Tour de France 2014: Stage 5 Route, Live Stream, Predictions, Updated Standings

The 2014 Tour de France event organisers knew full well what they were doing when they laid out Stage 5 of this year's race: A day that will commemorate the hell of the First World War in more ways than one.

From the start in Ypres to the finish in Arenberg-Porte Du Hainaut, the peloton will follow some of the most iconic and dreaded roads in all of cycling. Welcome to Wallers and the Hell Of Roubaix.

Date: Wednesday 9 July

Distance: 155.5 km

Profile: Cobblestones

TV info and live stream: NBCSN (for U.S. viewers) and ITV4 (for U.K. viewers) will be broadcasting every stage of the 2014 Tour de France, with mobile coverage available via NBC Sports' Live Extra and the ITV Player app.

Updated Standings

Place	Rider	Team	Time
1	Vincenzo Nibali	Astana	17:07:52
2	Peter Sagan	Cannondale	+2 secs
3	Michael Albasini	GreenEdge	Same Time
4	Greg Van Avermaet	BMC Racing	st
5	Alberto Contador	Tinkoff-Saxo	st
6	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar	st
7	Chris Froome	Team Sky	st
9	Jurgen Van den Broeck	Lotto	st
9	Bauke Mollema	Belkin	st
10	Jakob Fuglsang	Astana	st

Place	Rider	Team	Points
1	Peter Sagan	Cannondale	158
2	Marcel Kittel	Giant	135
3	Bryan Coquard	Europcar	121
4	Alexander Kristoff	Katusha	82
5	Mark Renshaw	OPQS	48
6	Arnaud Demare	BMC Racing	44
7	Greg Van Avermaet	Garmin	42
8	Ramunas Navardauskas	Astana	38
9	Michael Albasini	GreenEdge	37
10	Andre Greipel	Lotto Belisol	37

Position	Rider	Team	Points
1	Cyril LeMoine	Confidis	6
2	Blel Kadri	AG2R La Mondiale	5
3	Jens Voigt	Trek	4
4	Nicolas Edet	Cofidis	3
5	Thomas Voeckler	Europcar	3
6	Pierre Rolland	Europcar	2
7	Tom-Jelte Slagter	Garmin-Sharp	2
8	Perrig Quemeneur	Europcar	2
9	David de la Cruz Melgarejo	NetApp-Endura	2
10	Chris Froome	Team Sky	1

Route

The pack will start the day in Ypres at the historic Menin Gate, where the Tour will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War, which devastated much of the landscape the riders will see on Wednesday.

Via the city of Mouscron, the peloton will make its way into France using many of the same roads the mother of all cobblestone races uses—Paris-Roubaix.

The riders will face over 15 km of cobblestones, including two of the most dreaded patches in the world: Carrefour de l'Arbre and Bois de Wallers. Punctures, spectacular crashes and plenty of nerves will be the order of the day. You can't win the 2014 Tour in Roubaix, but you can definitely lose it there.

Preview, Predictions

Thibault Camus/Associated Press

Forget about the first four stages of the 2014 Tour—Stage 5 will be truly unique. The weather conditions haven't been perfect in France in the past few days, and the riders could be facing both rain and wind on Wednesday.

That means slippery cobblestones and a dreadful day of battling uneven roads and praying to avoid mechanical issues, or worse.

Stage 5 isn't about conserving energy for the main contenders and sprinters—Wednesday will be all about survival. If it rains, as is expected, every single rider will be on the edge of his saddle, desperately trying to avoid a fatal crash on the dangerous cobblestones.

Expert Fabian Cancellara told Cycling News he expects "carnage:"

"

The cobbles are going to be carnage. I hope not, but we've got to be ready for it. I hope nobody crashes and loses a chance of winning the Tour de France because of what happens on the pavé. But it's racing. Roubaix is Roubaix. We all know what it’s like.

I've already been asked if I'll ask for the stage to be neutralised if it rains but this is different. I know that it’s not a nice stage for Froome, Contador, Nibali and even our GC riders. But my reply is: so why not take out the climbs to make it easier for us? That never happens, so it's only right we race on the cobbles. It’s a risk for everyone, including me, but we've got to live with it and calculate the risks involved.

"

The three-time winner of Paris-Roubaix will be among the favourites for the stage win, particularly given the fact it's almost 110 km shorter than the average Spring Classic.

The Swiss specialist is capable of exploding at any given time, building a 30-second lead in a single sector and keeping that lead even against a strong chasing group.

Peter Sagan is another strong contender, with a similar build to Cancellara. The man in the green will be at the front of the peloton all day long to conserve his points lead, knowing full well competitors like Marcel Kittel and Andre Greipel likely won't take that risk.

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

The same goes for the riders concerned with the general classification. Every single one of them will want to be at the front of the pack to avoid getting involved in a crash, but once the cobblestone sectors begin, the riders from the back will start to push.

Bois de Wallers in particular is notorious for causing crashes, and the GC riders will take note. Expect the specialists to be given free rein for once, as the peloton will be more concerned with safety than the overall leaderboard.

This will open the door for Cancellara to make good on his reputation as a cobblestone-specialist, taking the stage win and the yellow jersey in the process barring mechanical failure.

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