AMIENS, France — Sunday's stage nine of the Tour de France has been the most talked-about, and most feared, day of the race.

On the nearly 100-mile stage in northern France the riders will tackle 13.5 miles of punishing cobblestones. It promises to be can't-miss racing.

The tricky bit is that most of the riders looking to win the Tour overall almost never ride the cobbles, so everyone will be watching the likes of Team Sky's Chris Froome, EF Education First–Drapac's Rigoberto Urán, and AG2R-La Mondiale's Romain Bardet, among other favorites, to see how they handle cycling's most feared roads.

Dedicated to helping Urán get through the stage safely and quickly are Colorado's Taylor Phinney and his fellow EF-Drapac teammates.

Urán looks to be in good hands: Phinney rode to eighth in April's Paris-Roubaix classic, two places behind teammate Sep Vanmarcke of Belgium, in a race with many more miles of brutal cobbles, seen here:

The US-registered team has special bikes built up for Sunday, too, including Phinney's Synapse.

See the photos below:

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This is Phinney's main race bike for Sunday. It's the Cannondale Synapse, the company's most compliant and forgiving road bike.

At 6-foot-5 and 187 pounds, Phinney rides a big, 60 cm frame.

Distinctive features are the wider tires and lower tire pressure, which make riding over rough cobbles a little less hellish.