Cav' Posted March 5, 2014 Posted March 5, 2014 Every big race worth it's salt deserves it's own thread, so that all discussions made are only for That specific race and no other past or future races. (Stage races are no brainers) With that being said, Paris-Nice 2014-------------------------------------------------- Cast your mind back, if you will, to March 14th, 1933. On that day, in Paris, a group of young men set off towards Dijon, a snip at 312km. Flandrian Alphonse Schepers came out victorious on that day, and was standing on the top step of the podium 5 days later at the end of what would become a fixture on the global cycling calendar: Paris-Nice, the Race to the Sun. It's position in the spring has firmly established this race as a key preparation for the Tour de France, helped in modern times by shared parentage in the ASO stable. Jacques Antequil won the Tour off the back of 3/5 of his Paris-Nice wins, including the remarkable 1961 campaign where he held the maillot jaune for 21 stages. Eddy Merckx won this race three years running - for three different teams - and went on to claim the Tour title on each occasion. In more recent times, Alberto Contador has twice won this race on his way to the top step of the podium on the Champs Elysee, in 2007 and 2010, while Bradley Wiggins claimed the 2012 title as part of his remarkable 2012. This Year's Contenders: Richie Porte will look to become the first rider since Vino in 2002/2003 to take back-to-back titles as he gears up for an assault on the Maglia Rosa in May. While Sky's Tour champions will be in Italy with - presumably - their bigger hitters, the Australian can expect to rely on the likes of David Lopez and Pete Kennaugh for support. With their eyes firmly on the Tour, Vicenzo Nibali[1] and Rui Costa #rainbows start their seasons in earnest, while Tejay van Gaarderen will be hoping to display the form that won him the Tour of California last year, rather than the form he showed on French roads. Other riders with points to prove include Tommy Voeckler - his first appearance in a World Tour race in Europcar's first season as a World Tour team - and Andy Schleck - who has more points to prove currently than UCI points. Don't discount Carlos Betancur - Operacion Bikini seems to be working - or Wilco Kelderman. The Route:Eight stages lie between the contenders and their target. Unlike in recent years - notably 2011, where Tony Martin took victory - there is no racing against the clock in this year's race. Which means that the race will be decided going uphill (and downhill again, if Nibali has anything to do with it). The first 2 stages are relatively flat - expect Alexander Kristoff and Bryan Coquard to flex their sprinting muscles - and Stage 3 channels the spirit of Paris-Roubaix by finishing on a track. Not a velodrome, this time, but the Circuit de Magny-Cours, home of the French F1 Grand Prix from 1991-2008. Stages 4 and 5 traverse the wonderful Beaujolais hills - tricky terrain, but unlikely to be decisive. The Col de Mont-Brouilly is tricky, a 3km climb that ramps up to 25% in places, and averaging 8.4%. Stage 5 rolls out of Creches-sur-Saone, famous for being the only town in Western Europe to still have a Lada dealership[2] and heads almost due south, taking a number of smaller climbs on its way just beyond Lyon. Stage 6 sees the first Category 1 climb on the route, as the peloton roll across into Provence. And then the fun begins! Stage 7 features no fewer than 5 categorised climbs as it loops around the Alpes-Maritimes in a figure of 8, but the remainder of the stage is anything but flat, including a 2km uphill drag to the finish. Another five climbs pepper the final stage, including Col d'Eze - often the final finish of this race - before the riders head along the sea-front in a finish reminiscent of last year's Tour Team Time Trial. Blackbeard 1
Cav' Posted March 5, 2014 Author Posted March 5, 2014 Previous Winners2013 | PORTE Richie2012 | WIGGINS Bradley2011 | MARTIN Tony2010 | CONTADOR Alberto2009 | SANCHEZ Luis Leon2008 | REBELLIN Davide2007 | CONTADOR Alberto2006 | LANDIS Floyd2005 | JULICH Bobby2004 | JAKSCHE Jorg
Cav' Posted March 5, 2014 Author Posted March 5, 2014 AG2R La Mondiale BARDET Romain BETANCUR Carlos BOUET Maxime CHEREL Mikael DUMOULIN Samuel MINARD Sébastien TURGOT Sébastien VUILLERMOZ Alexis
Cav' Posted March 5, 2014 Author Posted March 5, 2014 Astana Pro Team BOZIC Borut FUGLSANG Jakob GASPAROTTO Enrico GAVAZZI Francesco KANGERT Tanel NIBALI Vincenzo VANOTTI Alessandro WESTRA Lieuwe
Cav' Posted March 5, 2014 Author Posted March 5, 2014 Belkin-Pro Cycling Team BOL Jetse NORDHAUG Lars Petter BOOM Lars HIVERT Jonathan HOFLAND Moreno KELDERMAN Wilco VAN EMDEN Jos WYNANTS Maarten
Cav' Posted March 5, 2014 Author Posted March 5, 2014 BMC Racing Team CUMMINGS Stephen HUSHOVD Thor MOINARD Amaël STETINA Peter VAN AVERMAET Greg VAN GARDEREN Tejay VELITS Peter
Cav' Posted March 5, 2014 Author Posted March 5, 2014 Cannondale BENNETT George CARUSO Damiano DE MARCHI Alessandro KING Edward LONGO Paolo MARCATO Marco SABATINI Fabio VILLELLA Davide
Cav' Posted March 5, 2014 Author Posted March 5, 2014 FDJ.fr BOUHANNI Nacer CHAVANEL Sébastien GESLIN Anthony JEANNESSON Arnold PINEAU Cédric SOUPE Geoffrey VAUGRENARD Benoit VICHOT Arthur
Cav' Posted March 5, 2014 Author Posted March 5, 2014 Garmin Sharp CARDOSO André FARRAR Tyler HOWES Alex LANGEVELD Sebastian NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas SLAGTER Tom-Jelte VON HOFF Steele WEGMANN Fabian
Cav' Posted March 5, 2014 Author Posted March 5, 2014 Team Katusha CHERNETCKII Sergei ISAYCHEV Vladimir KRISTOFF Alexander SILIN Egor SMUKULIS Gatis SPILAK Simon TROFIMOV Yuri TSATEVICH Alexey
Cav' Posted March 5, 2014 Author Posted March 5, 2014 Lampre - Merida BONO Matteo COSTA Rui OLIVEIRA Nelson SERPA Jose Rodolfo CATTANEO Mattia FAVILLI Elia NIEMIEC Przemyslaw WACKERMANN Luca
Cav' Posted March 5, 2014 Author Posted March 5, 2014 Lotto Belisol ARMéE Sander BAK Lars Ytting BOECKMANS Kris GALLOPIN Tony LIGTHART Pim MONFORT Maxime VANENDERT Jelle WELLENS Tim
Cav' Posted March 5, 2014 Author Posted March 5, 2014 Movistar Team ERVITI Imanol GUTIéRREZ Iván IZAGIRRE Gorka IZAGIRRE Ion ROJAS José Joaquin GADRET John HERRADA Jesús SZMYD Sylwester
Cav' Posted March 5, 2014 Author Posted March 5, 2014 Omega Pharma - Quick-Step BAKELANTS Jan BOONEN Tom MAES Nikolas MEERSMAN Gianni STEEGMANS Gert STYBAR Zdenek TERPSTRA Niki VANDENBERGH Stijn
Cav' Posted March 5, 2014 Author Posted March 5, 2014 Orica GreenEDGE KEUKELEIRE Jens GOSS Matthew HAYMAN Mathew ALBASINI Michael MATTHEWS Michael DOCKER Mitchell GERRANS Simon YATES Simon
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