Schlagwort-Archive: 81. Paris-Nizza

Paris-Nice – 8. Etappe

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Nice – Nice – 117 Km


Foto HERBERT MOOS

1 POGAČAR Tadej SLO UAE TEAM EMIRATES 02:51:02
2 VINGEGAARD Jonas DEN JUMBO-VISMA 00:33
3 GAUDU David FRA GROUPAMA – FDJ 00:33
4 YATES Simon Philip GBR TEAM JAYCO ALULA 00:33
5 JORGENSON Matteo USA MOVISTAR TEAM 00:33
6 POWLESS Neilson USA EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 00:43
7 SIVAKOV Pavel FRA INEOS GRENADIERS 00:43
8 BARDET Romain FRA TEAM DSM 00:43
9 HAIG Jack AUS BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 00:43
10 MADER Gino SUI BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 00:43
11 DE LA CRUZ MELGAREJO David ESP ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM 02:49
12 GENIETS Kevin LUX GROUPAMA – FDJ 02:49
13 KRAGH ANDERSEN Soren DEN ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK 02:49
14 MOLARD Rudy FRA GROUPAMA – FDJ 02:49
15 SOBRERO Matteo ITA TEAM JAYCO ALULA 02:49

Endstand:

1 POGAČAR Tadej SLO UAE TEAM EMIRATES 24:01:38
2 GAUDU David FRA GROUPAMA – FDJ 00:53
3 VINGEGAARD Jonas DEN JUMBO-VISMA 01:39
4 YATES Simon Philip GBR TEAM JAYCO ALULA 02:14
5 MADER Gino SUI BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 02:56
6 POWLESS Neilson USA EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 03:17
7 BARDET Romain FRA TEAM DSM 03:19
8 JORGENSON Matteo USA MOVISTAR TEAM 03:19
9 SIVAKOV Pavel FRA INEOS GRENADIERS 04:05
10 HAIG Jack AUS BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 04:56
11 PARET PEINTRE Aurelien FRA AG2R CITROEN TEAM 07:28
12 DE LA CRUZ MELGAREJO David ESP ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM 09:18
13 GOOSSENS Kobe BEL INTERMARCHÉ – CIRCUS – WANTY 10:01
14 LATOUR Pierre FRA TOTALENERGIES 10:03
15 BERTHET Clement FRA AG2R CITROEN TEAM 11:46
16 CALMEJANE Lilian FRA INTERMARCHÉ – CIRCUS – WANTY 14:20
17 MOLARD Rudy FRA GROUPAMA – FDJ 14:38
18 VAUQUELIN Kevin FRA TEAM ARKEA – SAMSIC 14:52
19 JUNGELS Bob LUX BORA – HANSGROHE 14:55
20 HARPER Chris AUS TEAM JAYCO ALULA 17:22

BORA – hansgrohe beendet Paris-Nizza mit gemischten Gefühlen

Mit einer anspruchsvollen, 118,4km langen Etappe rund um Nizza ging heute die achttägige Fernfahrt Paris-Nizza zu Ende. Nils Politt war Teil einer frühen Ausreißergruppe, die sich am ersten der fünf kategorisierten Anstiege absetzen konnte, schlussendlich aber bereits 60km vor dem Ziel wieder gestellt wurde. In der entscheidenden Phase des Rennens schaffte kein Fahrer den Sprung in die erste Gruppe. T. Pogačar sicherte sich mit einer Soloattacke den Etappen- und Gesamtsieg. Nils Politt beendete die Etappe auf Rang 32, Bob Jungels belegte in der Gesamtwertung Rang 19.

Reaktionen im Ziel

„Mit Ausnahme des Podiums von Sam Bennett und dem soliden Mannschaftszeitfahren sind wir bei Paris-Nizza hinter unsere Erwartungen zurück geblieben und können auf keinen Fall zufrieden sein. Mit Blick auf die Ergebnisliste sind wir definitiv nicht dort, wo wir uns erhofft haben zu sein. Eine positive Entwicklung sehen wir bei Nils Politt und Marco Haller, beide haben sich in starker Verfassung präsentiert und konnten an der Form für die Klassikersaison arbeiten.“ Rolf Aldag, Sportlicher Leiter

Paris-Nice – 7. Etappe

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Nice – Col de la Couillole – 143 Km


Archivfoto HERBERT MOOS

1 POGAČAR Tadej SLO UAE TEAM EMIRATES 03:56:08
2 GAUDU David FRA GROUPAMA – FDJ 00:02
3 VINGEGAARD Jonas DEN JUMBO-VISMA 00:06
4 YATES Simon Philip GBR TEAM JAYCO ALULA 00:19
5 POWLESS Neilson USA EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 00:24
6 MADER Gino SUI BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 00:28
7 BARDET Romain FRA TEAM DSM 00:30
8 SIVAKOV Pavel FRA INEOS GRENADIERS 00:38
9 JORGENSON Matteo USA MOVISTAR TEAM 00:38
10 LATOUR Pierre FRA TOTALENERGIES 00:53
11 HARPER Chris AUS TEAM JAYCO ALULA 01:00
12 HAIG Jack AUS BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 01:21
13 PARET PEINTRE Aurelien FRA AG2R CITROEN TEAM 02:03
14 BERTHET Clement FRA AG2R CITROEN TEAM 02:31
15 DE LA CRUZ MELGAREJO David ESP ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM 02:39
16 GOOSSENS Kobe BEL INTERMARCHÉ – CIRCUS – WANTY 02:39
17 CALMEJANE Lilian FRA INTERMARCHÉ – CIRCUS – WANTY 03:02
18 JUNGELS Bob LUX BORA – HANSGROHE 04:59
19 VAUQUELIN Kevin FRA TEAM ARKEA – SAMSIC 05:03
20 MOLARD Rudy FRA GROUPAMA – FDJ 05:34

Gesamt:

1 POGAČAR Tadej SLO UAE TEAM EMIRATES 21:10:50
2 GAUDU David FRA GROUPAMA – FDJ 00:12
3 VINGEGAARD Jonas DEN JUMBO-VISMA 00:58
4 YATES Simon Philip GBR TEAM JAYCO ALULA 01:27
5 MADER Gino SUI BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 01:59
6 POWLESS Neilson USA EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 02:20
7 BARDET Romain FRA TEAM DSM 02:22
8 JORGENSON Matteo USA MOVISTAR TEAM 02:32
9 SIVAKOV Pavel FRA INEOS GRENADIERS 03:08
10 LATOUR Pierre FRA TOTALENERGIES 03:17
11 HAIG Jack AUS BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 03:59
12 PARET PEINTRE Aurelien FRA AG2R CITROEN TEAM 04:25
13 DE LA CRUZ MELGAREJO David ESP ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM 06:15
14 BERTHET Clement FRA AG2R CITROEN TEAM 06:18
15 GOOSSENS Kobe BEL INTERMARCHÉ – CIRCUS – WANTY 06:58
16 VAUQUELIN Kevin FRA TEAM ARKEA – SAMSIC 07:24
17 JUNGELS Bob LUX BORA – HANSGROHE 07:27

BORA – hansgrohe auf der Königsetappe ohne Spitzenresultat

Am siebten Tag von Paris-Nizza stand die Königsetappe der Rundfahrt auf dem Programm. 3500 Höhenmeter auf nur 142,8km galt es zwischen Nizza und der Bergankunft am Col de la Couillole zu bewältigen. Nils Politt war Teil einer 19-köpfigen Spitzengruppe, die am Fuße des letzten Berges vom Peloton und den Favoriten um die Gesamtwertung gestellt wurde. Bob Jungels musste am 15km langen Schlussanstieg bereits früh seinen eigenen Rhythmus fahren und überquerte die Ziellinie als 18. Den Etappensieg holte sich der Gesamtführende T. Pogačar.
In der Gesamtwertung liegt Bob Jungels vor der morgigen Schlussetappe auf Platz 17.
Nach Maximilian Schachmann konnte auch Sam Bennett das Rennen krankheitsbedingt nicht fortsetzen.

