2015 Tour de France (Photo : REUTERS)
Following a bumpy cobblestone-riddled route from Seraing to Cambrai, the 2015 Tour de France returns to a more traditional stage on Wednesday as the riders take on a much easier 189.5 km flat road from Arras and Amiens for Stage 5 of the world's most prestigious cycling event.
After taking the yellow jersey following his summit of Mur de Huy on Stage 3, British cyclist and former Tour champ Chris Froome lost the jersey to Germany's and Etixx-QuickStep rider Tony Martin, who emerged as the victor in Tuesday's race.
Martin, who is looking for his first Tour de France title, will have a chance to further pad his lead over Froome and the rest of general classification contenders as the next three stages feature flat surfaces that very much favor sprinters like him.
Despite Martin's emergence as the Tour leader, Froome isn't worried about his chances of retaining the Tour de France title because he knows that Martin will be facing a tall order when the race shifts to the mountainous regions of France.
"Losing the yellow jersey at this stage is no big deal," Froome told BBC News. "There is still a long way to go and, as a time-trial specialist, Tony is not going to be there in the mountains. I was definitely happier to see it go to him than any of my GC (general classification) rivals."
The Arras to Amiens race will open the opportunity for Martin and Peter Sagan to showcase their skills in what will surely be a very fast-paced and probably neck-to-neck race that could lead to another dramatic ending.
NBC Sports will begin cover Stage 5 of the 2015 Tour de France at 8:00 a.m United States (EST). The race can also be watched online via NBC Sports Extra, Eurosports Trailer, and Sports Stream. In-race updates and commentaries are available on Tour de France@Twitter while the current standings can be seen on Tour de France website.
