Paris-Nice 2018 – Stage 7 [FULL STAGE]

March 10, 2018

Paris-Nice 2018 – Stage 7 – Nice – Valdeblore La Colmiane : 175 km

The 2018 Paris–Nice is a road cycling stage race that is scheduled to take place between 4 and 11 March 2018 in France. It will be the 76th edition of the Paris–Nice and the sixth event of the 2018 UCI World Tour.

Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) moved into the leader’s yellow jersey at Paris-Nice, after a cold and torrid stage of climbing and descending in the Alpes Maritimes saw him solo to a lone stage win at La Colmiane.

“It was a very difficult stage,” Yates said. “There was never a straight bit of road, and it was twisting and turning on really difficult terrain. Normally, I don’t like to sit at the front, I prefer to sit back and relax, but today was one of those days that you really needed to be there.”

Yates, riding his fifth Paris-Nice, made the decisive move a little more than four kilometres from the finish line on the 16-kilometre first category ascent to the remote ski station, after overnight race leader, Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) finally wilted with six kilometres left to race.

With the Spaniard out of the running, all of France had high hopes for Julian Alaphilippe, who briefly, was race leader on the road. But it was short-lived. The Frenchman, for all his efforts, was eventually cut adrift after BMC’s Dylan Teuns accelerated in pursuit of Yates and Jon Izagirre, of Bahrain-Merida.

“We started out hoping for the stage win,” Yates said, “but in the position that we were in on the overall, the GC was always a possibility. But there were a lot of guys who were ahead of me, so first we wanted the stage and then afterwards, we went for the GC. It all played out really well on the final climb, and now I’m in the yellow jersey.”

As Yates and Ion Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) rode clear, Alaphilippe cracked, losing over two minutes to stage winner Yates in the final three kilometres and tumbling to ninth overall.

“I wasn’t very aware of what was happening behind me once I’d attacked, but I knew the time gaps. Izagirre and I really rode hard, until about two kilometres to go, when there was some cat and mouse and he sat up a little bit. I wasn’t really confident about taking him to the line for a sprint, so that’s why I decided to attack.”

Meanwhile, Team Sky’s hopes for overall victory – still alive when the peloton left the Promenade des Anglais on Saturday morning, despite Wout Poels’ crash on the road to Vence – faded a little further after Sergio Henao struggled to follow Yates and Izagirre on the road to La Colmiane.

“We’re a bit disappointed,” said Sky sports director Gabriel Rasch as a mud-spattered Henao, now 57 seconds behind Yates, warmed down nearby. “It was a super hectic stage.”

“Sergio and David de la Cruz group’s split on the big descent in the middle of the stage and they had to use a lot of energy to get back. In the finish, Sergio paid for that.

“The weather, I think, was definitely a factor,” Rasch said, “it was such a horrible day.”

But with the top five all within 30 seconds of the race lead, Rasch remained quietly optimistic that Henao could still be in the mix. “Tomorrow we’ll see. From previous years, we know that a lot of things can happen on that stage. It’s going to be another hectic day.”

How It Unfolded

As a chilly rain fell on the Nice seafront this morning, there was talk of possible snow falling at the ski station finish. In the end, that didn’t materialise but cold weather and heavy showers made for a tough and gruelling stage for the peloton.

There were four non-starters, including former race leader and stage 1 winner, Arnaud Demare, and also Ian Boswell of Katusha. By the end of the day, after a further 13 riders abandoned, there were just 114 of the original peloton of 154 remaining.

The day’s break came together quickly and had the mark of real quality, with eight riders slipping away over the Cote de Gattieres, the first recognised climb after just 10 kilometres.

Moving clear were Rory Sutherland (UAE Team Emirates), Tony Gallopin (AG2R La Mondiale), Alessandro de Marchi and Nicolas Roche (BMC Racing), Jarlinson Pantano (Trek-Segafredo), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), Amael Moinard (Fortuneo-Samsic) and Jesus Herrada (Cofidis).

After an opening 80 kilometres punctuated by a series of high profile abandons, including those of Dan Martin, Alexander Kristoff, Koen de Kort and Julien El Fares, the break’s lead hovered at around three minutes.

But on the descent of the Col Saint Raphael, the peloton split, with Henao and Tim Wellens in the second group, and the race finally began in earnest as Yates’s Mitchelton Scott team moved to the front with Bahrain-Merida.

The break’s impetus was definitively lost with 30 kilometres to race when Pantano and De Marchi crashed heavily as they took a slick left-hand bend. Although the Colombian was quickly back on his bike, it took De Marchi several minutes to climb out of the ravine and remount to finish the stage.

