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Amilly
9.3 km
Sunday 8 March
Alberto CONTADOR (AST)© A.S.O.
Alberto CONTADOR (AST)© A.S.O.
Alberto Contador was the clear favourite for final victory in he 68th Paris-Nice. The 2007 winner made it clear he meant to claim back his crown in this edition, winning the 9.3-kms first stage in impressive fashion.
Forced out of the Race to the Sun last season, the Spaniard had a point to make in this time trial in Amilly and he made it in eleven minutes and five seconds, beating world and Olympic pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins by seven seconds.
Contador’s main rival for overall victory, as planned, could well be his compatriot Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d’Epargne), who took the third place, nine seconds behind.
The rain-soaked short and flat course did not seem to favour the Giro and Vuelta reigning champion. Yet the Astana team leader set the record straight and will obviously be the man to beat in the week ahead.
STAGE 1 SUMMARY
Amilly – Amilly (9.3-kms individual time trial)
Weather: rain.
CHAVANEL SETS THE PACE
Pace-setter Theo Eltink (Skil Shimano) opened the 68th edition of Paris-Nice in the rain. Daniel Fleeman, Martin Mueller, Sebastien Turgot, Piet Rooijakkers and Maciej Bodnar were all provisional leaders until three-times time trial French champion Sylvain Chavanel took off.
The first favourite in action, Chavanel, winner of a stage in Cannes last year, held his promises by clocking the fastest time in 11 minutes and 24 seconds.
Among the leading other specialists, Swede Gustav Larsson (Team Saxo Bank), was 21 seconds off the pace, a disappointing result for the Olympic silver-medallist. Belgium’s Kevin Van Impe was for long on the provisional podium thanks to a fine 11:31. Chavanel finally finished 7th.
CONTADOR TOO STRONG FOR WIGGINS
It was still raining steadily when Briton Bradley Wiggins took off. Fastest at the 5.3-kms mark, the individual pursuit Olympic and world champion improved Chavanel’s time by 12 seconds.
While Remi Pauriol (Cofidis) finished 15 seconds off the pace, rain stopped for a while, allowing Vladimir Karpets, the Katusha team leader, to dislodge the Frenchman from the podium in 11:27.
The Russian was in turn ousted from the top three by one of his team-mates, Spaniard Antonio Colom, timed in the same second as his leader.
While Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d’Epargne) also revealed his plans with a fast time of 11:17.
But Contador, who started immeditaly after him, set the record straight in 11:05.
The 2007 Paris-Nice winner, forced out of the race last year, took a great revenge by seizing a commanding lead, beating Wiggins by seven seconds and Sanchez by nine seconds.
Germany’s Tony Martin (High Road), fourth eleven seconds off the pace, seized the best young rider’s white jersey. As for David Millar, the 2007 prologue winner, he had to be content with fifth place, 14 seconds behind Contador.
Alberto CONTADOR (AST)© A.S.O.
Despite his sesnational victory in the first stage, Alberto Contador insists there is still a long way to go from Amilly to Nice.
Did you really expect to win today ?
I really started fast and it was very hard in the last bit, but I felt well and my team director told me I was in the lead so I gave it my all. I’m really happy.
Is Paris-Nice one of your objectives this season?
Paris-Nice is a race that motivates me and I want to win it. But it will be hard to go for the overall standings because we have lots of hard stages ahead of us. To have won this stage and taken the yellow jersey is already a great satisfaction.
You beat some of the best time trial specialists…
It’s important to have done well in a time trial because it gives me enormous confidence in the discipline.
Spain’s Alberto Contador (Astana) won the 9.3-kms first stage in Amilly in 11:05, ahead of Briton Bradley Wiggins (Garmin), seven seconds behind, and Spain’s Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d’Epargne), nine seconds behind.
In 11:19, Briton David Millar, winner of the prologue in 2007, takes the fifth place.
Alberto Contador (Astana) takes the lead in 11:05. Wiggins is second eight seconds behind and Luis Leon Sanchez third, 10 seconds adrift.
Germany’s Tony Martin (Team High Road) seizes the second place in 11:17. He will take the best young rider’s white jersey at the finish.
A slightly disappointing result for Czech Roman Kreuziger, in 11:38.
Every morning, before the start, Bernard Hinault gives his views about the day’s stage and the riders to keep an eye on:
"The first stage course is not a difficult one whatsoever as it’s completely flat with only four turns. The only uncertainty lies in the weather conditions, because the roads are exposed to the wind. This could have an influence if the wind is not consistent during the day, and the same applies to the rain. Last year, Hushovd had taken advantage of a dry spell to win. The main interest of the day is that all the favourites are obliged to get involved straightaway because Paris-Nice is usually won by slim margins. You cannot let seconds slip away. However, if I were in Contador’s place, I would stay quiet until the Montagne de Lure. He has no interest in showing off from the start. In today’s stage, the specialists should be at their best. I mean Millar, Wiggins or Voigt. Let’s not forget about Sylvain Chavanel, who is also a specialist and who looks in great shape this season. Several French riders deserve to be watched, like Pierre Rolland. They have been doing fairly well so far. They must now confirm."
