A sprint stage but over 2,000m of climbing and some long mountain passes but they’re gradual so plenty of sprinters will hope to hang on as this is their last chance.
Paris-Nice Stage 4 Preview
A mountain stage of sorts, today’s route has some unexpected surprises in store.
Paris-Nice Stage 3 Preview
A team time trial with a tricky, hilly first half to trouble the big rouleurs when their leaders need for the run back to the finish.
Paris-Nice Stage 2 Preview
The one pure sprint stage of the week, no pesky hills stand in the way and because the weather looks gentle probably no splits in the crosswinds either.
Paris-Nice Stage 1 Preview
A tough opening stage in a tough place. If you want a preview of the GC contenders, see yesterday’s post. Here’s the first of the daily stage previews.
Paris-Nice Preview
This year’s “race to the sun” promises to be illuminating with the duel between Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel as the headline contest, entertaining in itself, informative about future contests like the Tour de France. Don’t call this a mini-Tour, there’s no solo time trial and there are no long summit finishes, do call it a rehearsal for July for several contenders and their teams.
Tuesday Shorts
Did you enjoy the weekend’s racing? TV coverage is a difficult issue this year for many with the absence of GCN+ making it more complicated and more expensive to watch some races. Even within Europe there are complications as Eurosport isn’t a like-for-like replacement, in the US it’s more complicated and other places, say, Japan just don’t have a legal means to watch for now. But Belgians, used to free to air coverage, weren’t happy last weekend either.
The Moment The Omloop Was Won
Jan Tratnik floats away on the descent off the Bosberg with only Nils Politt giving chase as both Matej Mohorič and Stefan Küng dip their heads, too tired to chase. Visma-Lease a Bike won, just not in the manner we expected.
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Preview
Time for some Belgo-sadism. You’ve seen the early season races in sunshine, admired the coastlines and the climbs, the bright sunlight, the early blossom. Now the sport goes north to take on roads and tracks best viewed seen from the comfort of the sofa, especially given the weather forecast.
This Saturday looks like Visma-Lease A Bike versus the field with Wout van Aert and his team mates taking on a peloton without, for now, Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogačar or Remco Evenepoel and so opportunities abound for others.
The 2024 Points Race
We’re in Year 2 of the three year World Tour promotion and relegation cycle. Here’s a look at the current standings and the challenges for some teams.