Schlagwort-Archive: 78. Paris-Nizza

NTT Pro Cycling Paris-Nice Line up

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The 2020 ‘Race to the Sun’ gets underway on Sunday in Paris and we are delighted to confirm our roster to take part in the event, which has been expanded to eight-rider teams by the organisers.
Our selection is highlighted by the inclusion of time trial specialist Victor Campenaerts and some of the pre-race focus will immediately be on stage four’s 15.1km route, as he makes his debut in the discipline for NTT Pro Cycling. It’s a stage the 28-year-old Belgian has labelled a “big opportunity” for himself and the team.
The opening 154km stage, starting and finishing in Plaisir, is likely to be one for the fast men, along with stages two and three, and in a stacked bunch of sprinters slated to start, our selection features the trio of Giacomo Nizzolo, Ryan Gibbons and Max Welscheid.
All three have tasted success in 2020 with the Italian winning a stage at the Tour Down Under, Gibbons being crowned the South African road race champion and Weslcheid winning two stages at the Tour de Langkawi as well as claiming the overall points jersey.
While the second half of the race heads south for Nice and where the climbers in the bunch will take over in the fight for the general classification. To that end, Ben O’Connor and Roman Kreuziger come into their own and will be looking to test their early-season form.
Completing our selection is the exciting and experienced duo of Michael Valgren and Michael Gogl; both have been building steadily in the early season and were strong at the recently completed “Opening Weekend” in Belgium. This race forms a crucial part of their season and preparation for some of the challenges that lie ahead.

Victor Campenaerts
I’m really looking forward to Paris-Nice; the time trial is very suited to me and I can’t wait race on my BMC time trial bike with disc brakes.

They will be such an advantage on this parcours because you have a number of corners coming out of a descent, and it’s such a big advantage to be able to brake that much later. A lot of teams have disc brakes already on their time trial bikes but it’s still less than 50% of the peloton, so it’s super-cool to have that edge.
Also, with the first few days being very hectic as we’ve seen the effect of echelons in previous years and especially in stage two and three which the course is more or less “designed” for, then there’s a big opportunity for the team.
It’s always very hard and hectic to be in the right echelon but if it’s possible not to lose time on those in first three stages, then there’s a big chance to not only win the time trial, but also take the (leader’s) jersey. That would be not just for me but the whole team, a super-cool experience.

PARIS-NICE 2020: Reunion time for Bernal

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Key points:
 Defending Tour de France champion Egan Bernal leads an ambitious Columbian contingent with Nairo Quintana and Sergio Higuita as serious rivals, but Primož Roglič, who won the Vuelta, and his young countryman Tadej Pogacar also have a shot of adding Slovenia to the list of winning nations on Paris-Nice.

Foto: Gerhard Plomitzer

 On this particularly competitive 78th edition, 2019 Vélo d’Or winner Julian Alaphilippe will be hosting his rivals before his local fans at Saint-Amand-Montrond for the first major battle of the week where other French riders could also show their strength: Thibaut Pinot and Pierre Latour have the potential to aim for the sharp end of the order.
 Caleb Ewan leads an impressive list of sprinters that includes Sam Bennett, Pascal Ackermann and Matteo Trentin.

