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. The final saw plenty of action. Matteo Jorgenson won the six second time bonus at the intermediate sprint, placed atop a climb, and Remco Evenepoel was second, the resurgent Egan Bernal third.
This move briefly looked dangerous but a group of about 60 riders coalesced for the run into Les Mureaux. To launch an object into orbit it takes several rockets to fire one after the other.
Lidl-Trek know this too for sprint trains, only a last minute withdrawal by Alex Kirsch left them one launcher short. If he can win here he climbs up the longlist for Sanremo. The Route : a start in Thoiry, famous for its safari park. It is often on exposed roads, past dormant cereal fields and the final 50km feature some narrow tertiary roads. The course is south-east on the whole meaning a crosswind for much of the time but the route changes direction several times including in the final 50km with headwind and tailwind sections too.
The intermediate sprint in Puiseaux with 47km to has seconds in time bonuses. The Finish : a big boulevard finish. Is Dylan Groenewegen a francophile? Should Arnaud De Lie sprint? Lotto-Dstny have been asking this already in the wake of his big crash in the Four Days of Dunkerque last year, plus he was off the pace yesterday, sore. Kaden Groves Alpecin-Fenix might prefer a hillier day to get rid of some rivals and sap others.
Coverage begins at 3. The Croissants of Montargis : Heard of Montargis? Paris-Nice has been here before, the Tour de France too. Yet it could be more famous in China than France.
