DAY-1 PARIS-NICE NEWS
March 2 nd 2024 - 18:16
* The 82nd edition of Paris-Nice kicks off tomorrow with a first stage of 157.7 over two laps, starting and finishing in Les Mureaux, in the Yvelines department. The profile does not necessarily lend itself to a sprint finish, particularly given the climbs in the final stretch.
* Looking ahead to the finish in Nice, former winner Primoz Roglic (2022) is the main favourite and will wear the number 1 bib, with 2022 Vuelta winner Remco Evenepoel, who is taking part in his first French stage race, as his main challenger.
* Another former winner of the Race to the Sun, Egan Bernal (2019), could also be in the running, as could David Gaudu, who finished 2nd in 2023. The list of contenders also includes Matteo Jorgenson, Joao Almeida, Brandon McNulty, Aleksandr Vlasov, Felix Gall and Ion Izagirre.
YANNICK TALABARDON: “THE SIX SECONDS BONUS SHOULD NOT BE NEGLECTED”
The first leader's jersey in Paris-Nice is always a hard one to conquer and it also requires a great sense of timing to adapt to race scenarios regularly drifting away from a traditional bunch sprint. In recent years, tough battles in the rain helped Max Schachmann (2020) or Sam Bennett, in a more classic format in Saint-Cyr-l'Ecole (2021), take the first laurels, before a Jumbo-Visma coup led Christophe Laporte out to victory in Mantes-La-Ville (2022), the last winner in the Yvelines being Tim Merlier in La Verrière (2023).
The 155.1-km course for the first stage once again opens a host of possibilities, as course director Yannick Talabardon explains: "It's a combination of several sections on which we've seen some fine attacking moves in recent years. The wind isn't expected to blow very hard tomorrow, but there should be some and it will be sideways in four or five spots”.
Echelons cannot be ruled out and the bumpy finale could also be used to kick some of the sprinters out of the final wrap-up: "The bonus sprint has been placed at the top of a hill with sections with a 10 pc gradient, said the man in charge of the route, and the 6 seconds awarded to the first at the top is not to be neglected”. “The Herbeville climb can also be used as a launch-pad. Those two hills are in the last 18 kms of the race, while the finish will take place on a road with a gradient of 4 or 5 pc, over almost 500 metres. If there is a sprint, it probably won't involve a huge group".
REMCO EVENEPOEL – “EXCITED TO RACE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FRANCE”
Among the leading favourites for overall victory in Nice next Sunday, Remco Evenepoel said he was especially motivated at the start of a season that will take him for the first time in France at World Tour level while his programme for the year also includes the Dauphiné in June and the Tour de France in July.
“My ambition is clear –– trying to win a stage and being up there in the GC, as usual. “For me this Paris-Nice is a big test as it’s going to be the first time I’m doing a big race in France. It’s an experience I’m looking forward to especially as it’s a nice parcours and a lot of riders can win.” The Belgian Soudal-Quick Step team leader is well aware that the Race to the Sun will be finishing on the terrain of next July’s final weekend of the Tour de France and that it’s a perfect opportunity to discover the course. “
To be honest I know nothing of the last weekend’s climbs except what I saw on TV. It’s going to be a full week of exploring for now and for the Tour de France final weekend. It’s always looking like a very hard and eventful final weekend here on Paris-Nice. I’m looking forward to experience it in person. Paris-Nice is the ideal way to discover what it’s like to race in France,” he said.
The reigning time trial world champion is also intrigued by Wednesday’s team time trial in Auxerre, in which times are taken on the first rider in each team to cross the line: “It’s the same as in other team time trials, you have to stay together, the only difference being that you have a chance to have a lead-out in the final stretch,” he said.
“It would be great to win my first World Tour stage race in France, but the level is very high, it’s not only Primoz (Roglic) and myself. It would be great if I won, but I’ll be happy with second or third place.”
