The last time the Tour went to the pave of northern France, it lashed rain and Chris Froome crashed out. He seems nervous about the 2018.
Chris Froome on Tour de France return to cobbles
Having crashed out of the 2014 Tour de France on the day the race hit the pavé, Chris Froome won’t be relishing a return to the region next year.
Indeed, he said yesterday many of the stages in the first section of the race to stage 9 could be crucial considering the weather in that part of the world.
Froome said the fact the climbs did not come until after the first nine stages were over would impact the character of the racing in the early days.
“That’s going to make the race very nervous. Until we reach the Alps and the summit finishes it’s going to be a very nervous race.
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“That region about Bretagne and that north west of France is known to be very, very windy. So I’m sure that will play a big part as well."
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And despite all the climbs in the race this year, Chris Froome was clear on what the main climbing event would be.
“I think the queen stage of next year’s Tour will most probably be the Alpe d’Huez stage, with 5,000 metres of climbing. So I’d have to say; the Alps will be the biggest challenge."
Asked if he would ride Paris-Roubaix as preparation for the cobbles in the Tour, Froome laughed and said he had no plans to do so but “might have to re-evaluate that now”.
But he added he would need to take a closer look at the stage routes before he knew exactly what was in store.
“It’s still very early to say exactly what we’re up against,” he said of yesterday’s route unveiling in Paris.
“But I wouldn’t expect anything else from the Tour de France organisers, who’ve got a massive challenge for next year.
“A Tour de France that really tests all aspects of cycling. We’ve got gravel roads, cobbles and we’ve got a lot of dangerous, maybe windy stages, in the first half of the Tour.
“And then obviously we go up into the Alps and Pyrenees for some brutal mountain stages as well.”
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