Courtesy of paul-simpson.org on Flickr.
The third stage of this year's Tour de France has riders spooked. Reuters reports that approximately 8 miles of the 133-mile stretch between Wanze and Arenberg-Porte de Hainaut are paved with potentially hazardous cobblestones. A host of Tour veterans, including those riders who have had a chance to train on the course, have voiced their concerns.
Jens Voigt, a German rider preparing to embark on his 13th Tour outing, asked, “The Tour de France is already a spectacle. Do we need to add this?”
Lance Armstrong, the self-proclaimed optimist and realist, tweeted of the cobblestones, “Going.To.Be.Carnage.”
“The approach to the first section of cobbles, it will be full speed. I imagine there will be a crash,” Jonathan Vaughters, a Team Garmin-Transitions manager, said. “Someone will lose the race that day.”
–Riley Blanton