EGAN BERNAL – “I HOPE I CAN DO SOMETHING SPECIAL”
Back on Paris-Nice for the first time since his victory in 2019, Egan Bernal is excited to make his return after a dreadful crash in February 2022 nearly ended his career.
“I’m feeling good happy to be again here in France because this race is one of my favourite races. I just did it once in 2019 and it was nice as I won the race. We hope this year we can do something special too,” said the Ineos Grenadiers team leader.
“I think the body is improving race after race. This winter I was able to do normal training so I feel confident I will keep improving and we’ll see how this race goes but at least I want to try to go deep and make the race hard.”
The 2019 Tour de France winner was not scheduled to race Paris-Nice this year but his fine showing in the Grand Camino last month (3rd) prompted Ineos to change their minds and field him at the start of the Race to the Sun.
However Ineos Grenadiers team director Steve Cummings is putting no pressure on the Colombian.
“I wasn’t surprised to see him back because of his mentality, his attitude and professionalism. After an accident, you’re never quite sure what to expect. After a good winter and a good season last year when he suffered a lot physically and mentally like the champion he is, there is no pressure. It’s already a victory for him to come back to the level he’s in. The objective is for him to take pleasure. The only pressure is to try our best and see what that brings us,” he said.
Asked whether the race would be all the more of a test for Bernal as he won on those roads five years ago, Cummings added: “I’m not sure it’s a healthy comparison. But I know he won’t stop fighting. Let’s enjoy having him back.”
For the rest of the team’s ambitions, Cummings admitted Ineos were no longer riding the way they did when they won six editions of Paris-Nice between 2012 and 2019: “We’ve been racing in a different way. If we’re not winning the race, we’ll seize the opportunities to animate the race and ultimately if we can’t win the GC, we can hope to win a stage.”
Bernal himself has faith in his team-mates: “With Carlito (Rodriguez), Josh (Tarling) and Omar (Fraile), I think we have a pretty good team.”
DAVID GAUDU: "TACKLE THE FIRST DAYS LIKE CLASSICS”
The leader of Groupama-FDJ enjoyed one of the most successful weeks of his career at Paris-Nice last year, finishing just a minute behind Tadej Pogacar and around thirty seconds ahead of Jonas Vingegaard. As a result, he is one of the favourites for the race, although his early-season form hasn't been so encouraging, with an 18th-place finish on his return to Galicia, this time well adrift of the Dane.
But the Breton isn't giving up hope of making an impact on the Race to the Sun: "I hope I've recovered well from O Gran Camino, even if my crash penalised me. Paris-Nice is a tough race. You have to approach the first few days as if they were classics. Echelons, crashes and collisions could take place in the first two stages. Then there's the team time trial and Mont Brouilly. We need to negotiate these four stages first before thinking about the rest. We've also got some good names for the stages, including Laurence Pithie, Quentin Pacher and Kevin Geniets. There are some great things to come throughout the week.”
TONY GALLOPIN – “ARNAUD IS NOT 100 PC”
Back on Paris-Nice as a team director for Lotto Dstny, Tony Gallopin is worried that team leader Arnaud De Lie will not be at his best in Sunday’s first stage in Les Mureaux as a result of his crash it the GP Samyn last Tuesday.
“With Arnaud at 100 pc, he would have been a clear favourite tomorrow. But he took a big crash on Tuesday, it really wasn't a small one. He has some work to do, so I don't think he'll be at 100 pc, but we'll play it by ear and see how it goes,” he said.
Paris-Nice has always been a special race for Gallopin, who lives on the course of stage 2 and has finished four times in the top 10, winning a stage in 2015, the year he finished 6th overall.
"It's always a special race for me, but in a different role, and I'm approaching it with just as much motivation. I've already done the whole of February as a DS. It's great, it's different, the organisation, the logistics, the car, the racing side is the most fun. That's what I'm good at, but the other stuff is great too.”
“We’re here with the classics team, so the main thing is to have a good week. We have no ambition for the GC but we're going to try to win a stage and project ourselves into the big classics,” he said.