photo credits @ ASO
Olav Kooij (Visma –Lease a Bike) won the opening stage of Paris-Nice today, after the Dutch rider piped Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) in an uphill finish in Les Mureaux, while Laurence Pithie claimed the final spot on the podium.
It was a challenging final 20 kilometers, with attacks flying from the likes of Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) and Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers). However, the sprinters’ teams reined in any would-be attacker, setting the stage for a sprint finale.
Race Highlights
A trio of riders jettisoned the peloton at the outset of the stage, with Mathieu Burgaudeau of TotalEnergies becoming the first King of the Mountains. However, by the time the escapees hit Côte d’Herbeville, their gap was down to 2:00, with Jonas Rutsch of EF Education-EasyPost wrestling the KOM from Burgaudeau. In the meantime, Visma-Lease a Bike and Lidl-Trek did the brunt of the work chasing down the leaders.
Despite their efforts, the breakaway was swept up on Bazemont. Still, Rutsch and Burgaudeu were able to vie for the KOM points once more, with the EF Education-EasyPost rider prevailing.
On the way to the final climb, there was a small ascent that saw Matteo Jorgenson, Evenepoel and Bernal the first to crest, with the frontmen later rejoining the field after the descent.
Soudal-QuickStep led over the final climb of Côte d’Herbeville, with Bernal later hitting out, a move that was closely marked by Evenepoel, Primoz Roglic and Brandon McNulty.
The streamlined peloton was stretched out heading towards Les Mureaux, but slowed down when Anthony Turgis attacked. However, a large group of 60 riders eventually reeled the Frenchman in with just under 2 kilometers remaining.
From there, Visma grabbed the reins, only for Lidl-Trek to take over during the final run-in to the finish.
Pedersen went long coming out of the final corner, but Kooij roared past the Dane during the waning moments of the stage to snatch the day’s honors.
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