The Ineos Grenadiers are shying away from Wednesday's Tour de France stage over the infamous cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix, seeing it as a chance to shorten their rivals' times.

The British superteam has Paris-Roubaix winner Dylan Van Baarle, under-23 Paris-Roubaix winner Filippo Ganna, and experienced Classics road captain Luke Rowe on its eight-man team. They will be expected to protect and guide team leaders Adam Yates, Dani Martinez, and Geraint Thomas, and survive the 11 sectors and 19.4 km of cobbles that fill the final 77 km.

"We need to make sure they don't lose time. And if there is a chance to get a time, we will go for it," Van Baarle told Cycling News.

"If there's a chance to make time, that's always welcome, that's stage racing. But it's almost impossible to predict how a stage will turn out. The times could be down even before the first cobblestone section starts."

Jumbo Visma, Quick-Step Alfa Vinyl, UAE Team Emirates, Beulah Hansgrohe, and Matthieu Van Der Pol's Aleppsin Phoenix are probably looking at the cobbled stage in the same way, but all teams are concerned about the carnage and the impact that the cobblestones will have on this year's overall winners. A crash could drop them out of the race, and a significant time loss could end their GC ambitions after just five stages.

For such reasons, some teams oppose the inclusion of the Paris-Roubaix cobbles in the Tour de France. Ineos Grenadiers is different.

"It's France, it has cobblestone roads, why not?" Van Baar insisted.

"I'm more than happy to have cobblestone stages in the Tour," team manager Rod Ellingworth said with a smile.

"Paris-Roubaix is one of the most iconic days in the sport, and since it takes place in France, why not race on the same roads?

"I know some riders don't like me saying that because it adds extra tension and potential problems, but pro cycling is a beautiful sport and it needs something like cobbles.

Ellingworth added that this stage should be viewed as an opportunity to attack. Referring to the experienced contingent on this type of terrain, he said.

"Dylan won Paris-Roubaix and Luke Rowe is a great rider in these conditions. They are already talking about running together on the bus and learning from each stage.

Adam Yates, Dani Martinez, and Spain's Jonathan Castroviejo may be a little worried about the cobbled stages, but they are faithfully scouting the stages. They know they must trust Juan Barr, Ganna, Lowe, and Pidcock, the world cyclo-cross champion.

The 157-km stage starts in the center of Lille and heads south to Paris-Roubaix, with 11 segments all in the second half of the stage, the last just 7 km from the finish at the entrance to the legendary Arenberg Forest. Fortunately, the 2.3-km straightaway section that often draws fire in Paris-Roubaix every April was spared.

"The first few sections are not super hard and rough, but then you hit the three sections used in Paris-Roubaix.

Van Baar won Paris-Roubaix with an 18km solo attack. He is set to move to Jambovisma in 2023, but Ineos Grenadier has faith in him, confident that he will be a loyal team player on the cobbled stages and play an important domestique role in the rest of the Tour.

Van Baar, Ganna, and Pidcock's chances for a stage win will only come when Yates, Martinez, and Thomas are safe in the lead group.

"I haven't ridden many cobblestone stages in the Tour, but I know they are different from Paris-Roubaix. You have to think about them all the time. [You have to protect Adam, Dani, and Gelant. Adam, Dani, and Gelant. They know they can run on the cobblestones with me, Luke and Pippo. We have to stick together." [4] [5] "What happens on Wednesday depends on the wind on the day. We have to see what happens on the road. And like I said, if there is a chance to attack and get some time, we will go for it."