Apologizing already now for the rider names being included in some of the last pics from this stage. Had to take some screens from the replay, as I couldn't keep track of everything during the race.
WT: Paris-Nice: Stage 7
It almost worked yesterday, so we try the two-rider breakaway tactic again. Gatis recovered well overnight and happily plays the helper role for a second time. This time for Clement, however.
The company we get is immensely strong also today, unfortunately. In particular two excellent climbers in Daan Olivier (Blanco) and Peter Velits (Quickstep), but also Andrey Grivko (Astana), Cyril Gautier (Europcar), Gert Dockx (Lotto) and Sergey Chernetskiy (Saxo).
As we come up to the first climb of the day with Gatis comfortably installed at the front of the group, a pleasant surprise appears. None of the other riders feel like spending energy to chase points for the KoM jersey.
With plenty of climbing still to come on the stage, we make a quick decision to let Clement target polkadots at the end of the day, and perhaps end up having to change his last name to KoMetzky. (Terrible pun, I know)
Everything runs perfectly according to plan, and Clement picks up the first five mountain primes - which places him within range of the jersey.
The task becomes harder from 60 km out and onwards however, as Gatis can't keep doing the pace anymore and cracks on the 1st category climb.
The action also springs to life a few minutes further back, as 5th overall Stybar is looking for advancement on the general classification table with a long-range attack.
Up front the hard work pays off as Clement takes today's biggest climb and thus overhauls Casar for the lead in the mountain's classification.
Stybar has meanwhile built himself a nice advantage of around a minute thirty seconds over the main field - while sitting roughly 3 minutes off the leaders.
After a long-ish descent, we get down on the flat again - though only for a short period of time. As the peloton hits a short little incline just ahead of today's final climb, a worried Rodriguez sets off after Stybar.
Mollema and the green jersey of Boasson Hagen are quick to respond to the surprising move, as also Costa figures it's go-time.
Bakelants, Jerome, Marcato, Niemiec, Voeckler, Cunego and Gerrans follows Costa across to Purito, while the rest have been caught napping.
Gilbert, Gesink, Talabardon, Coppel and Klöden all find themselves over a minute back, with just a few short meters left to the final hill.
Col du Tanneron begins with a 7% gradient straight away, so Rodriguez wastes no time sitting around and stamps up on the pedals again. As the little Spaniard catches up with a fading Stybar, Costa is forced to counter together with Cunego.
Clement and the rest of the early breakaway just about manages to hang on over the top of the climb as a storming Purito comes across together with Stybar.
Costa went too far into the red zone trying to fight back and is now found further back with the rest of the earlier seen favourite group.
Chernetskiy isn't at all content with big names coming across to the long-time escapees and attempts to go by himself in the descent.
Purito is meanwhile not too interested in trying to resist the combined power of the chasing favourite group, so he slows down and lets them rejoin. Even a previously distanced Gilbert makes it back after a monster climb.
Impressive strength from Chernetskiy allows him to withstand the chasers and stay in the lead all the way into the outskirts of Cannes, but a late attack from Voeckler brings him back just as the sprint is launched.
Rodriguez, Gerrans, Bakelants and Dockx also join this late aggressive, but Costa manages to shut the gap with another big effort. A still fairly fresh Clement has taken position behind Boasson Hagen.
Voeckler's early kick throws him into a lead which he holds for a long way, but under the kite he is finally overtaken by Niemiec and Mollema. Boasson Hagen on the other hand, is surprisingly slow - forcing Clement to relocate to Velits' wheel.
At the line it's Marcato who comes up to take it with a perfectly timed sprint, having sat behind Mollema for most of the finale.
An insanely strong Voeckler strikes back at Niemiec and Mollema for 2nd in the end, with the latter taking 3rd and Clement in a great 5th place.
Talabardon, Gesink and Coppel finish next after the leading group - losing almost two and a half minutes due to lacking attention.
Also here we have Kwiatek, who joined the desperate attempt to claw back time on the final climb. A brilliant move as it turns out, as the big peloton with a.o. Klöden finishes another 2'21 back.
Stage
1
Marco Marcato
Vacansoleil - DCM
4h22'56
2
Thomas Voeckler
Team Europcar
s.t.
3
Bauke Mollema
Blanco Pro Cycling
s.t.
4
Przemyslaw Niemiec
Lampre - Merida
s.t.
