LILLE, France — Back on the race’s home turf after three days in England, the Tour de France pack faces a first possible shakeout on Wednesday over nine patches of bone-rattling cobblestones in northern France.

Many riders were expressing dread that the forecast is for rain, meaning the cobbles will be slick.

For defending champion Chris Froome, a crash that scuffed up his left knee and elbow and injured his wrist Tuesday in a nervous, crosswind-swept Stage 4 couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Astana team leader Vincenzo Nibali of Italy, who kept the yellow jersey, decried a “crazy race” in Tuesday’s 163.5-kilometer (101-mile) ride along the Belgian border. Froome and two-time champ Alberto Contador are among 20 riders trailing Nibali by two seconds.

Marcel Kittel got his third stage victory in this Tour and the seventh of his Tour career on Tuesday. Unlike his wins in Stages 1 and 3, when he made victory look easy, Kittel eked out victory by a half-wheel length.