Reaktionen im Ziel
„Es war klar, dass wir heute einen Kampf um die Gesamtwertung sehen und für uns nur sehr geringe Chancen auf ein Spitzenresultat bestehen würden. Ziel unserer Mannschaft war, ein aktives Rennen zu zeigen und Bob Jungels gut in den letzten Anstieg zu bringen. Nils Politt hat sich in der Ausreißergruppe stark verkauft und für die bevorstehenden Klassiker noch etwas an der Form arbeiten können. Alle unsere Fahrer haben sicher das Ziel erreicht, aber mit dem Ausgang des Rennens hatten wir heute leider nichts zu tun.“ Rolf Aldag, Sportlicher Leiter

Paris-Nice – 6. Etappe annulliert wegen Sturm

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After reviewing several options for modifying the route and waiting for an improvement in weather conditions in the afternoon, the organisers of Paris-Nice have decided to cancel the 6th stage to preserve the safety of the riders of the 81st edition, in agreement with local authorities. The exceptionally violent winds, which notably caused several tree falls in the region, make the cancellation of the stage inevitable.
As a result, sporting action will resume tomorrow from Nice for the 7th stage towards Col de la Couillole.

Paris-Nice – 5. Etappe

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Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise – Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux – 212 Km

PNC23_PROFIL G_ET05

1 KOOIJ Olav NED JUMBO-VISMA 05:19:54
2 PEDERSEN Mads DEN TREK – SEGAFREDO 00:00
3 MERLIER Tim BEL SOUDAL QUICK-STEP 00:00
4 TRENTIN Matteo ITA UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:00
5 KANTER Max GER MOVISTAR TEAM 00:00
6 COQUARD Bryan FRA COFIDIS 00:00
7 BENNETT Sam IRL BORA – HANSGROHE 00:00
8 MARIT Arne BEL INTERMARCHÉ – CIRCUS – WANTY 00:00
9 PAGE Hugo FRA INTERMARCHÉ – CIRCUS – WANTY 00:00
10 BOL Cees NED ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM 00:00
11 ALVES OLIVEIRA Rui Filipe POR UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:00
12 NIELSEN Magnus Cort DEN EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 00:00
13 BOASSON-HAGEN Edvald NOR TOTALENERGIES 00:00
14 WAERENSKJOLD Soren NOR UNO-X PRO CYCLING TEAM 00:00
15 KRISTOFF Alexander NOR UNO-X PRO CYCLING TEAM 00:00

Gesamt:

1 POGAČAR Tadej SLO UAE TEAM EMIRATES 17:14:52
2 GAUDU David FRA GROUPAMA – FDJ 00:06
3 VINGEGAARD Jonas DEN JUMBO-VISMA 00:46
4 YATES Simon Philip GBR TEAM JAYCO ALULA 00:58
5 MADER Gino SUI BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 01:21
6 BARDET Romain FRA TEAM DSM 01:42
7 MARTINEZ POVEDA Daniel Felipe COL INEOS GRENADIERS 01:42
8 JORGENSON Matteo USA MOVISTAR TEAM 01:44
9 POWLESS Neilson USA EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 01:46
10 SOBRERO Matteo ITA TEAM JAYCO ALULA 01:56
11 FOSS Tobias Svendsen NOR JUMBO-VISMA 01:59
12 IZAGUIRRE INSAUSTI Ion ESP COFIDIS 02:02
13 SCHACHMANN Maximilian GER BORA – HANSGROHE 02:06
14 JENSEN Skjelmose Mattias DEN TREK – SEGAFREDO 02:10
15 VAUQUELIN Kevin FRA TEAM ARKEA – SAMSIC 02:11

Platz sieben für Sam Bennett bei Sprintankunft in Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux

Etappe fünf von Paris-Nizza war mit 212,4km der längste Tagesabschnitt der Rundfahrt und führte von Saint Symphorien sur Coise nach Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux. Eine Ausreißergruppe wurde 88km vor dem Ziel gestellt, am Ende kamen, trotz vier kategorisierter Anstiege, heute noch einmal die Sprinter zum Zug. Im, mit zwei Kreisverkehren auf dem letzten Kilometer, technisch anspruchsvollen Finale sicherte sich O. Kooij den Sieg. Sam Bennett sprintete auf Rang sieben.

Reaktionen im Ziel

„Die Sprinterteams haben heute keine größere Gruppe wegfahren lassen und alles dafür getan, dass die schnellen Männer ihre letzte Chance bekommen. Im technisch sehr anspruchsvollen Finale war die richtige Positionierung heute der Schlüssel zum Erfolg. Danny van Poppel hat den Sprint stark angefahren, Sam Bennett ist leider etwas angeschlagen, daher hat ihm am Ende auch der nötige Punch gefehlt.“ Rolf Aldag, Sportlicher Leiter

Kooij wins last chance Paris-Nice sprint

Dutchman Olav Kooij seized the last opportunity of a bunch sprint in this Paris-Nice to snatch his first victory of the season and see his consistency rewarded. Second in Fontainebleau on stage 2 and 4th in stage 1, the21-year-old team-mate of Jonas Vingegaard outpaced Danish green-jersey holder Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafreod) on the line while stage 1 winner Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick Step) was third. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) retained his overall lead, but it was cut off by four seconds by second-placed David Gaudu, who took advantage of the day’s intermediate sprint to came back within six seconds of the Slovenian.

Gregaard strengthens KOM lead
The real start was given at 11:32 to 148 riders. Max Walscheid (Cofidis), Andrea Piccolo and Marijn Van den Berg (EF Education-Easypost) did not start. From the gun, Jonas Gregaard (Uno X) attacked, taking Sandy Dujardin (TotalEnergies) along with him. The two escapees were first and second on the first three climbs of the day (Km 3.6 – Cote de Coise, Km 11.7 – Cote de l’Aubepin, Km 34.6 – Cote de Treves), allowing the KOM leader to add 13 points to his tally. The polka-dot jersey holder is now on 27 points in the mountain classification.

Dujardin on his own
The lead of the two escapees reached 5:05 after 12 km and remained stable, topping at 5:50 after 35 km. The strong headwind did not make things easy for the breakaway and Gregaard, his points harvest completed, decided to wait for the peloton, leaving Dujardin on his own in the front. The Frenchman bravely fought on his home roads – he lives in Tournon-sur-Rhône at km 96.7 –, but his lead steadily decreased as Lotto Dstny and Alpecin Deceuninck riders led the chase. He was finally reeled in at kilometre 122 and settled for the most aggressive rider prize of the day.