5
Clément Koretzky
La Pomme - Bouygues
s.t.
6
Zdenek Stybar
OmegaPharma - Quickstep
s.t.
7
Simon Gerrans
Orica - GreenEdge
s.t.
8
Joaquím Rodríguez
Garmin - Sharp
s.t.
9
Daan Olivier
Blanco Pro Cycling
s.t.
10
Andriy Grivko
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Peter Velits
OmegaPharma - Quickstep
s.t.
12
Jan Bakelants
Radioshack - Trek
s.t.
13
Gert Dockx
Lotto-Belisol Team
s.t.
14
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Sky Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
15
Rui Costa
Movistar Team
s.t.
16
Cyril Gautier
Team Europcar
s.t.
17
Vincent Jérôme
Team Europcar
s.t.
18
Philippe Gilbert
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
19
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - Merida
s.t.
20
Sergey Chernetskiy
Team Saxo-Tinkoff
s.t.
21
Yannick Talabardon
FDJ
+ 2'21
22
Michal Kwiatkowski
La Pomme - Bouygues
s.t.
23
Robert Gesink
Blanco Pro Cycling
s.t.
24
Jérôme Coppel
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
s.t.
25
Moreno Hofland
Blanco Pro Cycling
+ 4'42
26
Evaldas Siskevicius
La Pomme - Bouygues
s.t.
27
Daniele Bennati
Team Saxo-Tinkoff
s.t.
28
Florian Vachon
Bretagne - Seché Environnement
s.t.
29
Matti Breschel
Team Saxo-Tinkoff
s.t.
30
Hugo Houle
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
Although under big pressure today, Costa retains the yellow jersey due to Bakelants, Rodriguez and Gilbert all missing out on the time bonuses. Great day for us meanwhile, as Clement and Kwiatek are now 17th and 19th!
GC
1
Rui Costa
Movistar Team
28h20'50
2
Jan Bakelants
Radioshack - Trek
+ 1
3
Joaquím Rodríguez
Garmin - Sharp
+ 4
4
Philippe Gilbert
BMC Racing Team
+ 7
5
Zdenek Stybar
OmegaPharma - Quickstep
+ 39
6
Thomas Voeckler
Team Europcar
+ 55
7
Przemyslaw Niemiec
Lampre - Merida
+ 1'00
8
Vincent Jérôme
Team Europcar
+ 1'02
9
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - Merida
+ 1'06
10
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 1'27
...
17
Clément Koretzky
La Pomme - Bouygues
+ 4'25
...
19
Michal Kwiatkowski
La Pomme - Bouygues
+ 5'45
And most importantly, Clement takes over the polkadot jersey!
We've more or less got the mountain's jersey wrapped up already, but Clement still goes into the early breakaway to avoid unpleasant surprises if, for example, Casar were to try to strike back.
The task is made significantly easier when the group is formed without Casar or any other close rival. The most notable names are instead Daniele Bennati (Saxo) and Pierre Rolland, who has been seen on the move earlier in the race.
There's still a bit of interest in the points from other escapees, but Paolo Longo Borghini (Cannondale) and Florian Vachon (Bretagne) are no match for Clement. With Col de la Porte in the pocket, the jersey is secured!
He also takes La Turbie without much trouble, but that's all for today, as Rodriguez is keen to gain time today and jumps across to the group already at the bottom of Col d'Èze.
Costa is not going to give up without a fight though, and crosses a little while later together with Niemiec and Voeckler.
This causes Purito to kick again.
No one can answer this attack, so he goes over the summit with an advantage of 30 seconds.
Costa is leading the chase behind, with a rather big peloton having caught up.
Hard work is done to bring him back, but the little cigar is flying and the gap extends to 45 seconds as they drop down towards Nice again.
The big group finally starts closing in as we get inside the streets of Nice, but it's too late to stop Purito from winning the stage!
But will he take the overall? The gap has really shrunk, so it's hard to say if it will be registered. Not to mention that Costa is involved in the sprint behind, looking for a 2nd place that could save his lead!
It's a really close call, but Costa doesn't have the margins on his side today. Gerrans and Gallopin steals the time bonuses away from him, in addition to the fact that a 28 second gap has been clocked.
You know what that means! Joaquim Rodriguez wins his second big stage race after last year's Vuelta!
Stage
1
Joaquím Rodríguez
Garmin - Sharp
3h33'55
2
Simon Gerrans
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 28
3
Tony Gallopin
Radioshack - Trek
s.t.
