The 82nd edition of Paris-Nice opened on Sunday all around Les Mureaux and the first stage ended as expected with a sprint. However, the peloton was not complete after a tough final, and Laurence Pithie took full advantage of it to join the sprint and claim an excellent third place behind Olav Kooij and Mads Pedersen, two of the day’s main favorites. This is the tenth top-10 in thirteen days of racing this season for the New Zealander.
Like in recent years, the “Race to the Sun” wanted action from the start on its 2024 edition. The 157-kilometre course around Les Mureaux, made of two different loops, therefore offered a nice terrain to spice up the final of the first stage on Sunday. Two categorized climbs and a 700-metre hill averaging 8% featured in the last forty kilometers, which was enough to give ideas to some. Others, on the other hand, thought that this first stage could represent an opportunity through the morning breakaway. This is why Stefan Bisseger, Jonas Rutsch (EF Education-Easypost) and Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) went from the first kilometre. Yet, the peloton took no risks and the trio didn’t get to hope that much. The gap reached a maximum of three minutes but was already reduced to one minute approaching the last fifty kilometers. “We knew it was going to be nervous, but we were lucky that the weather was rather mild with little wind and a dry road,” explained Benoît Vaugrenard. The Groupama-FDJ squad still remained and constantly at the front of the peloton, behind Clément Russo, Sam Watson or Sven-Erik Bystrom. The day’s breakaway was caught on the côte de Bazemont almost forty kilometres from the finish, then the peloton headed towards the Montainville bonus sprint, located at the top of a hill.
“The guys were attentive”, Benoît Vaugrenard
The bunch became even more nervous getting to this key point, where Matteo Jorgenson and Remco Evenepoel went to grab a few bonus seconds before the Belgian put a strong acceleration at the top. A handful of riders broke away, but the peloton partly got back together at the bottom of the côte de Herbeville (2.6 km at 5%), the day’s last climb located twelve kilometres from the line. The hard pace caused a selection from the back, while Remco Evenepoel briefly went for it again. Around fifty riders eventually came back together to head towards the line, and David Gaudu, Laurence Pithie, Quentin Pacher and Kevin Geniets were among them. “We knew it would be nervous on the last two climbs,” said Benoît. “The guys were attentive; they were up there. David and Laurence were protected, then Quentin and Kevin had to follow the potential moves”. “There was quite a bit of stress in the peloton, always fighting and moving up for positioning,” explained Laurence. “I entered the bottom of the climbs in front with David, so it was really good.” In the last ten kilometres, Anthony Turgis made an attempt to surprise the peloton, but the latter quickly organized and only gave him a fifteen-second gap.
“I can be satisfied”, Laurence Pithie
“Once we got over the climbs, the idea was to go for Laurence because we know that this type of finish suits him well,” added Benoît, referring to the slightly uphill last kilometre. “Coming to the finish, Kevin did a great job keeping me in front,” added the Kiwi. While Turgis was caught, the Luxembourger gave him a hand until the last two kilometres, then Laurence Pithie found himself on his own but never left the first fifteen positions. “I got pushed back a bit with one kilometre to go, as it was really hectic coming into the corners,” he said. “But with about 600 metres I still had good legs and was able to accelerate and pass a few riders on the inside onto a corner. From there, I had good positioning behind the Intermarché-Wanty rider and I was even able to move up into Kooij’s wheel before the final corner.” In third position after the last curve, Laurence Pithie remained at this place during the last 150 metres to score a remarkable podium for his very first Paris-Nice. “I was able to do a nice sprint, and I can be satisfied,” he said. “I am beaten by two of the world’s best riders. It’s good to show my level again in this type of finish. It’s my first WorldTour stage race in Europe, so starting it with a podium is definitely a nice start.” “It’s a good third place and I think we can be satisfied with it,” concluded Benoît. “He made no mistakes, he did everything right, so it’s a great start to Paris-Nice for us.”
David Gaudu, Quentin Pacher and Kevin Geniets finished in the same time as Laurence Pithie while a more traditional sprint is expected on Monday in Montargis.
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