The countdown has started before the passage of the Tour de France in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The 5th stage will start from Lille to reach Arenberg with a passage on paved sectors borrowed by Paris-Roubaix but also more unusual sectors that even the Hell of the North platoon hasn’t used for years.
Discover the route of the 5th stage on the cobblestones of the North, July 6, 2022, between Lille and Arenberg.
The first step where big differences are expected
Negotiating the cobblestones is always a tricky exercise for some leaders as explained Bernard Thévennet, former double winner of the Tour de France 1975 and 1977, today ambassador of ASO (the company which organizes the Tour de France):
There will be a lot of pressure, it will be a strategic step
– Stephane Barbereau
Is this type of stage still necessary on the Tour de France with a significant risk of falling: “if I was still a runner, I would say it’s a little too risky but in another sense, the winner of the Tour de France must be a complete runner who passes the cobbles, the curbs, the mountain”.
This is one of the difficulties to include in a Tour de France… but maybe not every year either!
Media and economic benefits
This 5th stage will start from the center of Lille, in front of the headquarters of the European metropolis which has paid for hosting this stage. Damien Castelain, the president of Mel justifies this expense of several tens of thousands of euros:
It’s a flash, a notoriety, with hundreds of journalists and followers who will be in the hotels of the metropolis
– Stephane Barbereau
“We want to get out of the Covid, we want people to be outside, to party, to meet the runners to sign autographs, to have jerseys”, explains Damien Castelain. The president of the community who makes the link between professional cycling and the daily use of the bicycle: the budget devoted to cycling facilities has thus increased from 30 million euros over the period 2014-2020 to 100 million for the current mandate ( 2020-2026).
Family hike, guinguette, departure village,…
La Mel therefore sees things big until the peloton passes on July 6th. Ella has already put its seat in the colors of the big loop, dressing the concrete posts in the colors of the distinctive jerseys (green, polka dots and yellow), sticking a huge yellow jersey on the glass facade.
– Stephane Barbereau
On May 29, the inhabitants of Mel will be able to borrow, via a family and festive hike, the same route as the runners over 25 kilometers through the metropolis, from Lille to Forest-sur-Marque. This last town will take advantage of the passage of the Tour de France to celebrate its hundredth anniversary with the installation of a guinguette on July 6th.