Gaudu takes sprint
The intermediate sprint at Col du Deves (Km 159) saw a fierce battle between Tadej Pogacar and second-placed David Gaudu (Gorupama-FDJ), who took advantage of a great lead-out by Arnaud Demare to pick the six seconds on offer. The Frenchman is now only six seconds behind the Slovenian overall. In the final climb, some 30 km from the line, teams Trek-Segafredo and Jayco Alula raised the tempo to try and drop pure sprinters like Tim Merlier or Sam Bennett and favour their own sprinters Mads Pedersen and Michael Matthews. But the plan did not quite work and Gregaard surged to add three more points to his polka-dot jersey (30 points).

Stage set for sprint
A bunch sprint was unavoidable and the bunch took it relatively easy until the finale when a roundabout made it tricky to find the best position. Kooij opted to go on the left hand side and it was the good choice as he took the wheel of Mads Pedersen, who launched his sprint from too far and was overpowered on the line by his young Dutch rival.

Paris-Nice – 4. Etappe

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Saint-Amand-Montrond – La Loge des Gardes – 165 Km

PNC23_PROFIL G_ET04


Archivfoto HERBERT MOOS

1 POGACAR Tadej SLO UAE TEAM EMIRATES 04:01:17
2 GAUDU David FRA GROUPAMA-FDJ 00:01
3 MÄDER Gino SUI BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 00:34
4 PARET-PEINTRE Aurélien FRA AG2R CITROËN TEAM 00:42
5 VAUQUELIN Kévin FRA TEAM ARKÉA-SAMSIC 00:43
6 VINGEGAARD Jonas DEN JUMBO-VISMA 00:43
7 BARDET Romain FRA TEAM DSM 00:51
8 MARTINEZ Daniel COL INEOS GRENADIERS 00:51
9 YATES Simon GBR TEAM JAYCO-ALULA 00:51
10 JORGENSON Matteo USA MOVISTAR TEAM 00:51
11 IZAGIRRE Ion ESP COFIDIS 00:54
12 LATOUR Pierre FRA TOTALENERGIES 01:05
13 HARPER Chris AUS TEAM JAYCO-ALULA 01:06
14 SKJELMOSE JENSEN Mattias DEN TREK-SEGAFREDO 01:22
15 SIVAKOV Pavel FRA INEOS GRENADIERS 01:29
16 POELS Wout NED BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 01:38
17 HAIG Jack AUS BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 01:38
18 CAVAGNA Remi FRA SOUDAL QUICK-STEP 01:38
19 POWLESS Neilson USA EF EDUCATION-EASYPOST 01:38
20 SOBRERO Matteo ITA TEAM JAYCO-ALULA 01:38
21 NARVAEZ Jhonnatan ECU INEOS GRENADIERS 01:38
22 SCHACHMANN Maximilian GER BORA-HANSGROHE 01:38
23 JUNGELS Bob LUX BORA-HANSGROHE 01:50

Gesamt:

1 POGACAR Tadej SLO UAE TEAM EMIRATES 11:55:00
2 GAUDU David FRA GROUPAMA-FDJ 00:10
3 VINGEGAARD Jonas DEN JUMBO-VISMA 00:44
4 YATES Simon GBR TEAM JAYCO-ALULA 00:56
5 MÄDER Gino SUI BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 01:19
6 BARDET Romain FRA TEAM DSM 01:40
7 MARTINEZ Daniel COL INEOS GRENADIERS 01:40
8 JORGENSON Matteo USA MOVISTAR TEAM 01:42
9 POWLESS Neilson USA EF EDUCATION-EASYPOST 01:44
10 SOBRERO Matteo ITA TEAM JAYCO-ALULA 01:54
11 FOSS Tobias NOR JUMBO-VISMA 01:57
12 IZAGIRRE Ion ESP COFIDIS 02:00
13 SCHACHMANN Maximilian GER BORA-HANSGROHE 02:04
14 SKJELMOSE JENSEN Mattias DEN TREK-SEGAFREDO 02:08
15 VAUQUELIN Kévin FRA TEAM ARKÉA-SAMSIC 02:09

BORA – hansgrohe bleibt bei der ersten Bergankunft hinter den Erwartungen zurück

Die vierte Etappe von Paris-Nizza führte über 164,7km von Saint Amand Montrond zur ersten Bergankunft der Rundfahrt in La Loge des Gardes. Eine siebenköpfige Ausreißergruppe wurde erst kurz vor dem letzten Berg gestellt. Am Schlussanstieg konnten weder Maximilian Schachmann, noch Bob Jungels den Favoriten um die Gesamtwertung folgen und verloren bereits früh den Anschluss. Den Sieg holte sich T. Pogačar, Schachmann und Jungels belegten die Plätze 22 und 23. In der Gesamtwertung liegt Maximilian Schachmann aktuell auf Rang 13.

Reaktionen im Ziel
„Gestern hatten wir leistungsmäßig einen guten Eindruck von den Jungs, heute ging leider einiges schief. Unsere beiden Kapitäne Maximilian Schachmann und Bob Jungels waren bereits sehr früh ohne weitere Teamkollegen, die speziell in der Anfahrt zum letzten Anstieg sehr wichtig gewesen wären. Am Ende sind wir nicht dort, wo wir sein wollten und auch nicht in der Art und Weise gefahren, wie wir uns das vorgenommen haben. Es kommen noch vier Etappen, wir müssen jetzt neue Ziele setzen und zusehen, dass wir wieder in Fahrt kommen.“ Rolf Aldag, Sportlicher Leiter

Pogacar takes over

Tadej Pogacar did not make any favours in the first mountain stage of the 81st Paris-Nice, surging in the final climb to La Loge des Gardes after a constant work by his team all day to win the stage and seize the yellow and white jersey on Wednesday. The Slovenian perfectly timed his move on the 6.7-km final climb to catch Frenchman David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) in the last stretch and lead him by 10 seconds overall. Pogacar’s arch-rival Jonas Vingegaard cracked a little in the final kilometres and finished 6th. He is now third overall, 44 seconds behind the UAE-Team Emirates.

Seven in the lead
The real start was given at 12:40 to 153 riders in rainy weather. Lilian Calmejane (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) and Maurice Ballerstedt (Alpecin-Deceuninck) were the first to break clear at kilometre 25 and were later joined by Pascal Eenkhoorn (Lotto Dstny), Larry Warbasse (AG2R) and Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier Tech). Polka-dot jersey holder Jonas Gregaard (Uno-X Pro) felt he also needed to be in the front to defend his KOM lead and he joined the breakaway after 35 kilometres.

Echelons after 56 km, Tadej Pogacar’s UAA Emirates team-mates upped the pace and the bunch split in the treacherous crosswinds but quickly regrouped. As the seven took their lead over five minutes, Jonathan Milan (Bahrain Victorious) called it quits, as did Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) a little bit later. Some 20 km further up, Groupama-FDJ and Jumbo-Visma created another echelon, which scattered the bunch all along the road. The main casualties at that point were green jersey holder Mads Pedersen and his leader Mattias Skelmjose, as well as third-placed overall Michael Matthews (Jayco Alula) but the pack was finally back together at kilometre 87.

