In short
| Stage winner | Bobby JULICH |
 (yellow/white jersey) |
Bobby JULICH |
 (green/white jersey) |
Bobby JULICH |
 (blue jersey) |
Alberto CONTADOR |
All classifications
| Stage |
|---|
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• Individual time• Individual points • Best climber • Best young • Best team |
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| Overall |
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• Individual time• Individual points • Best climber • Best young • Best team |
Stage by stage
| P | Sunday 5 March | 4.8 km |
| Issy-les-Moulineaux > Issy-les-Moulineaux | ||
| 1 | Monday 6 March | 193 km |
| Villemandeur > Saint-Amand-Montrond | ||
| 2 | Tuesday 7 March | 200 km |
| Cerilly > Belleville | ||
| 3 | Wednesday 8 March | 168.5 km |
| Julienas > Saint-Etienne | ||
| 4 | Thursday 9 March | 193 km |
| Saint-Etienne > Rasteau | ||
| 5 | Friday 10 March | 201.5 km |
| Avignon > Digne-les-Bains | ||
| 6 | Saturday 11 March | 179 km |
| Digne-les-Bains > Cannes | ||
| 7 | Sunday 12 March | 135 km |
| Nice > Nice | ||
| 100 | Monday 20 March | 1274.8 km |
| Resumé | ||
| Total | 1274.8 km | |
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The race
Sunday 5 March 2006| prolog | Issy-les-Moulineaux > Issy-les-Moulineaux - 4.8 km |  |
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Holder Julich wins prologue
American Bobby Julich kept his command on Paris-Nice by winning the 4.8-kms prologue in Issy les Moulineaux. The CSC team leader had won a belated first major victory in his career last year in Nice and he confirmed he would be hard to beat this time again with a fine win in six minutes and seven seconds at 47.1 kph.
Julich, who was starting last as the titleholder, ousted Kazakh’s Andrey Kasheschkin from top spot for just a second while Australian Bradley McGee was third, a further second adrift.
At 35, Julich seems eager to shine again even though his yellow and white leader’s jersey is in jeopardy : world champion Tom Boonen was an impressive fifth, only three seconds behind the American, a slimmest gap that the Belgian will probably look to bridge in the next stage sprints.
The film of the stage
Weather: cloudy with rainy spells
168 riders at the start
Holder Julich wins prologue
France’s Nicolas Crosbie was the first rider to start the 64th edition of Paris-Nice in cloudy weather at 13:25. While former Lance Armstrong’s aide Jose Azevedo of Portugal was the first rider to break the 6 :20 barrier in 6 :18, the longest prologue leader was Andrey Kashechkin. The Kazakh rider, who moved to Liberty Seguros this season to help friend and leader Alexandre Vinokourov, clocked 6 :08.56 to take a commanding lead.
Kashechkin in the lead
In the meantime, France’s Benoit Vaugrenard had achieved a fine performance on 6 :12, for long the only time to match Kashechkin’s. Vaugrenard finally finished 8th and first Frenchman. With the favourites starting one after the other, Australian Bradley McGee crossed the line on the heels of the Kazakh leader, losing by 0.6 second to take a provisional second place an confirm his Francaise des Jeux team’s fine overall showing as Vaugrenard and leader Sandy Casar also finished in the top 12.
Julich sets record straight
Starting last as the title-holder, Julich was up to the honour, finally ousting Kashechkin from top spot to win in 6:07 and retain the yellow and white jersey he had conquered a year ago. The American CSC team leader won at an average speed of 47.1 kph in a race he said was only a preparation for the rest of the season.
Sensation Boonen
Among the big surprises of the day was the sensational fifth place of world champion Tom Boonen, who finished three seconds behind Julich, a margin that the Belgian will certainly want to make up for in the next stage sprints. Boonen clocked the same time as fourth-placed Spaniard Alberto Contador (Libery Seguros) and Basque Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel)
Disappointments
Among the main disappointments of the day was France’s Sylvain Chavanel (Bouygues Telecom), one of the pre-race favourites, who had to be content with a lacklustre time of 6:29. Julich’s American team=mate David Zabriskie, winner of the Tour de France first time trial, was also below par on 6:20. Ukraine’s Yaroslav Popovych was equally far from his best with a modest 6:27. Monday’s first stage takes the bunch from Villemandeur to St Amand Montrond over 193 kms.
The winner interview
Bobby Julich reaction
"It’s a surprise win for me today because this was not a major goal for me coming here. Paris-Nice is above al a warm-up race for the rest of the season. But this morning in training I realised I had the legs to achieve something and I told myself I should seize the opportunity. I came on Paris-Nice as the title holder, with the number one on my back and I also wanted to honour the jersey, but once again, it was not a major goal. But it the circumstances make it possible, of course i’ll be looking for a good result at the end of the week."