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He seemed chipper about the prospect ahead of the race... according (again) to Cycling News.
"It's a special scenario when you have a cobbled stage in the Tour de France. It's good for me and I will and we will go for that," Cancellara warned in his unique version of Swiss-English.
"When people ask if it's safe or not, I say that we're in the Tour de France and it's part of racing. This (stage) is a benefit for me. The Tour de France is not just about climbs and time trials, other aspects make the decision about what is the final result in Paris.
"It's risky but that's how it is. We'll fight for the best and do the best we can. We'll see what Froome, Nibal and the others do, but for sure it's going to be tough.
"The stage is quite short and so it'll be full gas and so first sector is going to be a big chaos. The big difference is that teams need to bring leaders in the first few positions. Because of the high risk. We have to fight for position in the Classics and it's the same here. There are going to be 160 riders going into cobbles sector. If you look at the parcours, there are other places where things could split earlier. That's good too."
He has opinions. Perhaps too many. That's old news.
miro_o-
Quite, but spot the difference:
Before: "When people ask if it's safe or not, I say that we're in the Tour de France and it's part of racing."
After: "in my opinion this does not have a place in a Grand Tour"
Before it's all great and groovy and part of racing, afterwards it's a bloody awful idea and shouldn't have happened. WTF?
Brommers
Ahem: Not according to Cycling News
Edited highlights:
"The race was a mess. When I heard on the radio what was happening just with our riders, I could imagine what must be happening with the others - in my opinion this does not have a place in a Grand Tour,"
"It was completely different than in April because the field is so different. Also the wet roads made it very dangerous - the whole course was now dangerous."
"Also, on wet cobbles, it is very different, you cannot use a high cadence like when it's dry, which is how I like to do it."
Sounds awfully like moaning to me.