“There will be more time to lose on these cobblestones than in the mountains”: when the hell of the North invites itself to the Tour

Leaving the town hall of Wasnes-au-Bac (North) on this cold November morning, Thierry Gouvenou, the technical director of the Tour, whose memory is nevertheless considered infallible, displays an amused smile. “I think I lied without doing it on purpose,” he laughs. Gouvenou was however sure of his shot when, at the time of the presentation of the 2022 route at the Palais des Congrès on October 14, he announced that the 5th stage would include five completely new cobblestone sectors on the Tour, as on Paris-Roubaix.