A mini Paris-Roubaix in July

Prior to the Grand Départ in Yorkshire, Fabian Cancellara answered to the skeptics that cobblestones are as legitimately part of the Tour de France as the mountains and the time trials. This is a big day for Paris-Roubaix specialists: Cancellara is one of the winners of the queen of the classics in contention at the Tour, along with Niki Terpstra and Johan Vansummeren. But there'll be two races in one stage, one for the win, the second one as a survival exercise. With nine pavés sections on the map and the same stage finish location in front of the Arenberg forest as four years ago, the danger is around the corner for GC riders. Defending champion Chris Froome fears the day even more after he hurt his left wrist in a crash during stage 4 but yellow jersey wearer Vincenzo Nibali also knows how much a race leader can lose on gravel roads because of going down or not handling the pace on that particular terrain. In the 2010 Giro d'Italia, he lost the pink jersey in similar circumstances.