NOT TO MISS
PARIS NICE 10 17 March | France | 2.UWT
For traditionalists, history dictates that Paris-Nice is the first ‘big’ European stage race of the year. The ‘Race to the Sun’ is contested by riders targeting the Tour de France in July, even though only 11 winners in its 76 editions have gone on to win the Tour’s yellow jersey the same year. Plus, the recent form guide actually suggest the race is favoured more by super-domestiques rather than the Tour’s yellow jersey contenders. Bradley Wiggins was the last Paris-Nice winner who then won the Tour, in 2012, and while in the years since Team Sky have won a further four times with Richie Porte (2013, 2015), Geraint Thomas (2016) and Sergio Henao (2017), each time they went on to help Chris Froome win the Tour. Similarly, Marc Soler, last year’s winner, was a key domestique on Movistar’s Tour roster for its trio of leaders. 2019 features a mix of stages for climbers and climbers, while the highlight looks set to be the debut of the 15km-long Turini Pass on the penultimate stage.