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The most dangerous stage in this year’s Tour de France is expected to be stage 3. The stage, which takes place on Tuesday, sends riders over sections of rodes made of uneven cobblestones. And yet, riders who managed to escape unscathed from the yesterday’s stage 2 counted themselves lucky.
Many Tour favorites crashed, including Lance Armstrong and last year’s winner, Alberto Contador. Some crashes were caused by simple jostling for position and bad conditions. But one crash was caused by a dog darting in front of the riders.
Sylvain Chavanel, a Frenchman, won the stage and took control of the yellow jersey with his victory.
Stage three is expected to be worse. It sends riders over 7 sections of cobblestone, over eight miles in total. To give you an idea of how badly uneven these stones are, special metal protective covers are being fitted on the underside of cars that race and team officials will be using on those sections of the stage. Many sections of the stage are barely wide enough for a car to fit, and riders will fight all the more frantically for position before the narrow cobblestone portions.
The rain that made Monday’s stage so hazardous is not forecast for stage three, but many worry about the results of the stage anyway. The uneven stones seem perfect to pop a tire or bring a rider down, and many feel like it would be unfair for one rider to gain an advantage because his rival was waiting for a mechanic to arrive with a new wheel.
Stage two ended with a soft pedal finish, as the riders decided not to sprint for the finish and better position, but to arrive together, perhaps thankful to just have made it through the surprisingly treacherous stage. If that act was one of protest against those who chose the Tour’s route, we can expect a similar finish to stage three.
