The famous race to the sun which launches the European stage race calendar celebrates its 90th anniversary this yeare anniversary. And no shortage of assets.
What headliners are there? It’s scrambling. Dane Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) are preparing to discover Paris-Nice, the first European stage race of the WorldTour. Seven months after their spectacular showdown on the Tour de France, the explanation will spread a tasty scent of the Grande Boucle. A first explanation that, from Yvelines (departure theater for the 14e consecutive year) to Nice and the Promenade des Anglais will provide indications on the form of the protagonists and their close guards (Christophe Laporte, Steven Kruijswijk, Tobias Foss… for Jumbo-Visma). Jonas Vingegaard made a successful start to the season, took everything during the Gran Camino (2 stage victories, including a time trial and the general classification). The Slovenian flew over the Tour of Andalusia (winning three of the five stages and the final general classification). Paris-Nice, with its pitfalls, its rhythm, its meteorological whims… comes at the right time. The protagonists of the Tour are used to avoiding each other so far from the event, the explanation between Pogacar the revengeful and Vingegaard who has finally digested his resounding success on the Tour promises sparks and will be rich in lessons. Last year, Jumbo-Visma blew up the entry race…
Which runners to try to disrupt the flagship duo? Colombian Daniel Martinez (Ineos, 3e in 2022 behind Primoz Roglic and Simon Yates) and the French David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ, 4e of the last Tour de France) and Romain Bardet (DSM) can, in particular, have ambitions for a race whose highlights will be at the top of the Loge des Gardes (4e stage) and the Col de Couillole (7e stage).
What’s new? If the will remains to maintain the suspense until the last weekend, the race will not go to sleep. The main novelty will affect the team time trial (3e stage, this Wednesday around Dampierre-en-Burly; 32.5 km) which, contrary to the tradition that the clock stops on the fourth or fifth runner crossing the finish line, will freeze when the first to arrive passes. So this year, the edition which does not host an individual time trial offers itself a coquetry which can sow discord. “ One can imagine that one kilometer from the finish, there are only two riders left in a team and that one of them launches his leader to finish in the sprint. It will be interesting to see what tactics the teams will adopt “, summarized to AFP, François Lemarchand, the director of the race.
What is the specificity of Paris-Nice? “I think it’s the toughest one-week race in the whole calendar, it comes just after the big laps. To tell the truth, it’s not the one where I feel the most comfortable. (the Auvergnat finished 5e in 2019, his best ranking), but there is always a good fight. The tension is permanent there, it’s a trying race, with each time a steep stage at the beginning of the week, then the wind which gets involved, then a stopwatch, then the final weekend with the series of ascents . By way of comparison, for me the Dauphiné is less difficult because the increase in intensity is more gradual. And on Tirreno-Adriatico, there are more days dedicated to sprinters, so it’s less difficult”summarizes Romain Bardet.
Where to see the race? On France 3 (Alexandre Pasteur, Marion Rousse and Laurent Jalabert on commentary, with Thomas Voeckler on the bike) and Eurosport (Guillaume Di Grazia and Jérémy Sahakian, with Philippe Gilbert and Jacky Durand as consultants).