4
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Sky Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
5
Rui Costa
Movistar Team
s.t.
6
Michael Albasini
Orica - GreenEdge
s.t.
7
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - Merida
s.t.
8
Thomas De Gendt
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
9
Vincent Jérôme
Team Europcar
s.t.
10
Sergey Lagutin
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
After today's tremendous effort and judging by climbs from earlier in the race, it's hard to argue that the best man wins the race.
GC
1
Joaquím Rodríguez
Garmin - Sharp
31h54'43
2
Rui Costa
Movistar Team
+ 30
3
Jan Bakelants
Radioshack - Trek
+ 31
4
Philippe Gilbert
BMC Racing Team
+ 37
5
Zdenek Stybar
OmegaPharma - Quickstep
+ 1'09
6
Thomas Voeckler
Team Europcar
+ 1'25
7
Przemyslaw Niemiec
Lampre - Merida
+ 1'30
8
Vincent Jérôme
Team Europcar
+ 1'32
9
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - Merida
+ 1'36
10
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 1'57
Spoiler
11
Marco Marcato
Vacansoleil - DCM
+ 2'30
12
Bauke Mollema
Blanco Pro Cycling
+ 3'18
13
Simon Gerrans
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 3'30
14
Jérôme Coppel
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 3'47
15
Yannick Talabardon
FDJ
+ 3'48
16
Robert Gesink
Blanco Pro Cycling
s.t.
17
Clément Koretzky
La Pomme - Bouygues
+ 4'50
18
Andreas Klöden
Radioshack - Trek
+ 6'07
19
Michal Kwiatkowski
La Pomme - Bouygues
+ 6'15
20
Sergey Chernetskiy
Team Saxo-Tinkoff
+ 7'24
21
Lieuwe Westra
Vacansoleil - DCM
+ 7'58
22
Tony Gallopin
Radioshack - Trek
+ 8'10
23
Kristijan Durasek
Lampre - Merida
s.t.
24
Ian Boswell
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 8'14
25
Beñat Intxausti
Movistar Team
+ 8'15
26
Thomas De Gendt
Vacansoleil - DCM
+ 8'16
27
Jakob Fuglsang
Astana Pro Team
+ 8'17
28
Paolo Tiralongo
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
29
Pierre-Luc Perichon
La Pomme - Bouygues
+ 8'18
30
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 8'20
31
Cameron Meyer
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 8'39
32
Daniele Bennati
Team Saxo-Tinkoff
+ 9'24
33
Peter Stetina
Garmin - Sharp
+ 9'30
34
Sergey Lagutin
Vacansoleil - DCM
+ 9'34
35
Paul Martens
Blanco Pro Cycling
s.t.
36
Eros Capecchi
Movistar Team
+ 9'35
37
Daan Olivier
Blanco Pro Cycling
+ 10'27
38
Michael Albasini
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 12'12
39
Chris Anker Sørensen
Team Saxo-Tinkoff
+ 12'19
40
Bob Jungels
Radioshack - Trek
+ 12'31
41
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
+ 12'52
42
Pierre Rolland
Team Europcar
+ 13'42
43
Cyril Gautier
Team Europcar
+ 14'22
44
Daryl Impey
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 14'34
45
Romain Hardy
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
s.t.