Gregaard collects polka-dots
At the first climb of the day, Cote du Vernet (Km 116.6), Jonas Gregaard collected three points to bring his KOM tally to nine. In the ascent, Ballerstedt was dropped by his former breakaway companions, whose lead had gone down to 2:35. In the descent, Dutch champion Eenkhoorn went and took a few seconds lead over the other five escapees but was run down in the Cote de Cheval Rigon (km 137.5), on which Gregaard picked three more points. With 14 points, the Danish rider made sure to retain his polka-dot jersey on the finish line.

Matthews takes sprint bonus The UAE Emirates team-mates of Tadej Pogacar continued to impose their tempo to the rest of the pack and the break split in the descent after two attacks by Calmejane, who dropped all his companions to the exception of Skaarseth. Their lead went down quickly as the intermediate sprint of the day was nearing and they were caught when Michael Matthews surged to collect six points and six seconds, with Skaarseth and Pogacar behind him. The Slovenian and the Australian insisted for a while before the pack reeled them in.

Pogacar strikes
The stage was set for a showdown on the 6.7-km final climb. Felix Grossschartner led the way for Pogacar at the bottom but Jonas Vingegaard was the first to attack, quickly followed by the Slovenian. The last two Tour de France winners did not charge ahead and as they were caught, France’s David Gaudu counter-attacked with 3 km to go. Pogacar reacted with 2 km to go and caught Vingegaard off guard. The 2020 and 2021 Tour de France winner quickly bridged the gap in the final kilometre and did not leave him a chance on the line.

Paris-Nice – 3. Etappe

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Dampierre-en-Burly – Dampierre-en-Burly – TTT – 32,20 Km


Archivfoto Plomi

1 JUMBO-VISMA NED JUMBO-VISMA 00:33:55
2 EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST USA EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 00:01
3 TEAM JAYCO ALULA AUS TEAM JAYCO ALULA 00:04
4 GROUPAMA – FDJ FRA GROUPAMA – FDJ 00:14
5 UAE TEAM EMIRATES UAE UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:23
6 BORA – HANSGROHE GER BORA – HANSGROHE 00:25
7 SOUDAL QUICK-STEP BEL SOUDAL QUICK-STEP 00:39
8 TREK – SEGAFREDO USA TREK – SEGAFREDO 00:45
9 BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS BRN BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 00:47
10 INEOS GRENADIERS GBR INEOS GRENADIERS 00:48
11 TEAM DSM NED TEAM DSM 00:48
12 MOVISTAR TEAM ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:50
13 LOTTO DSTNY BEL LOTTO DSTNY 01:03
14 COFIDIS FRA COFIDIS 01:05
15 TOTALENERGIES FRA TOTALENERGIES 01:10
16 ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM KAZ ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM 01:13
17 TEAM ARKEA – SAMSIC FRA TEAM ARKEA – SAMSIC 01:25
18 AG2R CITROEN TEAM FRA AG2R CITROEN TEAM 01:27
19 ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK BEL ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK 01:31
20 INTERMARCHÉ – CIRCUS – WANTY BEL INTERMARCHÉ – CIRCUS – WANTY 01:33
21 UNO-X PRO CYCLING TEAM NOR UNO-X PRO CYCLING TEAM 01:39
22 ISRAEL – PREMIER TECH ISR ISRAEL – PREMIER TECH 02:32

Gesamt:

1 CORT Magnus DEN EF Education-EasyPost 07:53:41
2 VAN HOOYDONCK Nathan BEL Jumbo-Visma 00:01
3 MATTHEWS Michael AUS Team Jayco-AlUla 00:03
4 TRATNIK Jan SLO Jumbo-Visma 00:03
5 VINGEGAARD Jonas DEN Jumbo-Visma 00:03
6 YATES Simon GBR Team Jayco-AlUla 00:07
7 POWLESS Neilson USA EF Education-EasyPost 00:08
8 FOSS Tobias NOR Jumbo-Visma 00:08
9 O’BRIEN Kelland AUS Team Jayco-AlUla 00:11
10 POGACAR Tadej SLO UAE Team Emirates 00:14
11 GAUDU David FRA Groupama-FDJ 00:17
12 KÜNG Stefan SUI Groupama-FDJ 00:17
13 BISSEGGER Stefan SUI EF Education-EasyPost 00:17
14 SOBRERO Matteo ITA Team Jayco-AlUla 00:18
15 VAN POPPEL Danny NED BORA-hansgrohe 00:28
16 JUNGELS Bob LUX BORA-hansgrohe 00:28
17 SCHACHMANN Maximilian GER BORA-hansgrohe 00:28
18 POLITT Nils GER BORA-hansgrohe 00:28
19 SCOTSON Miles AUS Groupama-FDJ 00:33
20 HALLER Marco AUT BORA-hansgrohe 00:33
21 PEDERSEN Mads DEN Trek-Segafredo 00:40
22 ASGREEN Kasper DEN Soudal Quick-Step 00:42
23 DENNIS Rohan AUS Jumbo-Visma 00:43
24 LAMPAERT Yves BEL Soudal Quick-Step 00:46
25 SKJELMOSE JENSEN Mattias DEN Trek-Segafredo 00:48

Paris-Nizza: BORA – hansgrohe beim Mannschaftszeitfahren auf Rang sechs

Am dritten Tag von Paris-Nizza stand in Dampierre en Burly ein 32,2km langes Mannschaftszeitfahren auf dem Programm. Auf dem flachen und schnellen Parcours belegte BORA – hansgrohe am Ende den sechsten Platz.
Reaktionen im Ziel

„Wir haben uns viel vorgenommen heute, wollten vorne mitfahren und ein offensives Rennen zeigen. Bei der Zwischenzeit lagen wir auf Platz drei und waren stark unterwegs. Die zweite Hälfte der Strecke war geprägt von Gegenwindverhältnissen, hier haben wir leider etwas Zeit liegen lassen bzw. waren andere einfach stärker. Insgesamt haben die Jungs eine solide Leistung gezeigt, wir arbeiten weiter daran, uns in dieser Spezialdisziplin zu verbessern.“ Rolf Aldag, Sportlicher Leiter

Jumbo Visma win TTT but Cort steals the show

Jonas Vingegaard’s Jumbo Visma opted for tradition and team effort to clinch the 32.2-km team time trial stage 3 of Paris-Nice and nearly handed perfect team-mate Nathan van Hooydonck the race’s yellow jersey. But the Dutchman was finally beaten for the yellow jersey by Vingegaard’s compatriot Magnus Cort (EF Education-Easy Post), who crossed the line only one second slower than the Dutch outfit to snatch the overall lead by the slightest margin. Michael Matthews (Jayco Alula) is now third overall, a further second adrift. Denmark is everywhere with the yellow jersey on Cort’s back while Mads Pedersen holds the green jersey and Jonas Gregaard the polka-dot.

