The 2012 Tour de France is ready to move onto Stage 5, which passes just north of Paris. Andre Greipel of Germany claimed Stage 4 on Wednesday, but Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara still holds the overall lead by seven minutes over Great Britain's Bradley Wiggins and France's Sylvain Chavanel. Christian Vande Velde, a native of south suburban Lemont, is currently in 57th place.
For a breakdown of what to expect in Stage 5, we turn to SB Nation's cycling blog Podium Cafe:
Thursday's stage, this thing is impressive in its flatness. How flat is it? There are no categorized climbs on the profile. Not a one. At kilometer 109, there is an intermediate sprint at Breteuil. That should liven up the action for a short while at least. Mark Cavendish and Matt Goss have shown the most interest in these intermediate sprints, while today's stage winner André Greipel has not contested them.
Start time: 5:10 a.m. CT
Expected finish: 10:24 a.m. CT
TV: NBC Sports Network (coverage beings at 7:00 a.m. CT)
Stay up to date with all the latest Tour de France news by staying tuned to this StoryStream or by visiting SB Nation's Podium Cafe.
