With an attack on the steepest part of the last climb, Tadej Pogačar also shook off David Gaudu and drove to the third stage victory with a 19-km independent ride, confirming the victory of the prestigious one-week Paris-Nice race.
Last year Primož Roglič, this year Tadej Pogačar. The French race against the Sun went to a Slovenian for the second year in a row, only this time to the captain UAE Emirates. In return, it is expected that Roglič will succeed Pogačar on the throne the king of the two seas in the Race from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Adriatic Sea.
Offense is the best defense
“I have never raced in Paris-Nice before because it is at the same time as Tirreno-Adriatico, where I have raced in previous years. I feel that I am always good in the first races of the season. It has always been my dream to win Paris-Nica as well. They say , that attack is the best defense. I know the roads here really well, because I do a lot of training here. On the last climb, I knew exactly what my legs were like and how much energy I could use to get to the top alone. I was good at math today and I’m correct calculated,” said novi in a statement to the organizers the sun king the Paris–Nice race.
After a series of victories released on monuments
The now 24-year-old Pogačar, who lives in nearby Monaco, took advantage of his knowledge of his home roads and ended up winning the white and green jerseys for the best young rider and the points tally, which usually goes to sprinters, in addition to the yellow jersey. He only missed the polka dot jersey for the mountain finish, where he was second behind the Norwegian Jonas Gregaard.
“The competition was really strong. It’s an honor for me to be on the podium together with Jonas Vingegaard and David Gaudu. Even if I don’t win anything again until the end of the season, it’s not bad. I can continue racing relaxed,” concluded Pogačar, who fulfilled his words in great style after Saturday’s victory on the Couillole pass, that Sunday’s home slopes will suit him even more.
The third stage victory in the race for the finish line and the joint celebration at the 81st edition of the Paris-Nice race. Already the eighth and ninth victory of the 2023 season, in which one-day challenges now await him. First, next Saturday, when he will race to win the first cycling monument of the Milan-Sanremo season, and then the Belgian classics with cobblestone sections.
Gained two seconds on the flying finish
On the eventful last day of racing against the Sun, there were several attempts to escape, and he also went into action Jan Tratnik, but the main body did not allow the true formation of the escape. After four climbs, on the gentle approach to the Èze pass, Wout Pouls escaped, and behind him, the fight for the second seconds started at the flying finish. With the help of Arnaud Demar, this time David Gaudu did not threaten the prepared Tadej Pogačar, who with two more seconds of deduction increased the advantage over the Frenchman to 14 seconds.
Solo attack 18.8 km long
The UAE Emirates team picked up the pace during the descent to Nice, and on the steepest part of the final climb, Pogačar attacked again and drove himself to the top of the Èze Pass (6 km at 7.6%) 18.8 km before the finish line. Gaudu tried to follow him, but before the end of the steep shortcut he was caught by a trio of riders: Jonas Vingegaard, Matteo Jorgenson and Simon Yates. At the top of the pass he had mountain wolf already 50 seconds.
An advantage that Pogačar maintained during the breakneck descent towards the city until the finish, when he could indulge in celebrating with the crowd that had gathered in the center of Nice in sunny and warm weather.
No 17th turn on the last day
The 81st Paris-Nice race ended with an identical stage to last year. That’s when it is Simon Yates fairly threatened overall victory with the attack Primož Roglič, but with the help of Wout van Aert, he managed to defend the yellow shirt in a dramatic way. In the history of the race against the Sun, there were 16 reversals on the last day, the last victim of which was Roglič in 2021, when he fell and was left without the yellow shirt.
81. PARIS–NICE
8th stage, Nice–Nice, 118.4 km:
1. T. POGAČAR SLO 2:51:02 2. J. VINGEGAARD DAN +0:33 3. D. GAUDU FRA vsi 4. S. YATES VB isti 5. M. JORGENSON ZDA čas ... 37. J. TRATNIK SLO 6:27 67. D. NOVAK SLO 15:06
Source: Rtvslo
