Roglic's time to shine?

February 23 ^rd 2022 - 16:00

 Key points:

Edition 80 of Paris-Nice, which will kick off on 6 March with a stage in the Yvelines, with the start-finish in Mantes-la-Ville, could allow Primož Roglič to erase his disappointment of last year. But the Slovenian rider will have to show consistency in the Montluçon time trial and the ascent of the Col de Turini or when facing the tension of the last stage around Nice to add his name on the roll of honour next to Max Schachmann’s.

Among the climbers, Nairo Quintana has impressed so far this season, but he will have to contend with David Gaudu, Guillaume Martin, Alexandr Vlasov and brothers Simon and Adam Yates.

Before heading to the South of France, the sprinters will have a series of intense battles in which Fabio Jakobsen, Sam Bennett, Bryan Coquard, Sonny Colbrelli, Jasper Philipsen and Dylan Groenewegen will most probably be involved. Among others...

 There is always a certain amount of excitement and impatience among cycling fans as the Paris-Nice peloton is formed. This anticipation is not only due to the level of the thermometer, which sometimes struggles to rise in the Yvelines in early March, but more importantly about the chances and limitations of the leading contenders of the week-long race, a good part of whom should be the riders to watch during the season. Last year, Primož Roglič made his debut in the "Race to the Sun" as the odds-on favourite that he confirmed with three stage wins, riding most of the diagonal of the South-East in the leader's jersey, until a horrific last day on the way to Levens, where he arrived dejected, the yellow of his jersey and his shorts bloodied by two crashes, and relegated to 15th place overall. The Slovenian rider is not bothered and will start in Mantes-la-Ville with his ambitions intact, which could take shape as soon as the Montluçontime-trial. As for the all-rounders, there will be many candidates for the stage win, starting from the ranks of Roglič's Jumbo-Visma team, which has added Rohan Dennis and Wout Van Aert to the squad. On the other side of the table, which is to say in the Ineos-Grenadiers team, the time trial will be as vital for Filippo Ganna and Michal Kwiatkowski as for Adam Yates and Daniel Martínez, who will already be gunning for a strong result in the general classification. At this point, German rider Max Schachmann will also want to stay in the hunt in case an opportunity arises to win a third consecutive title, a treble that hasn't been accomplished since Laurent Jalabert did it in 1997.   To stay in contention for the win on the Promenade des Anglais, it won't be enough to make a respectable result on the solo exercise and avoid the possible crosswinds in the Loiret or Indre. The final weekend will give the pure climbers every chance to turn the situation around and, in particular, on the key Saturday stage, where for the second time in the race's history, the finish will be on the col de Turini after a 14.9-kilometre climb. The roads where Ari Vatanen and Sébastien Loeb enjoyed rally successes were above all in 2019 the route of Egan Bernal's first triumph in a prestigious stage race. He won his yellow and white jersey, while his compatriot Daniel Martínez won the stage, and Nairo Quintana also represented Columbia by taking the provisional podium. The Arkéa-Samsic climber is the man in form at the moment, with convincing wins in the Tour de la Provence and the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes et du Var. But the Colombian delegation will not be alone in their quest for success as climbers from around the world will be in action. Stage winner on the Tour of Algarve, David Gaudu will be part of the French contingent, as will Guillaume Martin, Pierre Latour and Aurélien Paret-Peintre. Spain will be represented by Ion Izagirre, David de la Cruz and the consistent Luis León Sánchez, who now rides for the Bahrain Victorious team. Australia will count on Ben O'Connor. England's best chances lie with the Yates brothers, while American Brandon McNulty could be in the mix. Russia’s Alexandr Vlasov (2nd in 2021) will be another to watch, as will Kazakhstan's Alexey Lutsenko.   They will certainly not be part of the final battle, but the sprinters will have indeed had a look at the course of the opening stages and will make it a sensational few days. The Quick-Step riders will, in large part, work to give Fabio Jakobsen his chance for victory. But the most successful stage winner of this early season (Tour of Valencia x 2 / Tour of Algarve x 2) isn't the only rider to have raised his arms. Bryan Coquard did so on the Etoile de Bessèges and the Tour de la Provence, as did Dylan Groenewegen on the Saudi Tour, Fernando Gaviria on the Tour of Oman, and Jasper Philipsen on the UAE Tour. And although they haven't yet won in 2022, Sam Bennett and Christophe Laporte will try to show their new jerseys while Cees Bol, Sonny Colbrelli or Ivan Garcia Cortina will also have their chances to shine on the sprint finishes.

 22 TEAMS, THE LEADING ENTRANTS:

Australia

Team BikeExchange-Jayco: Groenewegen (Ned), S. Yates (Gbr)

Bahrain

Bahrain Victorious: Colbrelli (Ita), Sanchez (Spa), Teuns (Bel)

Belgium

Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl: Jakobsen (Ned), Sénéchal (Fra), Stybar (Rtc)

Lotto Soudal: Gilbert, De Gendt (Bel)

Intermarché-Wanty Gobert Matériaux: Taaramäe (Est)

Alpecin-Fenix: Philipsen (Bel), Vine (Aus)

France

AG2R Citroën Team: Champoussin, Paret-Peintre (Fra), O’Connor (Aus)

Cofidis: Martin, Coquard (Fra), I.Izagirre (Spa)

Groupama-FDJ: Gaudu, Madouas (Fra), Küng (Swi)

TotalEnergies: Boasson Hagen (Nor), Latour, Turgis (Fra)

Team Arkéa-Samsic: Capiot (Bel), Quintana (Col)

B&B Hotels-KTM: Bonnamour, Hivert (Fra)

Germany

Bora-Hansgrohe: Schachmann (Ger), Grossschartner (Aut), Vlasov (Rus), Bennett (Irl)

Israel 

Israel Start-Up Nation: Schmidt (Den)

Kazakhstan

Astana-Qazaqstan: Lutsenko (Ukr), De la Cruz (Spa)

Spain

Movistar Team: Garcia Cortina (Spa), Jorgenson (Usa)

The Netherlands

Jumbo-Visma: Roglic (Slo), Kruijswijk (Ned), Van Aert (Bel), Dennis (Aus), Laporte (Fra) Team DSM: Kragh Andersen (Den), Bol (Ned), Degenkolb (Ger)

United Kingdom

Ineos-Grenadiers: Ganna (Ita), A.Yates (Gbr), Martinez (Col)

United Arab Emiratess

UAE Team Emirates: McNulty (Usa), Gaviria (Col), Trentin (Ita)

United States 

EF Education-Easypost: Bisseger (Swi), Doull (Gbr)

Trek-Segafredo: Mollema (Hol), Pedersen (Dan), Stuyven (Bel)

Paris-Nice, edition 80

Since 1933, Paris-Nice has marked the beginning of the big battles for the champions destined to excel in the stage races. Whether on the Promenade des Anglais or the Col d'Èze, depending on the year, the first evaluation of the form of the Tour de France favourites is already underway. On the occasion of edition 80, parisnice.fr looks back at the role played by the "Race to the Sun" in the careers of a dozen riders who have forged a unique link with the event, from René Vietto to Egan Bernal, including Jacques Anquetil, Sean Kelly and Alberto Contador. The first five parts of the series are already available on the official website.