Tradition
While most teams decided to use the new format of the stage to drop riders along the way and leave just one strong man lead out their leader in the last kilometre, Jumbo Visma kept four riders until the line to set a fastest time of 33 minutes and 55 seconds, at an average speed of 57 kph. They beat EF Education by one second while pacesetters Jayco Alula were four seconds adrift. Groupama-FDJ were a surprising fourth, 14 seconds adrift.

The Lotto Dstny team, last in the team classification of this Paris-Nice, opened the ball of this team time trial, the first on the Race to the Sun since 1993 at 14:57. They crossed the line first in 34:58, setting the tone for the rest of the field. At the first intermediate mark, Jayco Alula were the first under 17 minutes in 16:53. The Australian team opted to stay together and reach the last kilometre with four riders before leading out Simon Yates and Michael Matthews to narrowly beat the 34 minutes bar in 33:59. The mark long proved unbeatable, as teams were attempting diverse tactics to place their leaders in the best possible position. Most decided to leave their strongest specialist in the last kilometre to trail their leader towards the line. It was the case for Tadej Pogacar, led out by Mikkel Bjerg before surging on his own for the final sprint.

Different approaches

The approach was slightly different for France’s David Gaudu, who stayed in the slipstream of former Euorpean champion Stefan Kung until the line: it paid off as the Frenchman only lost ten seconds on Yates and Matthews and was even nine seconds faster than Pogacar. Jumbo Visma by contrast opted to race like in a traditional team time trial, as there were still four of them in the last kilometre. With specialists like Rohan Dennis, Tobias Foss, Jan Tratnik, Nathan van Hoodyonck and Jonas Vingegaard, it proved the right decision and allowed the reigning Tour de France champion to take crucial time over his rivals, and especially Pogacar, who now trails him by 11 seconds overall. Magnus Cort and EF also acted differently, the Dane going solo to try and snatch the yellow jersey. It worked perfectly.
@ASO

Paris-Nice – 2. Etappe

Ergebnisse, Etappenrennen, Teamnews, , , , ,

Bazainville – Fontainebleau – 164 Km

1 PEDERSEN Mads DEN TREK – SEGAFREDO 03:28:57
2 KOOIJ Olav NED JUMBO-VISMA 00:00
3 NIELSEN Magnus Cort DEN EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 00:00
4 MCLAY Daniel GBR TEAM ARKEA – SAMSIC 00:00
5 TAMINIAUX Lionel BEL ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK 00:00
6 MATTHEWS Michael AUS TEAM JAYCO ALULA 00:00
7 VAN DEN BERG Marijn NED EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 00:00
8 BOL Cees NED ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM 00:00
9 RENARD Alexis FRA COFIDIS 00:00
10 DEMARE Arnaud FRA GROUPAMA – FDJ 00:00
11 KRISTOFF Alexander NOR UNO-X PRO CYCLING TEAM 00:00
12 COQUARD Bryan FRA COFIDIS 00:00
13 ALVES OLIVEIRA Rui Filipe POR UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:00
14 MERLIER Tim BEL SOUDAL QUICK-STEP 00:00
15 TURGIS Anthony FRA TOTALENERGIES 00:00

Gesamt:

1 PEDERSEN Mads DEN TREK – SEGAFREDO 07:19:35
2 POGAČAR Tadej SLO UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:02
3 MERLIER Tim BEL SOUDAL QUICK-STEP 00:04
4 KOOIJ Olav NED JUMBO-VISMA 00:08
5 BENNETT Sam IRL BORA – HANSGROHE 00:08
6 MATTHEWS Michael AUS TEAM JAYCO ALULA 00:10
7 NIELSEN Magnus Cort DEN EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 00:10
8 LATOUR Pierre FRA TOTALENERGIES 00:10
9 GODON Dorian FRA AG2R CITROEN TEAM 00:12
10 VAN HOOYDONCK Nathan BEL JUMBO-VISMA 00:12
11 COQUARD Bryan FRA COFIDIS 00:14
12 DEMARE Arnaud FRA GROUPAMA – FDJ 00:14
13 BOL Cees NED ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM 00:14
14 VAN DEN BERG Marijn NED EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 00:14
15 VAN POPPEL Danny NED BORA – HANSGROHE 00:14

BORA – hansgrohe verpasst auf der zweiten Etappe ein Spitzenergebnis

Die zweite Etappe von Paris-Nizza führte das Peloton von Bazainville über 163,7 flache Kilometer nach Fontainebleau. Eine Soloflucht von J. Gregaard wurde 53km vom Peloton und den Sprinterteams beendet. BORA – hansgrohe leistete in Vorbereitung auf die Sprintankunft viel Arbeit und war stets an der Spitze des Feldes vertreten. Im Finale herrschte Chaos, Sam Bennett war 500m vor dem Ziel etwas blockiert und verpasste die Chance, um ein Spitzenergebnis zu sprinten. Den Sieg holte sich M. Pedersen, bestplatzierter BORA – hansgrohe Fahrer war Danny van Poppel auf Rang 17.

Reaktionen im Ziel
„Das Team war großartig heute, wir waren als starke Einheit unterwegs. Leider habe ich am entscheidenden Kreisverkehr vor dem Ziel das Hinterrad verloren und war danach zu weit hinten positioniert. Auf den letzten 500m hatte ich nicht mehr die Geschwindigkeit, um nochmal zurück zu kommen. Kein ideales Ende heute für uns! “ Sam Bennett

„Unser Zug ist den ganzen Tag über perfekt gelaufen, nur am Ende haben wir die Einfahrt zum Bahnhof verpasst. Im Finale herrschte nach einem Sturz Chaos, wir haben uns als Mannschaft etwas verloren und waren am entscheidenden Kreisverkehr, 500m vor dem Ziel, nicht mehr in Position. Wir hatten zwar Pech, sind aber ohne Sturz oder Verletzungen durchgekommen. Die Niederlage heute gilt es zu akzeptieren, der Fokus liegt jetzt auf dem Mannschaftszeitfahren morgen und den nächsten Etappen.“ Rolf Aldag, Sportlicher Leiter

Chateau Pedersen!

In front of the spectacular castle of Fontainebleau, Denmark’s Mads Pedersen outwitted the rest of the field to snatch his second stage victory in Paris-Nice after the one clinched last year in Dun-le-Palestel. The former world champion beat promising Dutch sprinter Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) and compatriot Magnus Cort to take the yellow jersey away from Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick Step). Tadej Pogacar, who again won the day’s intermediate sprint, is second overall, two deconds behind, ahead of a crucial team time trial on Tuesday.

Gregaard goes again
The real start was given at 13:00 to 154 riders. With 3 km done, Jonas Gregaard (Uno-X Pro), already part of yesterday’s break with Paul Ourselin (TotalEnergies) was back in action, this time going solo for a long day at the front. The Dane took his gap to a maximum of 4:25 before the peloton, led by Merlier’s Soudal Quick Step team-mates decided it was enough. With a lead settling at under three minutes, Gregaard came first at the top of the 3rd category Cote des Granges-le-Roi, to add three points to his KOM tally, making him the provisional leader of the mountain classification.