The memories of the dominating Columbian presence on the stage that finished at the col du Turini and the overall podium of the 2019 edition return when looking at this year’s entry list. Egan Bernal will wear the number 1 with an increased notoriety thanks to his victory in the Tour de France, while Nairo Quintana, who has won several races in the South of France in the colours of his new Arkéa-Samsic team, will do his best to resist the pressure from the next generation led by recent Columbian champion Sergio Higuita (who also won his national tour) and Miguel Ángel López, who is also among the likely contenders. The density and quality of the Colombian delegation doesn’t necessarily herald a raid of the top places in the general classification, which are nearly as exposed to a Slovenian rush. 2019 Vuelta winner Primož Roglič rarely comes up short of his goals and has decreed Paris-Nice as the first of his season while Tadej Pogacar who joined him on the podium in Spain (3rd) also imagines doing the same as Bernal in what will be his debut ride in the Tour de France which isn’t much of a pipe dream when you take his wins on the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana into consideration.
Europe’s cycling guard will, however, have some serious candidates on the race to Nice. Julian Alaphilippe is of course thinking of the roads he will ride on in the Saint-Amand-Montrond time-trial, where a very serious hierarchy will be established on day four of the race and where he knows every bit of asphalt. The 2019 Tour standout, who largely shared the headlines with Thibaut Pinot, could once again ride alongside the Groupama-FDJ leader who will be making his Paris-Nice debut. The weekend in the mountains with the La Colmiane climb, as well as the time-trial, correspond to his strengths, which is also the case of Pierre Latour, who this year on Paris-Nice will be the leader of the AG2R squad. The best Spanish chances for a successor to 2018 winner Marc Soler are Enric Mas and Bahrain-McLaren’s Mickel Landa.
Sprinters will have their share of the limelight in half of the stages if the race conditions are suitable. This is in any case what the best of them are hoping for, noting that the detour via the French roads very often proves to pay off in San Remo. Some hard-fought battles are expected among Caleb Ewan, Sam Bennett, Pascal Ackermann, Matteo Trentin, Max Walscheid, Ivan Garcia and Alexander Kristoff.

22 teams, the main participants (as of 26/02)

Mitchelton-Scott: Haig (Aus)
Bahrain-McLaren: Landa, Garcia (Esp), Teuns (Bel)
Deceuninck-Quick Step: Alaphilippe, Cavagna (Fra), Bennett (Irl)
Lotto-Soudal: Ewan (Aus), Wellens, De Gendt (Bel)
AG2R La Mondiale: Latour, Cosnefroy (Fra), Naesen (Bel)
Cofidis: Martin, Edet (Fra)
Groupama-FDJ: Pinot, Madouas (Fra), Küng (Sui)
Total Direct Energie: Terpstra (Ned), Hivert (Fra)
Team Arkea-Samsic: N. Quintana (Col), Barguil (Fra)
Nippo Delko Provenc: Navardauskas, Siskevicius (Ltu)
Bora-Hansgrohe: Ackermann (Ger), Grossschartner (Aut)
Team Sunweb: Hirschi (Che), Eekhoff (Ned), C. Pedersen (Den)
Israel Star-Up Nation: Politt (Ger), Hofstetter (Fra), Van Asbroeck (Bel)
Astana Pro Team: Lopez (Col), Fraile, LL. Sánchez (Esp)
CCC Team: Zakarin (Rus), Trentin (Ita)
NTT Pro Cycling Team: Walscheid (Ger), Valgren (Den), Campenaerts (Bel)
Movistar Team: Mas, Verona (Esp)
Team Jumbo-Visma: Roglic (Slo), Bennett (Nzl), Gesink (Ned)
UAE Team Emirates: Pogacar (Slo), Kristoff (Nor), Philipsen (Bel)
Team Ineos: Bernal (Col), Amador (Cri), Geoghegan Hart (Gbr)
EF Pro Cycling: Higuita (Col), Van Garderen (Usa), Nielsen (Den)
Trek-Segafredo: Porte (Aus), M. Pedersen (Den)
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Paris-Nice 2020: a place in the sun

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Key points:
 For the 11th consecutive year, Paris-Nice will start in the Yvelines department. Plaisir, who hosting the event for the first time, follows on from Saint-Germain-en-Laye as the departure point for the Race to the Sun.
 As in 2018 when British rider Simon Yates triumphed, the pack on Paris-Nice will again be tackling the Colmiane climb, which is also included in the 2nd stage of the Tour de France 2020.
 For the 78th edition of Paris-Nice, Puget will be sponsoring the White Jersey for the best young rider. Furthermore, the brand will be joining the Tour de France as an official supplier.

