Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) in a black version 𓄧of his national champion kit(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick✃ Step) getting rea🍷dy for the Tour's cobbles(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma-QuickStep🅘) knows how to ride the cobbles(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma QuickStep) in action(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
A solitary fan watches Tony Martin ride by(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Omega Pharma QuickStep were out in force over the ꦇcobbles(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Both Team Sky and Omega Pharma were out together(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jan Bakelants and😼 Niki Terpstra ride through the Arenberg Forest(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
2013 Tour de France winne💜r Chris Froome (Team Sky)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chris Froome (Team Sky)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Richie Porte (Team Sky)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Geraint Th❀omas came close to winning a Tour de France stage on the cobbles in 2010(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Team Sky's leader, Chris Froome (Team Sky)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chris Froome (Team Sky) will n🌜eed to keep out of trouble on the cobbles at the Tour de France(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Richie Porte, Geraint Thomas, and Chris Froome(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Team Sky have a former Paris-Roubaix winner ඣin Servais Knaven(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chris Froome (Team Sky🌼) takes questions from the local press(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chris Froome (Team Sky) takes questions from th🔯e local press(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome in action(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chris Froome find the best line(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Defending Tour de Franceཧ winner Chris Froome (Team S💜ky)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chris Froome (🔜Team Sky) hasn't raced on the cobbles during a Tour de France(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Riche Porte (Team Sky) takes in the cobbles(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Roughly a month to go until the start of the T𝓡our de 🍃France(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Michal Kwiatkowski in white(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The Arenberg i🧔n summer is different place to the one the world se𒉰es during the spring classics(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma Qui🎉ckStep) leads his teammates(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma QuickStep)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma QuickStep)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma QuickStep)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Omega Pharma QuickStep train over the cobbles that will be use𝓡d during this year's Tour de France(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Omega Pharma QuickStep train over the cobbles that𒈔 will be used during this year's Tour de F🍬rance(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alessandro Petacchi (Omega Pharma QuickStep)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chris Froome and Gert Steegmans(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Michal Kwiatkowski and Mark Renshaw(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma QuickStep) looks for t🎉he b🍬est line(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma) will be a protected ride at the Tour de Frﷺance(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mark Cavend🍷ish in a new version of the national road title kit(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mark Renshaw and his teammate Mark Cavendish (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Terpstra lea♋ds his tired lookings tea🔴mmates over the cobbles(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alessandro Petacchi (Omega Pharma QuickStep)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Geraint Thomas (Team Sky)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Ger𝄹aint Thomas (Team Sky) is experienced on th🌠e cobbles(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
It's just over a month until the start of the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:2014 Tour de France and teams are busily putting 🎃their final touches to their preparation. While Alberto Contador and Vincenzo Nibali train at altitude Team Sky's Chris Froome and Omega Pharma QuickStep's Mark Cavendish have camped out in North Europe as they ride reconnaissance over the cobbles that will feature in this year's Tour.
There are nine sectors of cobbles, all of which feature in Paris-Roubaix, that have been crambed into stage ඣ5 of this year's Tour and the stage could be as crucial as any of the mountain stages in ꦯthis year's race.
🅷Both Team ꦉ;Sky and Omega Pharma QuickStep enjoyed fine weather as they trained. Omega took nine riders on recon, including Paris-Roubaix winner Niki Terptra, Cavendish and their GC hope for the Tour, Michal Kwiatkowski.
"I think Kwiatkowski is, out 🧔of the GC c🅷ontenders, one of the most capable of riding on the cobbles," Rolf Aldag said on the team's website.
"He did it last year with a spectacular Tour of Flanders, and races like E3 Harelbeke, and so on. I think he's used to it, so it won't be shocking. It's more about the tactical situation for him at the Tour de France rather than getting useꦰd to the feel."
"The thing during the Tour is you have different interests. You have a limited number of riders who go for the stage wins, because they still have captains for the GC they have to 🎃protect. So, it's going to be a sꦰlightly different race that isn't as clear as a Paris-Roubaix where you have a Tom Boonen, Fabian Cancellara, or Sep Vanmarcke and all the teams will support their guys to clearly win that one-day race. At the Tour it's a little more complicated. You may see teams that maybe will chase, not because they want a stage win, but maybe in that group there may be a GC contender who will try to get away before the cobbles."
The last time the Tour de France included cobbles of such magnitude was in 2010, when Thor Hushovd won an action-packed stage that saw Frank Shleck crash out and Lance Armstrong lose time. Second on that day was Geraint Thomas and the Sky ride⛦r was back again today, leading Richie Porte a꧙nd Chris Froome through the nine sectors.
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