Vincenzo Nibali, one of the favorite riders at the next Tour de France, is actually in northern France to pre-ride some of the cobble sectors that will be used in this year’s race. The Astana Pro Team leader hopes to do the same performance than last year: extended his advantage over his general classification rivals on the cobbles.

"It was a good scout," Nibali told Sporza. "It was important to ascertain the pressure in the tires and to see the material and the bike. The sectors are heavy, especially the first one, which is very narrow and bad. The stage is also very long. In the final, you will feel the fatigue."

With Lars Boom, he will have a good teammate. "Like last year, this will be a very important journey,” he told Sporza. "Last year we knew we could do well, but perhaps not that we would catch so much time on direct competitors. We have the experience of last year, but we must always take into account other great riders like Contador, Quintana and Froome. They are my biggest rivals."

According to the Dutch rider, this season, the cobbled stage is “less difficult” than last year’s.