New KOM leader
A brief echelon took place after kilometre 81, when the peloton suddenly raised the tempo and split, losing a few riders along the way. While the pack came within 25 seconds of the escapee, it finally regrouped and let Gregaard regain some of his lead. The Dane went ahead, again coming first at the top of Cote de Méréville (km 103.1) to take his KOM lead to eight points. He will keep the polka-dot jersey until stage 4 since there are no KOM points on offer in stage 3’s team time trial. Gregaard was also voted the most aggressive rider of the stage.

Pogacar collects
His KOM harvest completed, he waited for the pack and was reeled in with 53 km to go. Over two days, the Dane has spent 229 km at the front. In the last 50 km, the pack geared up for the final sprint and the only event was a crash by Pierre Latour, 6th overall, with 39 km to go. The Frenchman was able to make it back on his bike and into the pack with a little help from team-mates Jeremy Cabot and Paul Ourselin. On the only intermediate sprint of the day, Tadej Pogacar attempted the same move as a day before, going for the six seconds up for grabs. The UAE Emirates team leader beat Michael Matthews (Jayco-Alula) and Nathan van Hooydocnk (Jumbo Visma) on the line to snatch precious time ahead of Tuesday’s team time trial. A crash took place under the red flame, disorganizing the final sprint which looked undecided before Mads Pedersen surged to take the day’s laurels.

Paris-Nice – 1. Etappe

Ergebnisse, Etappenrennen, Teamnews, , , , ,

1. Etappe, 5. März: La Verrière – La Verrière (169,4 km)
2. Etappe, 6. März: Bazainville – Fontainebleau (163,7 km)
3. Etappe, 7. März: Dampierre-en-Burly – Dampierre-en-Burly (32,2 km / MZF)
4. Etappe, 8. März: St.-Amand-Montrond – La Loge des Gardes (164,7 km / BA)
5. Etappe, 9. März: St.-Symphorien-sur-Croise – St.-Paul-Trois-Chateaux (212,4 km)
6. Etappe, 10. März: Tourves – La Colle-sur-Loup (197,4 km)
7. Etappe, 11. März: Nizza – Col de La Couillole (142,9 km / BA)
8. Etappe, 12. März: Nizza – Nizza (118,4 km)

La Verrière – La Verrière – 169Km

1 MERLIER Tim BEL SOUDAL QUICK-STEP 03:50:52
2 BENNETT Sam IRL BORA-HANSGROHE 00:00
3 PEDERSEN Mads DEN TREK-SEGAFREDO 00:00
4 KOOIJ Olav NED JUMBO-VISMA 00:00
5 DE LIE Arnaud BEL LOTTO DSTNY 00:00
6 MATTHEWS Michael AUS TEAM JAYCO-ALULA 00:00
7 COQUARD Bryan FRA COFIDIS 00:00
8 GARCÍA CORTINA Iván ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:00
9 GROVES Kaden AUS ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK 00:00
10 DÉMARE Arnaud FRA GROUPAMA-FDJ 00:00
11 MARIT Arne BEL INTERMARCHÉ-CIRCUS-WANTY 00:00
12 VAN POPPEL Danny NED BORA-HANSGROHE 00:00
13 CORT Magnus DEN EF EDUCATION-EASYPOST 00:00
14 DUJARDIN Sandy FRA TOTALENERGIES 00:00
15 WRIGHT Fred GBR BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 00:00

Sam Bennett zum Auftakt von Paris-Nizza auf Platz zwei

Mit einer 169,4km langen Etappe wurde heute in Frankreich die achttägige Fernfahrt Paris-Nizza (2.UWT) eröffnet. Schmale Straßen, windanfälliges Terrain und zwei Bergwertungen der dritten Kategorie versprachen einen spannenden ersten Renntag. Eine frühe, zweiköpfige Ausreißergruppe bestimmte das Rennen bis zum Zusammenschluss 30km vor dem Ziel.
Die finalen 20km waren geprägt von Attacken, schlussendlich aber wurde die Etappe in einem Massensprint entschieden. Beim Sieg von T. Merlier sicherte sich Sam Bennett Platz zwei.

Reaktionen im Ziel
„Ein großer Dank an meine Teamkollegen, die speziell in dem hektischen Finale den Überblick behalten und einen großartigen Job gemacht haben. Die letzten 30km waren richtig hart, ich habe mich aber sehr gut gefühlt, das stimmt mich positiv für die Flachetappe morgen.“ Sam Bennett

„Ein kalter Tag mit einem ziemlich heißen Finale! Leider waren Bob Jungels und Nils Politt am vorletzten Anstieg in einen Sturz involviert und fehlten somit für unser Leadout. Danny van Poppel hat im Finale einen super Job gemacht, Sam Bennett musste sich am Ende knapp geschlagen geben. Klar wollen wir hier um den Sieg fahren, sind aber mit Platz zwei zum Auftakt auf jeden Fall zufrieden. Morgen gibt’s die nächste Chance!“ Rolf Aldag, Sportlicher Leiter

Key points:
 Race director François Lemarchand believes Pogacar and Vingegaard will be at the front from day 1.
 Jonas Vingegaard tackles his first Paris-Nice hoping for the best after his show of strength in the Grand Camino.
 Ambitious Tadej Pogacar jokes that he is unlikely to win all Paris-Nice stages despite an impressive sweep of wins so far this season.

FRANÇOIS LEMARCHAND : “WE’RE GOING TO SEE POGACAR AND VINGEGAARD IN STAGE 1”
It’s become commonplace in Paris-Nice that instead of a prologue or a finish for pure sprinters, François Lemarchand takes advantage of the terrain in the Yvelines to force the peloton to face hills and winds that can hamper the plans of the sprinters teams. “You only have to look at the map to understand that we have definitely opted to try and spur attacks. There are changes in direction all the time and we have gone looking for the hardest climbs in the Chevreuse Valley. We also placed the only intermediate sprint of the day at the top of a hill 6 km from the finish,” the race director said.“ Bearing in mind that Paris-Nice is often decided by a few seconds, bonus time will be interesting to pick up especially as there will be more to grab on the finish line. I’m not saying that they will go all the way but I believe that we’re going to see Vingegaard and Pogacar at the front,” he added. Still quite a few of the sprinters at the start are capable of going over the last climbs of the day, including the Millon-la-Chapelle or 17 Tournants hills: “A lot will depend on the intensity of the race when the peloton reaches them. The Millon-la-Chapelle climb is a small wall, but riders like Arnaud De Lie, Michael Matthews or Mads Pedersen should be able to cope. Actually anything is possible.”

JONAS VINGEGAARD: “I’M READY FOR THE BEST”
Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard is tackling his first Paris-Nice with a lot of ambitions, knowing that he has to beat his arch-rival Tadej Pogacar in the week ahead in order to be crowned on the Promenade des Anglais. “I’m excited, it’s always nice to race against Tadej. He’s always very strong so yeah it will be a nice week”, he told a press conference ahead of Sunday’s start in la Verrière. Winner of the three stages and the GC of the Gran Camino, his first race of the season, the Dane admitted he was in great shape but so is the case of his Slovenian opponent. “It was very nice to win three stages out of three in the Gran Camino. My training went well before and my shape was good. I think I’m ready for this race and ready for the best and fighting for victory,” he said. Asked about the course, the Team Jumbo-Visma leader said it was extremely varied and versatile. “There’s almost everything. The first stage will be about crosswinds, then we have the team time trial, and then a climbing stage at the start. Basically there’s a bit of everything and I can’t say there is one stage that stands out as the most important one,” he said. “The team time trial, for sure it’s important, we have to discuss it because the rules are different, we might have to use different tactics. We have to see about it.”

