Kooij strongest in carbon-copy of stage 1 sprint
March 7 th 2024 - 16:33
Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike) asserted himself as the undisputable fastest man in this Paris-Nice, outsprinting Mads Pedersen on the line in Sisteron exactly like he did in stage 1 on Sunday to snatch his second stage victory, his third in the Race to the Sun. Germany’s Pascal Ackermann (Israel Premier Tech) was third. An eight-man break tried all day to confirm the trend that Sisteron stages on Paris-Nice did not finish in a bunch sprint, but the sprinters teams had other ideas. A cautious Luke Plapp retained his overall leader’s yellow and white jersey.
Six in the front
The real start was given at 11:55 to 145 riders. Andrea Piccolo (EF-Easypost) did not start and Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) did not take the real start. Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies), who lives in the area, attacked straightaway. He was rapidly joined by five other riders, his team-mate Sandy Dujardin, Alexis Gougeard (Cofidis), Dries de Bondt (Decathlon-Ag2R), Mathias Norsgaard (Movistar) and Mathijs Paasschens (Lotto Dstny). The five received the go-ahead from the peloton and the lead remained stable at around 2:25 until the half-mark.
Eight in the lead
On the first 3rd category climb of the day, Col de la Sausse (km 82.5), Latour, a team-mate of KOM leader Mathieu Burgaudeau, collected the three points. The gap went down by half until the second ascent, Col de Peyruergue (Km 118), at the foot of which two other Lotto Dstny riders, Victor Campenaerts and Pascal Eenkhooorn, parted company with the bunch and started chasing behind the break, which they joined at kilometre 116. Latour was fastest at the top and again in the following ascents, Cote de la Rochette-du-Buis (Km 128) and Col de la Pigière (km 146.2).
Sprinters out
The succession of climbs made life difficult for several sprinters, starting with Ducthmen Arvid de Kleijn, winner of stage 2, and Fabio Jakobsen, winner of a stage in 2022, who both called it quits. In the finale, the breakaway group started to show signs of tension while the sprinters teams (Lidl-Trek, Visma-Lease a Bike) upped the tempo. With 30 km to go, Gougeard and Paasschens were dropped by the other escapees. Latour, who was named the most aggressive rider of the day, was reined in five kilometres later. The rest of the leading group finally lay the arms down shortly after the first crossing of the finish line for the only intermediate sprint of the day.
Bunch sprint
Several attempts took place after the junction, Remco Evenepoel among others trying to shake up the pack unsuccessfully. A bunch sprint was unavoidable and the sprinters trains took time to organise. Lidl-Trek seemed to take the upper hand in the last kilometre but probably led Mads Pedersen out a little too early. The former world champion lost momentum and was pipped on the line by Kooij. The Dane earned the consolation of taking the green jersey away from New Zealand’s Laurence Pithie (Groupama-FDJ).
