Since this year’s Tour de France will be contested on the narrow, wind-swept, and cobblestone streets of Belgium during its first week, many of the top GC contenders have started making some noise about spending some time in that country to brush up on their cobblestone riding skills. Lance Armstrong, for one, is set to ride the race most consider the most difficult of the “flat” classics, the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Alberto Contador, has also indicated that he’ll be spending some time on the Belgian stones, in order to acclimate to the feel, so to speak. Other GC men will surely follow suit, since a rookie mistake on the cobbles during the fast first week of the Tour could take a rider out of contention in a heartbeat.

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