The second-longest stage of the 2013 Tour de France arrives on Wednesday as the cyclists make their way from Cagnes-sur-Mer to Marseille, a 228.5-kilometer ride that tends to put some spacing between the leaders and the rest of the peloton.
Coming off a 25-kilometer team trial on Tuesday, the cyclists should be well-rested for the endurance-testing journey. The early stages of the Tour don't often allow sprinters to showcase their abilities, but that will change on Wednesday. With strong winds expected in the forecast the riders may be slowed down a bit as they look to conserve energy over the middle portions of the stage, but there should still be plenty of time to make a move down the stretch.
Full analysis of the fifth stage can be found here, courtesy of the Tour de France's official website.
Simon Gerrans begins the day with the yellow jacket, holding a slight lead over Orica-GreenEdge teammates Daryl Impey and Michael Albasini. Gerrans won the third and fourth stages of the Tour earlier in the week, making him the eighth cyclist in Tour history to win back-to-back stages.
NBC Sports Network will begin live television coverage at 8 a.m. ET.
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