Updated road.cc Fantasy Cycling: Tour de France stage 5 preview

In theory, today should result in a bunch finish, but there are traps for the unwary including a bumpy profile that could sap some legs ahead of the finish, plus the fact that the final 70km are ridden along the rugged Breton coast, meaning that once again the contenders will need to be vigilant about the peloton splitting if the wind gets up.

Thought for the Day

Brittany is one of French cycling’s heartlands and in Bernard Hinault produced one of the country’s all-time greats. France may still be waiting for a successor to the Badger, but riders such as Europcar’s Perrig Quemeneur may get licence to go on the attack as Le Tour heads through their home region.

GT’s tips

The closer the crosswinds are to the finish, the \more dangerous it is if the wind is up, so there could be an opportunity for a team that wants to get stuck in and give it a go to split the peloton up. But otherwise it should be a bunch sprint.

Well we are already on the bus, on the way to the start of stage 5. The days soon start rolling into one during the tour. It feels like we are constantly on our bike or on the bus.

We have a 2 hour transfer to the start, hence the early departure. Today looks like a sprint day again, but the final 50km or so could be dangerous, with crosswinds likely. It will be a very nervous bunch again coming into the finish.

Yesterday was a great stage. To see Contador attack and most of the hitters up there was good to see. I think Contador has some good legs and is still the man to beat. Hats off to Cadel, that was a long sprint to the line yesterday!! I was happy with how I rode. The plan was to keep Brad in a good position until the start of the final climb, after that it was every man for himself… To keep the jersey again for another day was a nice bonus.

Back to today. I’ve got it wrong the last couple of days but I still think Cav will finish it off today. Not many people would have seen but he had bags of speed on stage 3 when Farrar won. He must have closed a 20m gap in the last 250m, not the easiest thing to do!!

Find out more about Geraint Thomas at www.geraintthomas.com