Load of cobblers!

And if he chaperones Britain’s defending champion Chris Froome safely from Arras to Roubaix, it will be the best result on cobbles since serial killer Pat Phelan got his comeuppance in Weatherfield.

Thomas rolled safely home with Team Sky’s big hitters in Amiens, but after Bastille Day comes the big boneshaker.

He said: “The thought of all those cobbles coming up isn’t the most appealing, but you have to grit your teeth.

“It’s going to make your bones rattle and everything aches afterwards.

“The whole day is going to be full-on. It’s going to be crazy. The first two or three cobbled sections are kind of spaced-out, but later on they come thick and fast.

“A lot can go wrong in 15 cobbled sections, but I do enjoy the cut and thrust of Classics-style racing.

“Back in 2010 I was second on a similar stage behind Thor Hushovd and I’m looking forward to it as much as you can look forward to your whole skeleton being shaken up.”

Froome will be well-placed to tackle this week’s mountain stages in the Alps if he comes through the ordeal by skeletal percussion ahead of tomorrow’s rest day.

Va Va Froome didn’t make it to the cobbles in 2014, when he crashed out with a fractured wrist and broken thumb, and he expects major contenders in the general classification to fall by the wayside again.

He said: “A lot of it will be about luck and staying out of trouble, not having a puncture or a mechanical at the wrong time or getting caught up in a crash.

“There are going to be losses among the GC contenders, and it just depends which side of the line you’re on. We hope to be on the right side, but it’s going to be brutal.”