Categories
News

Nice Won

After 8 electrifying days of competition and 1,307km of gruelling peddling the opening leg of the  European UCI World Tour has drawn to a close with the 69th edition of Paris-Nice now over. And what an event of (quite literal) ups and downs it has been: Day Two saw New Zealander Greg Henderson (Team Sky) sprint to victory across the 199km stage from Montfort l’Amaury to Amilly whilst Tony Martin of HTC-Highroad smashed through day 6’s 27km time-trial to lead with two stages remaining.

 

But the most dramatic racing was saved for today where the race really failed to live up to its more common name, “Race to the Sun”, as riders battled horrendous weather on the final 124km loop out and back from Nice which had riders testing themselves to the limits on climbs up the Côte de Duranus, the Col du Chateauneuf and Col de Calaïson, before the long final rain-soaked straight. French champion Thomas Voeckler of Europcar was first man home on the day (3h15’58”) but there was no denting Martin’s overall lead as he became only the third German ever to win Paris-Nice with a time of 34h03’37”. Radioshack’s Andreas Kloden took second (+00’36”) with a third place for Britain’s Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky, +00’41”).

 

Categories
News

Race to the Sun

For the first time in 15 years there was no prologue to this years Paris-Nice (more often referred to as “Race to the Sun” now in its 69th edition) which begins today, instead it kicks off with a straight stage that will give the sprinters a fighting chance at the leader’s Jersey, taking in looping laps from and to Houdan over a distance of 154.5 km.

 

Over the next 7days the tour takes rides from the flatlands of central France to the challenging mountain terrain that rings its south-eastern coastline, with individual time-trials on day/stage 6 (March 11) over 27km on the Rognes to Aix-en-Provence section. This will be the first time since 1968 that the Paris-Nice has featured individual time-trials of such length.

 

22 teams are fielding competitors, including Team Radioshack, Leopard-Trek, Saxo Bank Sunguard and Britain’s Sky Pro Cycling with Australian Michael Rogers spearheading the attack. Rogers, who joined Team Sky following five seasons with HTC-Columbia, had a pretty miserable time of it in the Algarve following a sinus infection, but now reports that he is eager to test himself on across this tough 1,307km opening leg of the  European UCI World Tour.

 

All the latest news and live updates are available from: http://www.letour.fr