46
Jérémy Roy
FDJ
+ 14'36
47
Sandy Casar
FDJ
+ 14'37
48
Steve Morabito
BMC Racing Team
+ 14'38
49
Hubert Dupont
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 14'40
50
Juan José Cobo
Movistar Team
+ 14'41
51
Frederik Veuchelen
Vacansoleil - DCM
+ 14'46
52
Peter Velits
OmegaPharma - Quickstep
+ 15'23
53
Paolo Longo Borghini
Cannondale Cycling
+ 17'31
54
Maarten Wynants
Blanco Pro Cycling
+ 17'36
55
Sylwester Szmyd
Movistar Team
+ 17'37
56
Florian Vachon
Bretagne - Seché Environnement
+ 18'49
57
Michael Matthews
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 18'50
58
Moreno Hofland
Blanco Pro Cycling
+ 19'20
59
Matti Breschel
Team Saxo-Tinkoff
+ 19'28
60
Marko Kump
Team Saxo-Tinkoff
+ 19'41
61
Pieter Weening
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 20'12
62
Rafal Majka
Team Saxo-Tinkoff
+ 20'36
63
Francisco Ventoso
Movistar Team
+ 20'44
64
Hugo Houle
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 21'02
65
Dimitriy Muravyev
Astana Pro Team
+ 21'09
66
Laurent Mangel
FDJ
+ 21'29
67
Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg
Team Argos - Shimano
+ 21'41
68
Joshua Edmonson
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 21'53
69
Rein Taaramae
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 23'25
70
Mitchell Docker
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 24'24
71
Ian Stannard
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 24'26
72
Andriy Grivko
Astana Pro Team
+ 24'27
73
Amaël Moinard
BMC Racing Team
+ 24'51
74
Samuel Sánchez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 25'27
75
Andy Schleck
Radioshack - Trek
+ 26'03
76
Alexey Lutsenko
Astana Pro Team
+ 26'28
77
Alexandre Geniez
FDJ
+ 27'42
78
Guillaume Levarlet
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 27'44
79
Michal Golas
OmegaPharma - Quickstep
+ 28'27
80
Brent Bookwalter
BMC Racing Team
+ 29'13
81
Tom Boonen
OmegaPharma - Quickstep
+ 29'36
82
Alexandre Pichot
Team Europcar
+ 30'17
83
Nacer Bouhanni
FDJ
+ 30'19
84
Gorka Izagirre
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 30'32
85
Ricardo García
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 30'34
86
Miguel Mínguez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 30'39
87
Evaldas Siskevicius
La Pomme - Bouygues
+ 32'01
88
Andrew Fenn
OmegaPharma - Quickstep
+ 32'07
89
Johan Vansummeren
Garmin - Sharp
+ 33'14
90
Francis Mourey
FDJ
+ 34'02
91
Francis De Greef
Lotto-Belisol Team
+ 34'23
92
Bram Tankink
Blanco Pro Cycling
+ 34'35
93
Stefano Agostini
Cannondale Cycling
+ 34'39
94
Gatis Smukulis
La Pomme - Bouygues
+ 34'50
95
Niki Terpstra
OmegaPharma - Quickstep
+ 35'34
96
Romain Feillu
Vacansoleil - DCM
+ 36'26
97
Cyril Lemoine
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 37'04
98
Martin Kohler
BMC Racing Team
+ 37'11
99
Kristof Vandewalle
OmegaPharma - Quickstep
+ 37'27
100
Maxime Bouet
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 37'33
101
Stéphane Poulhiès
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 38'04
102
Valentin Iglinskiy
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 38'27
103
Thomas Dekker
Garmin - Sharp
+ 38'30
104
Maciej Paterski
Cannondale Cycling
+ 38'55
105
Sébastien Turgot
Team Europcar
+ 39'16
106
Aidis Kruopis
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 39'51
107
Gert Dockx
Lotto-Belisol Team
+ 40'20
108
José Iván Gutiérrez
Movistar Team
+ 40'22
109
Danny Pate
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 41'04
110
Nicolas Edet
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 41'32
111
Steele Von Hoff
Garmin - Sharp
+ 41'55
112
Daniele Pietropolli
Lampre - Merida
+ 41'59
113
Yauheni Hutarovich
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 43'15
114
Anthony Ravard
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 43'21
115
Matija Kvasina
Bretagne - Seché Environnement
+ 43'57
116
Paul Poux
FDJ
+ 44'02
117
Kanstantsin Siutsou
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 45'34
118
Michael Mørkøv
Team Saxo-Tinkoff
+ 46'35
119
John Degenkolb
Team Argos - Shimano
+ 47'12
120
André Greipel
Lotto-Belisol Team
+ 47'13
121
Jürgen Roelandts
Lotto-Belisol Team
