Fabian Cancellara goes into tomorrow's Tour de France stage on the Paris-Roubaix cobbles as one of the big favourites but the multiple Roubaix questions the inclusion of the rough surface. With bad weather forecasted, the Swiss fears that things will be chaos when the riders tackle the 9 sectors of pavé.

The 163.5-kilometer stage four from Le Touquet-Paris-Plage to Lille was proof again that every day at the Tour de France can be perilous. Yesterday, in a seemingly serene stage, Andy Schleck crashed hard. Although he bravely jumped on the trainer to warm up ahead of stage three today, the reality of the situation quickly sunk in: the knee withstood too much damage in the crash; it was impossible to carry on. Andy’s Tour was over after three stages, leaving him devastated and the team one set of strong legs down.

Tuesday began in similar fashion with a non-threatening two man breakaway escaping after two kilometers. The stage unfolded as predicted, and it appeared an easy day was on tap, handily controlled by the sprinters’ teams for a bunch kick.

However, typical to Northern France, the crosswinds decided elsewise. Taking advantage of the gusts, Cannondale went to the front and pushed the pace, which resulted in dangerous splits around mid-point in the race. Trek Factory Racing’s GC contender Haimar Zubeldia was briefly left behind, but with help from Markel Irizar he was safely back in the pack within a few kilometers.  Less fortunate was a group of 30, which included a few GC contenders, who spent almost 20 kilometers to rejoin the front.

“There was cross-tailwind and there was a split, but Markel was with me in this moment and we came back in a few kilometers," Zubeldia said. "Kwiatkowski was in the group behind us. His team [OPQS] waited for him and brought him back. 

"Especially this year these sprints stages have been short, but very nervous for the peloton. Tomorrow we will also have a special day and we will see what happens.”

By the finish all ended as it should: the breakaway was caught, and the sprinters’ teams led a ferocious pace into the final kilometers. Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano) stamped his third victory in four stages, as Danny van Poppel, again playing free-lance artist in the final sprint, managed eighth place.

“I did not feel good today," he said. "I sprinted to 8th and I did not expect that. I was really only thinking about finishing the race. In the last kilometer I was sitting in good position, it was in one line, very fast, and when they started the sprint I had nothing left. But only Greipel passed me so I guess I was not so bad.

“I do miss Boy, but I had a lot of help from Markel and Greggy and Fabian during the race to shelter me from the wind and get me feeds. The support I have from the team is great; it’s just nice to have my brother around, and I miss that. I am happy to fend for myself at the end and make the best out of it. That is not a problem.”

Behind the scenes of what appeared a typical Tour de France sprint stage – a day where the peloton normally takes respite from hard, stressful racing - was a high-strung peloton. The winds, rain, and wet roads resulted in a taxing day on the bike, pointing towards tomorrow’s dreaded stage five – with nine sectors of Roubaix cobbles and rain in the forecast – as one that could very well be a game-changer.

All the hype around stage five will come to fruition tomorrow as the forecasted rain has made an already feared stage much more dangerous. Trek Factory Racing will switch to their Classics-edition Trek Domane bicycle for the cobbled race, aiming to be as prepared as possible to tackle the unconventional Tour de France stage. However, even Fabian Cancellara, no doubt one of the favorites for tomorrow, raised his eyebrows at the inclusion of nine Roubaix sectors of pavé.

“There are so many things that can change from one sector to another tomorrow," he said. "When it’s wet, it’s like roulette - it’s not about who is good on the bike anymore. In some ways it’s nice to have [cobbles], but in some ways it is not good to have it. We are a big bunch and we already saw today that when we going into the towns with the traffic islands and so on, it’s dangerous. Cycling has to change, and we will see - after tomorrow maybe this will be addressed.

"Tomorrow is totally different [from Roubaix]. It will be a special situation. Remember in 2010 with Frank Schelck, he was in 4th position and it was dry and warm and he lost his Tour there as a rider took him out. The circumstances are different, there are two races going on, where in Roubaix there is only one race. In Roubaix you have one team for yourself, and here there will be different teams with different set-ups. Plus with the bad weather that is on the map at the moment, it’s gonna be a disaster.  It’s gonna be chaos - totally.

"Whether cobbles should be here is a good question. It’s the ASO’s decision – they want to have a show tomorrow. But maybe after tomorrow we will have a history day in cycling where everything will change around. When it’s nice weather cobbles are not bad, but for tomorrow? Really I don’t know - maybe I will laugh tomorrow, or maybe I will cry. Ask me tomorrow after the race and I can answer that question.

"Who has done Roubaix on wet roads? I don’t think there is anyone in the peloton who has. Even for me, I am a specialist in cobbles, and the rain is another circumstance. There are only 10-15 guys that really know how to ride so fast over the cobbles, but we are in the Tour. It’s not Roubaix and its not April.”