Mixed opinions flew around the peloton and Tour fans when cobbles were first announced on this year’s route – and again after they were tackled.

For this fan, at least, however they should be here to stay.

Nobody likes to see Tour ambitions destroyed in one day, but that can happen on any stage – in the mountains, even in the crosswinds as Alejandro Valverde discovered to his cost when he punctured at the worst possible moment last year.

Adding the cobbles – which hold an iconic place in the heart of cycling fans, given the popularity of the Classics – just adds another discipline to be mastered if you want to win cycling’s greatest prize.

Good in the time trials, able to control the bunch on the medium-mountain stages, supreme ability on the climbs and now displaying mastery on the cobbles – it would take the ultimate ‘complete rider’ to win the Tour and reaffirm its place as the toughest Grand Tour.

Nobody is calling for full-blown Classics stages, just something similar to stage five where we were reminded of Vincenzo Nibali’s all-round class.

Even Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo), though he ultimately lost time overall, did a good enough job of keeping his overall ambitions going on the stage.

Chris Froome is the only major GC man whose entire race fell apart on the stage – and that was not through any fault of the pavé.

So for the enthralling drama the stage produced, here’s hoping it will not be long before the Tour returns to the pavé in future.