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As a major event to start the year for the international elite, Paris-Nice kicks off the European season of major stage races.

For the 70th edition of the Race to the Sun, from 4th to 11th March 2012, 22 teams have been selected by the organisers.

The following 18 teams have been selected in compliance with International Cycling Union rules:

Ag2r La Mondiale (FRA)
Astana Pro Team    (KAZ)
BMC Racing Team (USA)
Euskaltel-Euskadi (ESP)
FDJ-BigMat (FRA)
Garmin-Barracuda (USA)
Greenedge Cycling Team (AUS)
Katusha Team (RUS)
Lampre-ISD (ITA)
Liquigas-Cannondale (ITA)
Lotto-Belisol Team (BEL)
Movistar Team (ESP)
Omega Pharma Quickstep (BEL)
Rabobank Cycling Team (NED)
Radioshack-Nissan (LUX)
Sky Pro Cycling (GBR)
Team Saxo Bank (DAN)
Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team (NED)

4 other teams, invited by the organisers, will make up the field for the 70th edition of Paris-Nice:

Cofidis, le Crédit en ligne (FRA)
Project 1t4i (NED)
Saur-Sojasun (FRA)
Team Europcar (FRA)

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Tony Martin became only the fourth German to win Paris-Nice at the end of the 124-kms final stage won in style by French champion Thomas Voeckler.

The 25-year-old HTC-Highroad leader beat compatriot Andreas Kloeden (RadioShack), winner of the Race to the Sun 11 years ago, a result which is also a change in generations and a ray of hope for German cycling.
Runaway leader since the 27-kms individual time trial in Aix-en-Provence, the Cottbus riding machine was never threatened on the rain-soaked Promenade des Anglais, most of his rivals conceding defeat and settling for their respective GC positions. While Kloeden finished 36 seconds behind, Briton Bradley Wiggins finished third, 41 seconds adrift.

Paris-Nice 2011

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Bib numbers have been awarded to the 176 riders composing the peloton of the 69th Paris-Nice. Spain's Luis-Leon Sanchez (Rabobank), the 2009 winner, will hold the number one.  
 
Three former winners are at the start: Luis-Leon Sanchez (2009), Alexandre Vinokourov (2002, 2003) et Andreas Kloeden (2000).
Four other riders have formerly been on the race podium: Roman Kreuziger (2010), Frank Schleck (2009), Sylvain Chavanel (2009) et Sandy Casar (2002)
Twelve starters have previously won a Paris-Nice stage: Gregory Henderson (2010), Peter Sagan (2010), Xavier Tondo (2010), Amael Moinard (2010), Heinrich Haussler (2009), Sylvain Chavanel (2009, 2008), Jeremy Roy (2009), Luis-Leon Sanchez (2009, 2008, 2007), Gert Steegmans (2008), Jens Voigt (2005), Alexandre Vinokourov (2004, 2003, 2002), Andreas Kloeden (2000).

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Interviewed by www.letour.fr,  RadioShack's team leader Alain Gallopin reviews his team's objectives ahead of Paris-Nice: "Our leader on the race is Brajkovic, who is in rather good shape and who worked well to help Irizar win the Ruta del Sol. Yet he's not in the same condition as in his victory in the Dauphine Libere last year. The objective is to take him to that kind of level for the Tour. The other question is the cold as he is a slim guy, who only rides well when he is in great health. With Kloeden and Leipheimer, whose main goal is the Tour of California, I think we can end up with two or three riders in the top 10. My big favorite is Tony Martin, who was impressive in the Tour of Algarve. "