Cycling can be seen as an exercise in style. Some specialize in specific roles, confident in a particular talent that they are able to put to good use in certain domains. Others who aspire to compete for the most prestigious honours must be allrounders. The latter will, once again, face a challenge that meets their expectations on Paris-Nice, from the start of the race in the suburbs of Paris, with a stage where the hills at the end of the race could pack a surprise. No offense to those who can’t stand cold weather, but the more conscientious riders may wish for a Flandrien-style climate at the start of the week. The freshness and gusts blowing during the crossing of the French Department of Loiret on the road to Chalette-sur-Loing, or in the plains of the Department of Cher to join La Châtre, could create ideal conditions to perfect the most delicate situations in strong winds. The Wednesday time-trial in Saint-Amand-Montrond, which is also known in France as the City of Gold will establish an already solid pecking order for the weekend.

Whilst the côte-Saint-André stage warrants serious caution for the teammates of the favourites, the stage on the following day in Vauclause will be even more unpredictable. Before the finish in Apt, a final 50 km circuit could scatter the field and jeopardize some riders’ positions in the GC. Those who come up short in this exercise will struggle on the final two stages, where the riders will be thinking of the upcoming Tour de France. The climb of the col de la Colmiane, where Simon Yates took the honours in 2018, will in fact be the first major challenge of the 2020 Grande Boucle, so each contender will have the motivation to find their bearings. However, the scenario, which went the way of Marc Soler two years ago, will dampen the enthusiasm of the yellow jersey. While the final stage has been completely changed, its potential remains the same. The climbs up the col de Porte, then the côte de Châteauneuf and côte d’Aspremont, will put the podium contenders in an awkward position. The final finish line, which will for the first time be in front of the Allianz Riviera, will be preceded by a winding descent where getting the trajectories right could be decisive.

 Paris-Nice 2020 stages

Sunday, March 8th, stage 1: Plaisir > Plaisir, 154 km
Monday, March 9th, stage 2: Chevreuse > Chalette-sur-Loing, 166,5 km
Tuesday, March 10th, stage 3: Chalette-sur-Loing > La Châtre, 212,5 km
Wednesday, March 11th, stage 4: Saint-Amand-Montrond > Saint-Amand-Montrond, 15,1 km (individual time trial)
Thursday, March 12th, stage 5: Gannat > La Côte-Saint-André, 227 km
Friday, March 13th, stage 6: Sorgues > Apt, 160,5 km
Saturday, March 14th, stage 7: Nice > Valdeblore La Colmiane, 166,5 km
Sunday, March 15th, stage 8: Nice > Nice, 113,5 km

 The 22 selected teams
In accordance with Union Cycliste Internationale rules, the following nineteen UCI WorldTeams are automatically invited to the race:

AG2R La Mondiale (Fra)
Astana Pro Team (Kaz)
Bahrain – McLaren (Brn)
Bora – Hansgrohe (Ger)
CCC Team (Pol)
Cofidis (Fra)
Deceuninck – Quick-Step (Bel)
EF Pro Cycling (Usa)
Groupama – FDJ (Fra)
Israel Start-Up Nation (Isr)
Lotto Soudal (Bel)
Mitchelton – Scott (Aus)
Movistar Team (Esp)
NTT Pro Cycling Team (Rsa)
Team Ineos (Gbr)
Team Jumbo – Visma (Ned)
Team Sunweb (Ger)
Trek – Segafredo (Usa)
UAE Team Emirates (Uae)

Furthermore, the Total Direct Energie Team, the leader in the 2019 classification of UCI ProTeams will take part by right in Paris-Nice 2020.
The organisers have invited the following teams:

Nippo Delko Provence (Fra)
Team Arkéa – Samsic (Fra)

PARIS-NICE CHALLENGE
After four superb initial editions, Paris-Nice Challenge will be back on Saturday 14th March, the day before the professionals reach the race’s finish. This cyclo-sportive that winds through the countryside around Nice is the first major event of the season. It offers amateur cyclists the opportunity of riding along the same route as the last stage of Paris-Nice, just 24 hours before the professional pack.
Information and registration on timeto.com and www.parisnicechallenge.com

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