Tour de France stage 5

The only way I could imagine making the Tour a bigger deal was to bring it to the Mecca of cycling, Belgium, yet the Tour organizers went one step beyond with their course for stage 5. With 9 sections of cobblestones, the stage is essentially a mini Paris-Roubaix and let's not forget Paris-Roubaix's nickname: the Hell of the North.

Just to make the stage even more authentic, it rained pretty much all day.

The King of Belgium stayed dry by putting in his appearance at the VIP area where he met some of the Belgian riders. The Prime Minister and other politicians were on hand at the sign on stage but the Belgian who received the loudest reception by far was none other than the legendary Eddy Merckx.

There were a few dry spells between showers but it could have monsooned and no one would have budged. Belgians take cycling very seriously!

Sing on commenced and Fien and I, joined by the pair of sisters we watched Brabantse Pijl with, were ready with our markers.

Cyril Lemoine looked quite happy to be still wearing the climber's jersey.

BMC rolled in en masse to collect their gift bags and stuffed animals for the best team. I was keen to get Daniel Oss's autograph so as soon as he'd mounted his bike, I called out to him. He pedaled over and as he grabbed the marker from me, he deposited his stuffed animal in my arms. I now have to carry this cow around France for the next 3 weeks but it's a burden I'm willing to bear.

Fien and Marcus Burghardt.

A lot of the Movistar riders were particularly accessible today so I practiced my Spanish, asking if they were ready for the big day. Ruben Plaza simply said “No!” and laughed while another of his teammates said he was already looking forward to being warm and dry back in the hotel tonight.

Considering the unpleasant weather and the hectic stage that was looming, I didn't expect we would actually get autographs from some of the bigger riders but Peter Sagan happily indulged us (thanks for the photo, Twitter).

Adam Hansen was kept warm ahead of the start by his Belgian girlfriend, Isabelle Beckers, a rider for Lotto Belisol Ladies.

With about 15 minutes before the stage was due to start, they announced that 2 sections of the cobblestones were being cut from the course because the stones were too slick to ride safely in the rain. I was relieved to hear that the organizers were taking safety so seriously but it only confirmed my fears (and I'm sure the riders' concerns) about the impending chaos.

Ten minutes before sign on closed, Sky whizzed in and quickly completed their obligations before hurrying to the start. As they were leaving, 8 Tinkoff riders hustled to the podium and signed in.

Chris Froome was in no mood at all for journalists this morning. Note the brace on his wrist after crashing in previous stages. The last thing a rider wants immediately before hitting the cobbles is a hand or wrist injury.

There was 1 cyclist yet to arrive and in a flash, Alberto Contador flew in and out of the podium and joined the peloton moments before the stage start.

Cycling is not the only thing that Belgians love. It was too early still for a beer but it's never too early for a waffle (in this case, a Liege waffle with chocolate).

Daniel Oss's cow was good company on the train.

Twenty-five more autographs today which is especially impressive given the rain! They were: 12 Imanol Erviti, Spanish champion 16 Ion Izagirre, 17 Ruben Plaza, 18 Jose Joaquin Rojas, 42 Jakob Fuglsang, 51 Peter Sagan, 58 Fabio Sabatini, 59 Elia Viviani, 63 Stef Clement, 64 Steven Kruijswijk, 69 Maarten Wynants, 76 Alessandro Petacchi, 123 Mikaël Delange, 134 Tony Gallopin, 145 Daniel Oss, 154 Cyril Gautier, 167 Danny Van Poppel, 172 Nicolas Edet, 174 Cyril Lemoine, 175 Luis Mate, 176 Rudy Molard, 191 Mathias Frank, 215 Armindo Fonseca, 217 Florian Guillou, and 219 Florian Vachon.

I won't go into the stage results here–you should watch the epic stage yourself!