In short
| Stage winner | Franco PELLIZOTTI |
 (yellow jersey) |
Franco PELLIZOTTI |
 (green jersey) |
Daniele BENNATI |
 (red polka dot jersey) |
Stéphane AUGE |
 (white jersey) |
Roman KREUZINGER |
Starters' list | Time schedules
All classifications
| Stage |
|---|
 |
• Individual time• Individual points • Best young • Best climber • Best team |
|
| Overall |
|
• Individual time• Individual points • Best young • Best climber • Best team |
Stage by stage
| P | Sunday 11 March | 4.7 km |
| Issy-les-Moulineaux > Issy-les-Moulineaux | ||
| 1 | Monday 12 March | 186 km |
| Cloyes-sur-le-Loir > Buzançais | ||
| 2 | Tuesday 13 March | 177 km |
| Vatan > Limoges | ||
| 3 | Wednesday 14 March | 215.5 km |
| Limoges > Maurs la Jolie | ||
| 4 | Thursday 15 March | 169.5 km |
| Maurs la Jolie > Mende | ||
| 5 | Friday 16 March | 178 km |
| Sorgues > Manosque | ||
| 6 | Saturday 17 March | 200 km |
| Brignoles > Cannes | ||
| 7 | Sunday 18 March | 129.5 km |
| Nice > Nice | ||
| Total Length | 1260.2 km | |
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The race
Tuesday 13 March 2007| stage 2 | Vatan > Limoges - 177 km |
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Italian hat-trick in Limoges
Franco Pelizzotti led Italy to a formidable treble in Limoges at the end of the 177-kms second stage between Vatan and Limoges. The Liguigas rider, a former top ten finisher in the Giro, outwitted the rest of the bunch in the last strtech to win the stage and take the overall leader’s yellow jersey.
Daniele Bennati (Lampre) had to be content with second place, two seconds behind, with Luca Paolini third on a great day for the Liquigas team.
The finale was a nail-biting one as the bunch only caught escapees Thomas Voeckler of France and Murilo Fischer of Brazil, another Liquigas man, in the last kilometre.
The film of the stage
Paris-Nice second stage,
Vatan – Limoges 177 kms
159 riders at the start
Did not start : Vicente Reynes (GCE)
Extraordinary pace
The start was given at 12:15 to 159 riders. Spain’s Vicente Reynes, suffering from nephritic colic, did not start. Attempts took place from the start and the first serious one involved 17 riders - David Loosli (Lampre), Aitor Perez Arrieta (GCE), Ruben Perez (Euskaltel), Sergio Paulinho (Discovery Channel), Dmitry Fofonov (Credit Agricole), Bert Roesems (Predictor-Loot), Matthieu Ladagnous (FDJ), Stephane Auge (Cofidis), Herve Duclos-Lassalle (Cofidis), Jurgen van de Walle (Quick Step), Jose Luis Arrieta (AG2R), Volker Ordowski (Gerolsteiner), Jerome Pineau (Bouygues Telecom), Matej Mugerli (Liquigas), Alberto Fernandez (Saunier Duval), Nicolas Jalabert (Agritubel), Alberto Ongarato (Milram). They were caught at kilometre 41.
On the junction, Stephane Auge (Cofidis) surged and was joined by Philippe Gilbert (FDJ), Brazil’s Murilo Fischer (Liquigas) and France’s Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom)
The first sprint in Neuillay-les-Bois (km 44) was won by Auge, ahead of Fischer and Gilbert.
Four men on the move
The pace in the first hour of the stage was extremely high at 52.4 kph. The lead of the four gained momentum and reached 5:40 at kilometre 62. It topped at 6:40 ten kilometres later and then went down gradually (5:10 at kilometre 95, 3:50 at km 112).
Because of the first climb of the day, the third category Cote du Grand Ris (km 84.5), reached by Auge ahead of Fischer and Voeckler, the speed in the second hour of the race diminished to 40.8 kph.
Auge was again first at the top of the second climb of the day in St Sornin-Leulac (3rd cat, kilometre 119) and it was enough for him to secure the polka dot jersey. He had to be content with second place behind Fischer at the top of the Cote de Chateauponsac (3rd cat, km 131), Voeckler was third.
The third hour average speed was 41 kph (44.8 kph in all)
The second and last intermediate sprint of the day in Roussac (km 138.5) was won by Gilbert, ahead of Fischer and Voeckler.
Pellizotti surprises the bunch
The break looked doomed as the bunch came 30 seconds close to the four with 15 kms to go. But while Auge and Gilbert gave up the fight, Voeckler and Fischer refused to surrender and again built up the gap, which reached 50 seconds with 10 kms left.
The two looked capable of resisting but finally cracked in the final kilometre while Pelizzotti took advantage of the junction to attack and outwit all his rivals for a great stage victory.
Daniele Bennati (Lampre) won the peloton’s sprint two seconds behind, ahead of Luca Paolini (Liquigas). Pellizzotti also took the race leader’s yellow jersey with a six seconds lead over David Millar and Bennati.
The winner interview
Pellizzotti:
Can you tell us how you won this one?With Fischer in the break, the Liquigas did not have to work until the finale. Near the finish, I sensed that the Quick Step were very strong and were preparing the sprint for Boonen. I found a way to move in the last few hundred metres. I’m very glad to have won here.
How do you explain Liquigas success today?
The season is going very well for us. I think we’ve won four races so far. Personally, I badly wanted to do something on this Paris-Nice. Two years ago, I came second on a stage and I really wanted to win one. With the yellow jersey on top of it, the joy is complete.
The newsflashes
Pellizotti takes the yellow jersey
Top five classification
1. Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas)
2. Daniele Bennati (Lampre)
3. Luca Paolini (Liquigas)
4. William Bonnet (Credit Agricole)
5. Joaquim Rodriguez (Caisse d’Epargne)