Longer cobble sectors key to bigger time gaps, say Tour de France bosses

2018 Tour de France
Greg Van Avermaet was in yellow when the Tour de France last visited the cobbles in 2018. (Image credit: Getty)

After a three-year absence, the Tour de France returns to the cobblestones of northeast France on Wednesday, with the race organisers hoping that the introduction of longer sectors of pavé can trigger time gaps among the overall contenders.

After the chaotic scenes of 2010 and 2014, the Tour has since enjoyed two calmer visits to the cobbles, with a small smattering in 2015 followed by a more gruelling trip to Roubaix in 2018, which, despite a string of punctures and mishaps, saw the lion's share of the favourites finish together.

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Patrick Fletcher

Patrick is a freelance sports writer and editor. He’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish). Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews for eight years between 2015 and 2023, latterly as Deputy Editor.