+ 47'21
122
Lars Bak
Lotto-Belisol Team
+ 47'24
123
Grégory Rast
Radioshack - Trek
+ 48'18
124
Jacopo Guarnieri
Astana Pro Team
+ 48'19
125
Ángel Vicioso
Garmin - Sharp
+ 48'22
126
Angelo Tulik
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 50'40
127
Daniel Oss
BMC Racing Team
+ 51'14
128
Koldo Fernández
Garmin - Sharp
+ 53'48
129
Juraj Sagan
Cannondale Cycling
+ 55'00
130
Dirk Bellemakers
Lotto-Belisol Team
+ 56'06
131
Mathieu Sprick
Team Argos - Shimano
+ 56'59
132
Kris Boeckmans
Vacansoleil - DCM
+ 57'24
133
Sep Vanmarcke
Blanco Pro Cycling
+ 57'27
134
Davide Cimolai
Lampre - Merida
+ 58'14
135
Yoann Paillot
La Pomme - Bouygues
+ 58'19
136
Eric Berthou
Bretagne - Seché Environnement
+ 59'14
137
Armindo Fonseca
Bretagne - Seché Environnement
+ 1h01'33
138
Davide Viganò
Lampre - Merida
+ 1h03'13
139
Thomas Vaubourzeix
La Pomme - Bouygues
+ 1h03'45
140
Carlos Verona
OmegaPharma - Quickstep
+ 1h03'50
141
Tiago Machado
Radioshack - Trek
+ 1h05'53
142
Tony Hurel
Team Europcar
+ 1h10'06
143
José Herrada
Movistar Team
+ 1h10'23
144
Gabriel Rasch
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 1h14'17
145
Steven Cozza
Garmin - Sharp
+ 1h16'06
146
Assan Bazayev
Astana Pro Team
+ 1h17'19
147
Cameron Wurf
Cannondale Cycling
+ 1h18'10
148
Arman Kamyshev
Astana Pro Team
+ 1h18'46
149
Simone Stortoni
Lampre - Merida
+ 1h19'40
150
Jérôme Cousin
Team Europcar
+ 1h20'05
151
Matteo Bono
Lampre - Merida
+ 1h23'47
152
Alexandre Lemair
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 1h25'05
153
Thomas Damuseau
Team Argos - Shimano
+ 1h27'31
154
Matthew Hayman
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 1h32'00
155
Danilo Wyss
BMC Racing Team
+ 1h34'16
156
Marcel Sieberg
Lotto-Belisol Team
+ 1h35'07
157
Jonas Ahlstrand
Team Argos - Shimano
+ 1h35'17
158
Jon Aberasturi
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
159
Tosh Van der Sande
Lotto-Belisol Team
+ 1h35'21
160
Geoffroy Lequatre
Bretagne - Seché Environnement
+ 1h38'41
161
Benoit Drujon
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 1h39'22
162
Christophe Laporte
La Pomme - Bouygues
+ 1h42'54
163
Michel Koch
Cannondale Cycling
+ 1h45'30
164
Albert Timmer
Team Argos - Shimano
+ 1h45'34
165
Giovanni Bernaudeau
Bretagne - Seché Environnement
+ 1h45'36
166
Roy Curvers
Team Argos - Shimano
+ 1h45'50
167
Juan José Lobato del Valle
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 1h46'54
168
Gaël Malacarne
Bretagne - Seché Environnement
+ 1h47'48
Purito also jumps up to 2nd place in the battle for green, although Boasson Hagen was completely dominant in this one.
Points
1
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Sky Professional Cycling Team
108
2
Joaquím Rodríguez
Garmin - Sharp
89
3
Rui Costa
Movistar Team
85
4
Jan Bakelants
Radioshack - Trek
64
5
Zdenek Stybar
OmegaPharma - Quickstep
63
Also hard to complain for our part, considering what a nice jersey we're bringing home to the HQ here in today's finish city!
KoM
1
Clément Koretzky
La Pomme - Bouygues
76
2
Sandy Casar
FDJ
32
3
Paolo Longo Borghini
Cannondale Cycling
28
4
Florian Vachon
Bretagne - Seché Environnement
25
5
Gatis Smukulis
La Pomme - Bouygues
23
And as a nice surprise: we also get a 1-2 in the U25 classification! Yesterday's huge gains obviously played the biggest role in this.
Thanks all. KoM jersey + U25 jersey was indeed a great success.
1.1: Nokere Koerse
Paris-Nice was a fun experience, but it's time to step down on the small stage again and start focusing on points again. Cobbles remain the most frequent terrain, and we'll try to maintain the form the squad had in the recent De Panne Tour. The cobbles today are very limited however.
Apart from the addition of Gatis and a few helpers, it's basically the same squad as we used in Driedaagse. Jeanlou is the pre-race captain, although we may actually end up working for Alex if the race ends up being one for the sprinters rather than for the classics specialists.
Nevertheless, the competition isn't too fierce. Sebastian Langeveld is perhaps the biggest name, having moved down to Continental level and a leader's role at De Rijke this season.
