Stage 9 of this year’s Tour de France will tackle 15 sectors of cobblestone roads from Paris-Roubaix and the pre-race favourites have been taking to the roads of northern France and Belgium in preparation.
Froome was joined by Spanish teammate Jonathan Castroviejo and Geraint Thomas to perform vital reconnaissance of the stage.
“He looks good,” Sky sports director Servais Knaven. “We saw that in the past he can ride the cobbles, he did Roubaix when he was younger [in 2008 with Team Barloworld], so no, it all looked good. I am not nervous about it. I think it could be a good stage for him.”
“I think he took a bit of confidence away from the recon. It’s been three years since he was on them. He’s there on that new bike, there with G, they spoke a lot and about how to ride the cobbles,” Knaven added.
“We had a look on where you can go on the sides of the roads, and what can you do, you go there or not? Those things are pretty important, that’s why we are going back again and having a closer look. Sometimes you have to follow other riders and you need to know a little bit if that’s a good thing to do or not.
“They’re not really used to riding on the cobbles, they have to get used to the bikes and in general it’s about having confidence, and getting that feeling. It’s good to know the course, but of course, they will have the information from the car in the race. The most important thing is to get a bit of confidence on the cobbles.”
“I’m happy the cobbles are in the Tour, it’s a part of France, part of the history of cycling, it’s a part of winning the Tour,” said Knaven, winner of the 2001 Paris-Roubaix. “Maybe it’s good to have them in all the years, then everyone is not that nervous about it and everyone has experience. At Team Sky, we are happy with the cobbles and we are going to do our best to get the whole team in the best condition there.”
