This year Alejandro Valverde successfully prepared for the cobbles in the Tour de France by doing the Dwars door Vlaanderen and E3 Harelbeke. Next year Nairo Quintana may also include a few cobbled races in his schedule.

In 2015 Nairo Quintana will find a Tour de France course that suits him down to the ground. Only the stage with the cobbles worries the Colombian. "So he may have to do the Dwars door Vlaanderen," Movistar manager Eusebio Unzue told Het Nieuwsblad.

There are only around 13km of cobbles on July 7, 2015, on the route between Seraing and Cambrai but all favourites fear the stage. "You can not win the Tour but you can lose it," they claim. This was proved in 2014 when Chris Froome was forced to abandon on the stage to Arenberg.

Last year, Alejandro Valverde, the other Movistar captain, did a few cobbled classics in Flanders. The Spaniard also chose Dwars door Vlaanderen which will take place on March 25, as his test race before he lined up at the E3 Harelbeke two days later.

"It suited our road captain Valverde well," says Unzué. "In that way, Nairo will audtomatically be better adapted to the typical wind in the north.

"Before the race, we can also do a recon of the cobbles. I hope that we get through the cobbles stage unsctahed and can be ride at full strength in the team time trial."