Thor Hushovd (BMC) and Gert Steegmans (Quickstep) are otherwise the most notable starters. Both comfortable with cobbles like today's and also fairly quick in an eventual sprint finish, although far from like in the old days.
Nobody really dares to try anything from distance, as the weather is absolutely horrendous from start to finish. The five brave early escapees stay up front basically from km 1, but their journey ends as we head out for the final lap with a showdown between the favourites awaiting.
We attempt to set up a little train in the very last kilometers, but Gatis and Jeanlou both fall off somewhat just as the sprint is about to be launched - leaving us with Alex on the front and Toms in a great position just behind.
With or without our leaders tagged on, we figure it's worth a try. Alex therefore kicks off immediately as we pass by the 3 km-sign, and the only one who is attentive is Toms!
After a bit of confusion followed by full panic near the front of the group behind, Dominique Rollin (FDJ) starts to claw his way back to Alex. Toms has kicked again though and enters the final km with a good buffer!
Gatis and Jeanlou are in the meantime marking Rollin like shadows.
And what a finish!
Toms holds on easily, taking his 2nd win as a professional within the span of just a week. And behind him, Gatis and Jeanlou jumps out of Rollin's slipstream as he started to fade in the final metres to make his an almost unbelievable treble for us!
Not to mention that Alex manages 5th place, only passed by one non-team mate during the 3 km he lead for. He could probably have won this if he hadn't been such a nice guy that he agreed to play leadout today.
The pre-race favourites had nothing to say in the end, and Hushovd takes the highest finish among them with a scarce 19th place.
A bit funny result for sure, but mainly due to weak competition and poor tactics from the AI. Not to mention that I've always found it an easy race to win. Plus our marginal gains, of course!
1.1: Classic Loire Atlantique
We've travelled back home to France and the Loire province on the west coast for a classic for the sprinters. The hosting town is La-Haye-Fouassière, just outside Nantes. It's the 2nd year in a row for us, although last year's race was a big flop.
My expectations are fairly high, as both our co-captains; Alex and Evaldas, should be capable of a top result. The former because of superb form and the other because of excellent speed and constantly augmenting shape.
None of last year's top 3 are back to defend, but Joeri Stallaert (Crelan / 4th) and Sébastien Chavanel (FDJ / 5th) will try their best to fill their shoes. Add CTour leader and Tour of Qatar winner Adrien Petit (Cofidis), and you've got yourself a rather decent sprinter field.
The inevitable early breakaway obviously forms in the opening kilometers and leads for most of the day, but in a relatively easily controlled race like this, they never really threaten the victory.
The catch is made with just over 10 km remaining, causing a slight drop of speed in the peloton. The opportunity is immediately seized by a free roled Andzs, who fancies going for a late dig.
Jan Ghyselinck (Cofidis), Christophe Kern (Europcar), Pierrick Fédrigo (FDJ) and Jimmy Engoulvent (Sojasun) all tag along, forming a little escape group.
No teams are really keen on chasing, so they manage to build up a lead of almost a minute inside the final 10 km. Not far later, it becomes obvious that they're going to fight for the victory today.
To avoid having to compete with normally much faster guys like Fedrigo and Engoulvent, Andzs jumps again with 4 km to go and only Kern takes chase.
Kern really struggles to shut the last few metres up to Andzs' back wheel as he pushes on into the final kilometer, while the other three are quickly clawing their way back again.
Yoann has meanwhile put in a little attack from the main field to try to profit from the soft-pedalling as well.
After holding in for as long as possible, Andzs is finally forced to kick off the sprint with his last few ounces of energy with 500m remaining.
Kern seems to be on the limit, but the others are closing very quickly.
The gap continues to come down more and more, but the pursuers run out of road and Andzs makes it a 2nd straight victory for La Pomme and also Latvia.
Ghyselinck flies past Kern for second, with Engoulvent and Fedrigo completing the top 5. They all underestimated a certain young, unknown rider in the end.
Yoann's attack is also successful, albeit with a very slim margin as he crosses the line just a few metres in front of bunch sprint winner Petit.
Neither Evaldas nor Alex bothers to take part in the chaotic sprint for these minor places, as it wasn't really necessary with team mates up the road.
WT: Paris-Nice: Stage 7
for that. 
1.1: Nokere Koerse