TADEJ POGACAR: “IT WOULD BE NICE TO WIN ALL THE STAGES. BUT… NO”
Riding his first Paris-Nice, Tadej Pogacar admits the Race to the Sun would be “nice to add to his palmares”, yet the UAE team leader expects fierce competition all the way to the French Riviera. This 81st edition is all the more exciting as the level of the field is extremely high with the last two Tour de France winners, Pogacar and Dane Jonas Vingegaard, standing as clear favourites for final victory. “For sure Jonas is in great shape but I’m also in good shape, it’s going to be fun, it’s going to full on until the line and it’s not going to be easy,” said the Slovenian, winner of the Tour of Andalucia last month. Both Pogacar had impressive starts to the season, each sweeping almost all the races they entered, the Slovenian winning three stages in Andalucia while the Dane also picked three wins in the Gran Camino. “I don’t plan ever to win a stage I just plan to go good in each stage but it’s not like Andalucia when every stage was super hard. It would be nice to win all the stages but no, unfortunately no,” he said. Two of the big question marks of this Paris-Nice are the team time trial on stage 3, which will be clocked on the time of the fastest rider in each team and the summit finishes in La Loge des Gardes on stage 4 and La Couillole on the penultimate day. “More or less all the teams will race a similar time trial as a normal team time trial as you’re faster with more guys around you anyway. But I won’t tell you how we’re going to race. You will see on stage 3,” said Pogacar. And he admitted he seldom knew anything about the climbs on the course before the final day in Nice. “I don’t really know any of the climbs except for the last stage. I really know the last stage. It’s like my home stage. And I have an idea about the penultimate stage but I don’t know any of the climbs before that. We have Google Earth and the radios. A climb is a climb anyway, you have to push good power,” he said.

SIMON YATES: PARIS-NICE IS A RACE I REALLY ENJOY
After finishing second twice in 2018 and 2022, Simon Yates will start Paris-Nice for the 8th time with real ambitions despite the strength of the field. “It’s been a different start to my season compared to the last couple of years after starting in Australia and it was nice to kick things off with a stage win at the Tour Down Under,” said the Briton, winner of four stages in the Race to the Sun in the past. “I’ve had success at Paris-Nice before and it’s a race I really enjoy, particularly the last stage around Nice. The team time trial on stage three should make things interesting for the GC, but I think we have a really strong team for it,” the Team Jayco AlUla leader added. Yates won on all terrains in Paris-Nice previously – a bumpy stage in Fayence in 2017, a mountain stage at La Colmiane in 2018, an individual time trial in Barbentane in 2019 and the final stage last year in Nice. “It’s always a stacked field and a challenging course, but we are all ready and I’m looking forward to a solid eight days of racing,” he said.

KEVIN VAUQUELIN : AMBITIOUS AND HUMBLE
French hopeful Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea-Samsic) tackles first stage race at World tour level with ambition after winning the Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var three weeks ago. But the 21-year-old stays modest about his chances in the Race to the Sun. “Of course it’s impressive to start my very first Paris-Nice, a stage race whose reputation is well established. It’s a major race of the early season, certainly one of the first highlights of the season with a beautiful course which is a one-week summary of the Tour de France with stages for sprinters, a time trial, even though it’s a little bit specific this year, and really bumpy stages towards the finish,” he said. “The leader’s jersey is yellow too. I’m starting the race the way as I always do, with ambition but also humility. I have a little more pressure but I take it easy because I know that with the whole Arkea Samsic team, we’re going to try and to our best. We recently went training in the south and we checked out the last three stages of the Race to the Sun. It allowed me to know my way around. It’s definitely a plus.”

For its 6th edition, Paris-Nice Challenge is giving all cycling fans a chance to slip into the shoes of a real professional rider under the Côte d’Azur sun on Saturday 11 March 2023. The cyclosportive in the heart of the Nice countryside marks the launch of the season in an idyllic setting. Just 24 hours before the peloton, it will offer more than 1,200 cyclists the opportunity to ride the route of the last stage of Paris-Nice: 128km from the famous Promenade des Anglais, 2,400m of positive altitude difference and a finish at the gates of the Paris-Nice village on the Quai des États-Unis.
©A.S.O.

81. Paris-Nizza Vorschau

Etappenrennen, Vorschau, , , ,

Romain Bardet: „There are always strong riders and a big battle on Paris-Nice“


Archivfoto Plomi

After two years essentially focused on the Giro, Romain Bardet has put the general classification of the Tour de France back in his sights for 2023 and thus returns to Paris-Nice with this in mind. Ten years after his debut in the Race to the Sun, the Frenchman will ride for the first time in the DSM jersey of the Dutch team, with which he has been since the 2021 season. Fifth in the general classification in 2019, he will have the opportunity to measure himself against Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar this year.

Romain Bardet, how do you feel after the opening races that launched your season in the south of France?
I think this was the best programme to allow me to prepare for Paris-Nice, the best way to arrive in shape. I am not yet at my peak, but my legs are good. I have to get over a little virus which weakened me last weekend, but it will pass quickly. I had a mechanical problem in the Ardèche, which prevented me from going for the win, and the next day on the Drôme Classic, I felt that I was lacking a bit of punch in the run to the finish. But despite the cold, it was still a very intense race, and this work was helpful.

„It’s the toughest one-week race in the entire calendar. The tension is constant.“

Do you remember the 2013 Paris-Nice and your sixth place in Brioude, which is still your best result on a stage?
Indeed, that goes back a long way. It was my second professional year, but above all, the one in which I genuinely discovered the elite level. Everything was new, and I understood too well that I was entering another dimension. The conditions were difficult for the Brioude stage, but I was up to it. I quickly realised that Paris-Nice was a very demanding race.

What do you mean?
I think it’s the toughest one-week race on the entire calendar. It is right behind the big tours. It is not where I feel most at ease, but there is always a good fight. The tension is constant. It’s a difficult race, with always a steep stage early in the week, then there is the wind factor, then a time trial, and then the final weekend with a series of climbs. The Dauphiné is easier for me because the ascent is more progressive. And Tirreno-Adriatico has more days reserved for the sprinters, so it is not as hard.

„The climb to La Colle-sur-Loup is tremendously difficult, and you can’t be off that day.“
Have you made this Paris-Nice an intermediate objective?
More than anything else, it is an essential race in the build-up to my season. Getting my bearings with a new group will be one of the challenges. I spent some time with my teammates in training. We have excellent young riders and real talents. Casper Van Iden and Pavel Bittner are more sprinter-punchers. They need to get their teeth into it. And Max Poole is only 19 years old, but he is a great climber in the making. He fell last Sunday, and I still hope he can be with us so that he can dive into the deep end.