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Luis-Leon Sanchez, the 2009 winner, returns to Paris-Nice with a new team, the powerful Rabobank outfit, but with unchanged ambitions.
“Luis Leon is our first favourite. He proved already that he is a good rider for this race. He is the leader of the team,” team director Erik Dekker told ww.letour.fr.
Sanchez, who rode for all of his career so far for Spanish teams, adapted well to his new environment, Dekker said: “The language is different but he is very happy in the team and he gives us lots of confidence. We discovered a true professional, who loves his sport.”
As for the Spaniard’s chances this season in a race he knows like the palm of his hand, Dekker was very optimistic: “The time trial this year could be decisive and Luis-Leon is a very good time trialist. But the last stage is also very hard and it’s a stage he won already. Basically, what we’re looking for here is to get the best result in the GC. We did not bring any sprinters while Luis-Leon will have a lot of very good climbers around him.”
Dekker is convinced that the first three days will be a warm-up for the real battle, which could be a tight one:  “I think we should have a controlled race for the first two or three days because lots of teams have a potential winner and then it’s the mountains and the TT. The differences should not be very high. Professional cycling is all about details now.”
As for a rider to watch outside of Luis-Leon, the answer was straight: “I don’t know the exact start list yet but we saw Tony Martin at the airport. He will be very dangerous.”
 
 

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At 26, Nicolas Roche tackles the 2011 season with renewed responsibilities within the AG2R team.

11th in last year's Paris-Nice, less than 1:30 behind Contador, the Irishman sees himself more as a team-mate to Jean-Christophe Peraud this season because of an injury which hampered his preparation: "I don't feel quite at the same level as last year because I lost two weeks preparation because of the injury. As a result, I'm not a 100 pc fit and I see the main role in the team being played by Jean-Christophe Peraud. I raced on the Tour of Algarve and in Switzerland and I felt better each day. I should be rather competitive. You'll need to go past the tricky first three days and then get the good legs at the right time. The course makes the race very open this year for there is only one key stage".

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This year, the Race to the Sun will include several new features: waste reclamation zones, the Cadets-Juniors initiative, an unbeatable level of exposure on the channels of France Télévisions and a cycling festival in the Yvelines, amongst others.

RECYCLAGE ISN’T JUST A LOAD OF OLD RUBBISH. The image of a professional cyclist tossing away a drinking bottle and littering the countryside is something that must disappear from our screens. In order to change behaviours in this domain, this year ASO has set up a scheme to collect the waste generated by the race. On the exits to the refreshment zones, 20-metre-long nets will be installed along the right-hand side of the road: the riders will be able to get rid of their empty drinking bottles here, as well as any packaging that they may have in their pockets. Once the pack have left, the content of the nets will be removed, processed and/or recycled at the waste treatment facilities of the nearest town.

CADETS-JUNIORS NOW IN SPRING. For the last ten years, young riders who have distinguished themselves at club level have had the opportunity to take part in a stage of the Tour de France that passes through their region. Once selected, they ride the first 30 km of the route and watch the finish in VIP conditions. For the first time, the Cadets-Juniors initiative is being extended to other stage races organised in France by A.S.O. As a result, a few young riders will have the opportunity to discover Paris-Nice in the coming days. Four cadets and four juniors, recommended by local clubs, have been invited to share the day with the professionals on the Houdan > Houdan, Crêches-sur-Saône > Belleville and Brignoles > Biot -Sophia Antipolis stages.

TV: FRANCE TELEVISIONS IS THINKING BIG. For the start of the season’s major races in Europe, France Télévisions is giving pride of place to cycling, devoting a live broadcast to Paris-Nice each day. For each of the stages, viewers will be able to watch the pack over a stretch of approximately 80 kilometres, thanks to a programme filmed on the event, for the very first time in high definition. This year, the race will be broadcast daily on France 3, with an extra slot on France 3 Côte d’Azur and Provences-Alpes on 12th March. In total, images of Paris-Nice will be sold to 23 broadcasters, covering 170 countries.
Paris-Nice on France 3: Sunday 6/03, 1.30 PM – 2.55 PM; Monday 7/03 to Friday 11/03,  4.15 PM to 5.15 PM; Saturday 12/03, 5 PM to 5.50 PM; Sunday 13/03, 1.25 PM to 2.55 PM.

