After the solo victory of the yellow jersey Wout Van Aert the day before during the 4th stage, the peloton remains in the Nord Pas-de-Calais for the 5th stage with a departure from Lille-Métropole and an arrival at Arenberg Porte-du-Hainaut on Wednesday 6 July.
Lille is a stage city for the 18th time in its history. The last time was in 2014 with a sprint finish at Stade Pierre-Mauroy won by German rider Marcel Kittel.
Arenberg is city-arrival for the 3rd time after 2010 and 2014.
The route of the stage
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Stage times
The return of cobblestones with five new sectors
This 157km long stage will be particularly marked by the return of the cobblestones on the Grand Boucle, absent since 2018, as Christian Prudhomme, the boss of the Tour de France, explained to France Bleu: “It’s the return of the cobblestones four years later. I’ve said it several times, when we go to the North, we are not going to ostensibly avoid the cobblestones. We are not going to avoid them at all. From Lille, from Lille-Métropole as far as Arenberg, arrival near the mining site, as in 2010 and 2014: 11 cobblestone sectors, including 5 completely new. Unheard of, neither on Paris-Roubaix nor on the Tour de France, sectors that Thierry Governor (in charge of the course at ASO, editor’s note)in love with cobblestones, went to unearth.”
And to specify: “There are roughly 55km of cobblestones on Paris-Roubaix. But there are a hundred kilometers of cobblestones in total. That people can hope that the cobblestones will one day be used by Paris-Roubaix or by the Tour de France is important so that they are maintained and that they still exist. For us, it is also making sure to protect our capital.”
Eleven cobblestone sectors including five new ones that have never been used either on Paris-Roubaix or on the Tour de France — Christian Prudhomme
– ASO
In total, there will be 11 cobbled sectors for a total of 19.4km with five unpublished sections north of Cambrai before joining cobblestones which are part of the tradition of Paris-Roubaix (Wandignies-Hamage and especially Sars-et-Rosières). To the output, there will be final cobblestones before arriving at Arenberg 7km away, the Wallers sector in Hélesmesbetter known as Gibus Bridgenamed after Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle, double winner of Paris-Roubaix (1992-1993).
- from Villers-au-Tertre to Fressain – 1,400 meters
- from Eswars to Paillencourt – 1,600 meters
- from Wasnes-au-Bac to Marcq-en-Ostrevent -1,400 meters
- from Emerchicourt to Monchécourt – 1,600 meters
- from Monchicourt to Emerchicourt – 1,300 meters
- Abscon – 1,500 meters
- from Erre to Wandignies-Hamage – 2,800 meters
- from Warlaing to Brillon – 2,400 meters
- from Tilloy-lez-Marchiennes to Sars-et-Rosières – 2,400 meters
- from Bousignies to Millonfosse – 1,400 meters
- from Hasnon to Wallers (Pont Gibus) -1,600 meters
In June, the organizers announced a slight modification to the route because recent urban development made the approach to the first cobbled section between Villers-au-Tertre and Fressain, south of Douai, dangerous. The runners will take it in the opposite direction to what was initially planned. This modification extends this stage by 3.3 kilometers.
► Move the button from left to right and vice versa to compare the route before and after it has been modified by the organizers.
In 2014, there were 15 cobbled sections (15.4km) with a finish at Arenberg-Porte du Hainaut. A stage which had seen the abandonment of defending champion Chris Froome, after another fall.
The Arenberg find avoided because of the TGV
Why will the Arenberg gap not be used by the peloton? Response from Christian Prudhomme: “It is right next to the finish and you will not have missed the fact that there is a TGV line. For obvious safety reasons, it is not possible to arrive on the Arenberg line with TGV which could tumble out at the last moment. It’s not possible. We’re not going to close the TGV line for the finish of a stage. It doesn’t make sense.”
In 2015, on the Paris-Roubaix, riders had to stop at a level crossing to let a TGV pass at Wallers, in the so-called “Pont Gibus” sector.
Pogacar says he is “curious to discover the cobblestones”
Tadej Pogacar was present during the presentation of the route of the Grande Boucle. The reigning double Tour de France winner said he was “curious to discover the cobblestones”.
And the Slovenian runner to specify: “It’s a very good course, interesting from the first to the last stage. Sprints, wind, cobbles, short climbs, long, steep. It will be a really complete Tour. I can’t wait to start. I have already won the Planche des Belles filles (the time trial of the penultimate stage in 2020). It will be a tough stage, you never know what can happen. but it will still be far from the end. I have great memories there, I remember every moment of the climb, I can’t wait to climb it again. (Will there be the pressure of the great favourite?) There are a lot of contenders, we’ll talk about them when we get there. I just finished the season, I need a rest before I start thinking about 2022. There’s a little more pressure when we have already won, that’s for sure.”
– Florent Vautier
Other runner present: David Gaudu. The Frenchman has already done Paris-Roubaix in 2018 and he expects “a difficult stage where you will have to be attentive”.
– Florent Vautier
The mining basin in the spotlight
This 5th stage will also cross symbols of the region such as Wallers. The name of the small town has become one of the symbols of the mining past.
The Arenberg pit, where 32 million tonnes of coal were extracted between 1903 and the pits were finally closed in 1989, remains a vestige that keeps alive the memory of the tens of thousands of “black mouths” who plunged into the mine, in particular honored during the filming of Germinal by Claude Berri.
The next day, the peloton will start from Binche, in Belgium, to join Longwy (Meurthe-et-Moselle) during the 6th stage on Thursday July 7, 2022.
The complete route of the Tour de France
► Tour de France 2022: discover the complete route step by step by clicking here
– ASO