With only three riders — Gallopin, Moinard and Roche — still clear, the race came together on the final climb, with AG2R La Mondiale’s leader the last of the break to get caught.

It remained a large group into the final kilometres, but eventually, Sanchez, expertly shepherded by teammates Michael Valgren, Omar Fraile, and Jakob Fuglsang, couldn’t hold the pace and finally slipped back with six kilometres remaining.

That was the signal for Yates’s teammate, Roman Kreuziger, to further tighten the screw. It was enough to tip Alaphilippe over the edge and proved also to be the signal for Yates to make his decisive move with just over four kilometres to go.

Izagirre was the only rival to react, but in truth, he never looked at ease with Yates’s pace and a further acceleration from the British rider, a kilometre and a half from the line, was too much for the Czech.

Now Yates will face a nervous final stage, with Bahrain-Merida duo, Ion and Gorka Izagirre breathing down his neck. With Tim Wellens and Dylan Teuns also within half a minute of the yellow jersey, Yates isn’t taking anything for granted

“The last stage is always difficult,” he said. “I’ve raced Paris-Nice five times now so I know that it’s a difficult stage. If you look at the GC for the last few years, the race has been won and lost with really small gaps in the GC.

“So I expect the same tomorrow – I know we will have to be ‘on’ it,” he said. “But the team looked after me perfectly all day. I was never wasting energy and I think that really made a difference in the finale today. So I’m confident for tomorrow.”

Results :
1 Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 5:02:54
2 Dylan Teuns (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:00:08
3 Ion Izagirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida
4 Gorka Izagirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:13
5 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
6 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:20
7 Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky 0:00:46
8 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team
9 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:00:48
10 Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:00:54
11 Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Movistar Team
12 Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:58
13 Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:04
14 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Mitchelton-Scott 0:01:36
15 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:02:01
16 Pierre Rolland (Fra) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
17 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors
18 Warren Barguil (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic 0:02:08
19 David De La Cruz (Spa) Team Sky 0:02:19
20 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin 0:02:40
21 Jose Herrada (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:03:41
22 Remy Di Gregorio (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
23 Rudy Molard (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:04:22
24 Diego Rosa (Ita) Team Sky
25 Cyril Gautier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
26 Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team
27 Omar Fraile (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:04:25
28 Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Team Sunweb 0:04:41
29 Michael Valgren (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:08:00
30 Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:08:03
31 Robert Gesink (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:09:12
32 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
33 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale 0:10:41
34 Benjamin King (USA) Dimension Data
35 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) BMC Racing Team
36 Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
37 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:12:03
38 Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek-Segafredo 0:12:56
39 Antonio Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:13:56
40 Rory Sutherland (Aus) UAE Team Emirates
41 Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:14:00
42 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott
43 Esteban Chaves (Col) Mitchelton-Scott
44 Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie 0:14:32
45 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Trek-Segafredo 0:15:05
46 Nicolas Roche (Irl) BMC Racing Team 0:16:40
47 Simon Gerrans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:17:54
48 Tim Declercq (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
49 Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida 0:18:02
50 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott
51 Natnael Berhane (Eri) Dimension Data
52 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Bahrain-Merida
53 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team
54 Laurent Pichon (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic
55 Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team
56 Magnus Cort (Den) Astana Pro Team
57 Amael Moinard (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic
58 Matti Breschel (Den) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
59 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:21:52
60 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Quick-Step Floors 0:22:19
61 Delio Fernandez Cruz (Spa) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
62 Romain Combaud (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
63 Luka Pibernik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
64 Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
65 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Sky
66 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data
67 Axel Domont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
68 David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Team Sky
69 Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
70 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team
71 Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb
72 Gregory Rast (Swi) Trek-Segafredo
73 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale 0:22:25
74 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
75 Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky
76 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:22:30
77 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
78 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Direct Energie 0:24:46
79 Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Movistar Team 0:25:56
80 Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz (Pol) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
81 Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
82 Thomas Boudat (Fra) Direct Energie 0:26:03
83 Timo Roosen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:26:04
84 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:26:13
85 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
86 Dayer Quintana (Col) Movistar Team
87 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Direct Energie
88 Pierre Luc Perichon (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic
89 Jay Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data 0:26:53
90 Elia Viviani (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
91 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data
92 Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
93 Carlos Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team
94 Markel Irizar (Spa) Trek-Segafredo
95 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
96 Mitchell Docker (Aus) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
97 Paul Martens (Ger) LottoNL-Jumbo
98 Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
99 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Quick-Step Floors
100 Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
101 Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team
102 Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin 0:27:16
103 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick-Step Floors 0:28:27
104 Alex Edmondson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
105 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:29:02
106 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal 0:32:28
107 Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal
108 Lars Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal
109 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal
109 Erik Baska (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
111 Jelle Wallays (Bel) Lotto Soudal
112 Jesus Herrada (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
113 Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie
114 Jerome Cousin (Fra) Direct Energie