The Col de la Couillole stage will be the big event, but have you been able to study the route in detail?
First, I will make a reconnaissance ride of the opening stage, which could be good. Then, the team time trial is a double-edged sword because of the armadas that will be present. As for the rest, I know the sector very well of the last three stages, and I can tell you that the La Colle-sur-Loup ascent is tremendously difficult, and you can’t be off that day. As for the La Couillole climb, I have already ridden it several times, and I did it again last week.

As a general classification rider, is it realistic to aim for victory with favourites like Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar?
We’ll see. They’ve been flying since the start of the season. And they are also with some big teams, that’s for sure. But whatever happens, there are always strong riders and a big battle in Paris-Nice. So, I still go there saying I will ride my race. I have to rely on my legs first and my form.
Historical series: trial balloons

Stage race organizers sometimes innovate in the way they run time trials. This year, Paris-Nice is experimenting with a special style of team time trial, with the times achieved by each rider being used for the day’s classification. An individual time trial run by teams, in short, is a strange idea. But the history of cycling is not lacking in unusual attempts at time trials. The official website of Paris-Nice offers an overview of the most creative initiatives: the „separate starts“ in the 1920s; the preface of the 1988 Tour; or, closer to our time, the chrono-pursuit raced by women in Marseille in 2017, etc.
The four first episodes can be found here: https://www.paris-nice.fr/en/paris-nice-trial-balloons
©A.S.O.

PARIS-NICE 2023: REVVING UP FOR THE BATTLE

Etappenrennen, Vorschau, ,

Key points:

 The route of the 81st edition of Paris-Nice has attracted the current leading lights of stage races: Tour de France winners Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogačar and Egan Bernal have signed up for a major battle that could start on the first stage in the Yvelines department on Sunday 5th March and continue until the race finishes in Nice on 12th March, including the challenge of the Col de la Couillole on the penultimate day.
 Among the expected challengers, Simon Yates boasts the most convincing record on the Race to the Sun. Watchful eyes will also be on Frenchmen David Gaudu and Romain Bardet for their first major race of the year.
 The sprinters will also have the opportunity to express themselves, especially if they have the capacity to withstand modestly hilly stages, which will be the challenge for Arnaud Démare, Michael Matthews, Sam Bennett, Mads Pedersen, Bryan Coquard, Arnaud De Lie and Tim Merlier, among others.

A well-known trap that can be fallen into is to project the lessons learned on Paris-Nice onto the following edition of the Tour de France. Cycling enthusiasts have been doing so for the last 90 years and will no doubt get carried away again once the finish of the last stage has taken place on the Promenade des Anglais. The list of participants promises a battle between the sport’s leading lights, with top billing for riders such as Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogačar and Egan Bernal, namely the winners of the last four editions of the Tour de France. In 2022, Jumbo-Visma commenced its show of force on the very first day and the team, reinforced this year by the presence of the Danish champion, could again prove to be ready to seize all the opportunities available from the stage in La Verrière onwards. The riders in the black and yellow jerseys are most likely to face fierce opposition from the outset from Tadej Pogačar, who will also be discovering the Race to the Sun, but who has never proved to be timid on a first encounter. The Slovenian, who has been untenable since starting his 2023 season, has somewhat of an edge over his rival of last July, but also over Egan Bernal, who is heading with little certainty into the race on which he launched his winning campaign in 2019.

On the rather particular formula of a time-trial ridden in team format but timed individually, the three most prominent champions will have another opportunity to measure themselves against each other in Dampierre-en-Burly in the Loiret department, as well as the possibility of assessing their rivals’ potential for resistance. Simon Yates, 2nd on Paris-Nice last year, as was the case in 2018, proved to be in great form by winning the queen stage on the Tour Down Under for his debut to the season. As for American Matteo Jorgenson, 8th in 2022, his victory on the Tour of Oman shows that he is making significant progress. They will undoubtedly try to eke out place in the weekend’s battle and specifically on the climb up the Col de la Couillole on Saturday. The best climbers will have the opportunity to show how well they can compare with the three favourites: Frenchmen David Gaudu and Romain Bardet, respectively 4th and 6th on the Tour de France in 2022, will find themselves on terrain that suits them, just like Spaniard Ion Izagirre, who has finished three times in the top 5 on the Race to the Sun (in 2016, 2018 and 2021). Max Schachmann, a two times winner of the event, will have his work cut out to stay in touch with the leaders, whilst the other men in form in February, namely Neilson Powless, Kevin Vauquelin, Aurélien Paret-Peintre or also emerging young star Mattias Skjelmose, will try to capitalise on any chances they get on their way to Nice. For the latter, the virtues of Denmark’s school of cycling are no longer a mystery to anyone…

22 TEAMS, THE MAIN PARTICIPANTS:

Australia
Team Jayco AlUla: S.Yates (Gbr), Matthews, Hamilton (Aus)

Bahrein
Bahrain Victorious: Haig (Aus), Mäder (Swi)

Belgium
Soudal Quick Step: Asgreen (Den), Cavagna (Fra), Merlier (Bel)
Lotto Dstny: De Lie, T.De Gendt (Bel), Sweeny (Aus)
Intermarché-Circus-Wanty: Calmejane, Page (Fra)
Alpecin-Fenix: Kragh Andersen (Den), Groves (Aus)

France
AG2R Citroën Team: Paret-Peintre (Fra), Dewulf, Naesen (Bel)
Cofidis: Coquard, Thomas (Fra), I.Izagirre (Spa)
Groupama-FDJ: Gaudu, Démare (Fra), Küng (Swi)
TotalEnergies: Boasson Hagen (Nor), Latour, Turgis (Fra)
Team Arkea-Samsic: Champoussin, Vauquelin (Fra)

Germany
BORA-hansgrohe: Schachmann (Ger), Bennett (Irl)

Israel
Israel-Premier Tech: Houle (Den), Van Asbroeck (Bel)

Kazakhstan
Astana Qazaqstan Team: Sanchez, De la Cruz (Spa)

Netherlands
Jumbo-Visma: Vingegaard (Den), Dennis (Aus), Laporte (Fra), Foss (Nor)
Team DSM: Bardet (Fra), Degenkolb (Ger)

Norway
Uno-X Pro Cycling Team: Kristoff, Tiller (Nor)

Spain
Movistar Team: Garcia Cortina (Spa), Jorgenson (USA)

United Arab Emirates
UAE Team Emirates: Pogačar (Slo), Majka (Pol), Trentin (Ita), Wellens (Bel)

United Kingdom
Ineos Grenadiers: Bernal, Martinez (Col), Fraile (Spa), Hayter (Gbr)

USA
EF Education-Easypost: Powless (USA), Cort (Den), Bisseger (Swi)
Trek-Segafredo: Pedersen, Skjelmose (Den)

Historical series: trial balloons

Stage race organizers sometimes innovate in the way they run time trials. This year, Paris-Nice is experimenting with a special style of team time trial, with the times achieved by each rider being used for the stage classification. An individual time trial run by teams, in short, is a strange idea. But the history of cycling is not lacking in unusual attempts at time trials. The official website of Paris-Nice offers an overview of the most creative initiatives: the „separate starts“ in the 1920s; the preface of the 1988 Tour; or, closer to our time, the chrono-pursuit raced by women in Marseille in 2017, etc.
The first two episodes can be found here: https://www.paris-nice.fr/en/paris-nice-trial-balloons