If he's not careful, Alberto Contador will be in a for a nasty shock come the start of the 2010 Tour de France.
The cobblestones, or "pavé" of the first week are not the tidy versions of the Champs Elysees: they're four or five times the size. If a rider gets it wrong it can be a brutal experience.
Their mechanical impact alone can be very damaging, and every GC contender will be anxious to guard against losing time following the Grand Depart from Rotterdam.
Some riders love the cobblestones, but they can easily ruin your day, your week and even your entire Tour if you're not careful.
I remember talking to Magnus Bäckstedt a few years back, for whom victory in Paris-Roubaix in 2004 was a career highlight.
Bäckstedt said there's a knack to riding the pavé - if you get it right, you can almost float over them. And if you get it wrong, it can be hell.
Factor in that the Belgian weather in early July can be very unsettled and it's no wonder Tour director Christian Prudhomme is predicting an eventful race. A mixture of strong winds, rain and cobblestones early in the race will hardly have the likes of Alberto Contador champing at the bit.
That first week should be all about good old-fashioned Tour de France racecraft. The rivalry between Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong will be to the fore again. The Spaniard will have to survive that first week without losing masses of time before attacking in the mountains.
He'll certainly have to practice riding the pavé before July. You can't just turn up and ride those things without any experience.
This will be my eighth Tour de France and I can't remember there being pavé before - it's a relatively rare thing and it's an exciting variation for the race.
Looking to the mountains, there are three summit finishes: in my view the right amount. Contador himself said yesterday he was pleased to see a punishing itinerary of mountain stages but it's not necessarily set up for him.
If there are two many summit finishes the climbers like Contador can run away with it, but that won't happen here.
Bradley Wiggins will be disappointed to see only two time trials in the race. OK, he didn't have the best day in Annecy this year but that was the exception rather than the rule. Combined with losing the chance to defend his Individual Pursuit title at the 2012 Olympics in London it's not been the best few weeks for Wiggins.
Finally, if I had a wish for 2011 route, it would be to see a return to a circular route - a proper tour of France that takes in each region. There's an aesthetic appeal to a having a circular route that appeals and it's called La Grand Boucle, after all!