General Classification after Stage 7 :
1 Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 27:29:02
2 Ion Izagirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:11
3 Gorka Izagirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:12
4 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:13
5 Dylan Teuns (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:00:27
6 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:37
7 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:39
8 Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky 0:00:57
9 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors 0:01:48
10 Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:49
11 Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:01:52
12 Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:02:13
13 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Mitchelton-Scott 0:02:30
14 David De La Cruz (Spa) Team Sky 0:02:59
15 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:03:39
16 Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Movistar Team 0:03:42
17 Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:03:47
18 Rudy Molard (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:05:05
19 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin 0:05:55
20 Remy Di Gregorio (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM 0:06:43
21 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:08:04
22 Jose Herrada (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:09:04
23 Warren Barguil (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic 0:10:33
24 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo 0:11:09
25 Cyril Gautier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:11:15
26 Esteban Chaves (Col) Mitchelton-Scott 0:14:13
27 Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie 0:15:36
28 Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:15:41
29 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Trek-Segafredo 0:17:17
30 Pierre Rolland (Fra) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 0:18:58
31 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale 0:19:48
32 Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:19:54
33 Diego Rosa (Ita) Team Sky 0:22:36
34 Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek-Segafredo 0:22:54
35 Nicolas Roche (Irl) BMC Racing Team 0:23:38
36 Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Team Sunweb 0:24:13
37 Natnael Berhane (Eri) Dimension Data 0:24:18
38 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:24:30
39 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Bahrain-Merida 0:24:31
40 Delio Fernandez Cruz (Spa) Delko Marseille Provence KTM 0:24:59
41 Robert Gesink (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:25:03
42 Omar Fraile (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:25:06
43 Matti Breschel (Den) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 0:28:13
44 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott 0:29:48
45 Laurent Pichon (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic 0:30:03
46 Michael Valgren (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:30:18
47 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:30:32
48 Romain Combaud (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM 0:30:49
49 Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha-Alpecin 0:30:58
50 Simon Gerrans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:31:34
51 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:31:58
52 Benjamin King (USA) Dimension Data 0:32:04
53 Timo Roosen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:32:08
54 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:34:11
55 Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Movistar Team 0:34:20
56 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data 0:35:11
57 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Direct Energie 0:35:19
58 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team 0:35:48
59 Jesus Herrada (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:36:32
60 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott 0:38:32
61 Magnus Cort (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:39:17
62 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors 0:40:10
63 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick-Step Floors 0:40:49
64 Axel Domont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:41:06
65 Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 0:41:46
66 Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:41:50
67 Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida 0:43:38
68 Amael Moinard (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic 0:44:08
69 Mitchell Docker (Aus) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 0:44:25
70 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:44:35
71 Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin 0:45:19
72 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Quick-Step Floors 0:45:30
73 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Direct Energie 0:46:09
74 Luka Pibernik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida 0:46:26
75 Elia Viviani (Ita) Quick-Step Floors 0:47:37
76 Carlos Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:47:54
77 Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin 0:47:59
78 Antonio Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:48:07
79 Gregory Rast (Swi) Trek-Segafredo 0:48:24
80 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 0:48:35
81 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team 0:49:26
82 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal 0:50:12
83 Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team 0:51:15
84 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale 0:51:41
85 Dayer Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 0:51:43
86 Thomas Boudat (Fra) Direct Energie 0:52:57
87 Paul Martens (Ger) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:53:22
88 Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:54:01
89 Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:54:04
90 Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:54:08
91 Pierre Luc Perichon (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic 0:55:22
92 David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Team Sky 0:56:00
93 Tim Declercq (Bel) Quick-Step Floors 0:56:05
94 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:56:09
95 Jerome Cousin (Fra) Direct Energie 0:56:17
96 Jelle Wallays (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:56:26
97 Rory Sutherland (Aus) UAE Team Emirates 0:56:44
98 Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:57:03
99 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:57:17
100 Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky 0:58:18
101 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data 0:58:20
102 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Sky 1:00:39
103 Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 1:00:58
104 Markel Irizar (Spa) Trek-Segafredo 1:03:38
105 Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 1:04:22
106 Alex Edmondson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 1:04:40
107 Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie 1:07:00
108 Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz (Pol) Delko Marseille Provence KTM 1:07:07
109 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal 1:10:18
110 Lars Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal 1:10:34
111 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Quick-Step Floors 1:12:08
112 Jay Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data 1:12:13
113 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 1:12:27
114 Erik Baska (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 1:19:09