team leader traded his Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL4 for the American firm’s Classics bike, the Roubaix, and revealed he experimented with tyre pressures to get to grips with the cobbles.
“It has gone well, I’ve seen the first part of the stage in the car and the last 75km by bike,” he said. “The feeling on the cobblestones has been good.
“But we must not forget this is just a workout, it’s not the race and there wasn’t rain which can complicate everything. The wind will also be very important. [If it is blowing] it will be important to have a strong team.”
He added: “The best bike I can have in this stage is the Specialized Roubaix. We have used Zipp 303 wheels and we have played with tubular’s measures and pressure, to see how they worked, because it’s not the same for a rider of 75kg to another of 62kg.”
Contador currently sits top of the UCI world rankings thanks to his superb start to the season, which has also included second place at the Volta a Catalunya.
El Pistolero will start the Tour de France as one of the favourites for the title as he bids to deny Chris Froome (Team Sky) a second consecutive yellow jersey.
But like Froome, who was wary of the cobblestone sections when the route was announced, Contador admits stage five could be crucial.
He explained: “The hardest part will be the entry into the sections of pave. Some of them have a lot of sand and the bike skates a lot.
“Care should be taken. I felt good on the cobbles, but you have to face this stage with respect and be aware that we’ll be here with 100km in the legs.”
The Tour de France last raced across the cobbles in 2010, when Contador won the race overall only to be stripped of the title having tested positive for clenbuterol.
The stage was won by Thor Hushovd, from a break also including Geraint Thomas and Fabian Cancellara, while Contador crossed more than a minute later.
But the Spaniard believes this year’s stage will be tougher than four years ago, saying: “I think it will be a more difficult stage than in 2010 because the sections are more complicated.”
Contador will now take a break from racing after his scintillating start to 2014 and he admits he is hugely satisfied with his season to date.
“After finishing the Basque Country and seeing this Tour de France stage, I can say that I have achieved the objectives of the first part of the season,” said Contador.