THE “TOUS CYCLISTES EN YVELINES” FESTIVAL. The Yvelines general council has decided to take advantage of the start of Paris-Nice to promote cycling in all its forms. From Friday 4th March, several activities have been prepared in collaboration with USEP for the school pupils in Houdan. The day after, cyclists of all levels are expected for a family outing, for rides stretching from 5 km to 112 km. A cycling village set up at the foot of the castle keep in Houdan will be playing host to many events throughout the weekend: trial-bike demonstrations, road-safety trails for children, etc. 

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The new configuration of the Paris-Nice route, without a prologue but with a 27-km time-trial on the sixth day of the race, has encouraged the managers of the major teams to modify their approach and their strategies.

“All races are not just identical copies of the previous year’s event”, observes Serge Parsani, team manager for Katusha. “We hadn’t imagined Paris-Nice without a prologue, but it’s the organisers who decide and we have to adapt”. In this instance, the Russian team has decided that there was little point in lining up Joaquin Rodriguez for a 27-km time-trial (in light of his limited speed, highlighted during the last Tour of Spain, on a stage on which the race against the clock saw him drop from 1st to 4th place), whereas the idea of a solo race against time on the banks of the Durance has whetted the appetite of the Slavonic pair of riders Vladimir Karpets and Vladimir Gusev.

“The gaps will be bigger, but it will be the same riders in the leading places as there would have been on the prologue, if the organisers had chosen to include it”, believes Servais Knaven, the former winner of Paris-Roubaix, promoted to the management of the Sky team, who have picked Michael Rogers and Bradley Wiggins for Paris-Nice in light of their excellent all-round qualities.

“We’re not sad about the lack of

a prologue”, Valerio Piva (Htc)

HTC-Highroad have not made the slightest change to their plan of battle implemented during the training camp in December, organised in California at a time when the routes for the major stage races in the month of March had not yet been defined. “It seems logical for us to enter riders on Paris-Nice who are both good climbers and skilled at time-trials”, points out Valerio Piva, one of the coaches of the American armada. “The announcement of the route supported our decision to enter Tony Martin and Tejay van Garderen, two general standings riders who are extremely good on long time-trials. We’re not sad about the lack of a prologue, because that gives our sprinter Matt Goss an extra opportunity to win a stage and wear the leader’s jersey at the start of the race”.

“It isn’t a time-trial that will turn the situation

on its head”, Martial Gayant (Fdj)

“It’s still called the race to the sun, but the weather on Paris-Nice is hardly sunny at this time of the year”, underlines Martial Gayant, selection manager for the FDJ team. “So, the first question we asked ourselves when it came to deciding which eight riders we should choose for this race was: who is capable of handling the cold? The next one was: which riders are sufficiently tough to do battle in the Beauce plains where gutter stabs are always to be feared and where there is a need for team members who are able to protect the leaders from the wind? It would be pointless to choose riders depending on the climbs or the time-trial without setting up the backbone of the team capable of resisting the difficulties on the first days. Experience tells us that the closer we get to Nice, the smaller the scope for action becomes. It isn’t a time-trial or a stage with many slopes at the end of the week that will turn the situation on its head”.

Since 1968, Paris-Nice has not included a time-trial this long. It will require the utmost concentration from the protagonists of the hilly stages, since there is a lot more to lose and much more to win over 27 kilometres on the sixth day of the race, than on a short exercise served up as a starter.

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The start to a year always raises questions about young talented riders looking to make their mark and Paris-Nice is one of the first major opportunities for these apprentice stars to shine.

On the theme of the new generation, the list of riders expected has thrown up several promising and surely enlightening confrontations, in all the domains which the pack will be tackling between 6th and 13th March. For example, the first stages, which are likely to witness grouped sprint finishes, will be ideal opportunities for Matt Goss (HTC), Romain Feillu (VAC), Peter Sagan (LIQ) or Denis Galimzyanov (KAT) to challenge Gert Steegmans (QST) or even Heinrich Haussler (GAR). Afterwards, the slopes to be tackled in the hills of the Beaujolais, the peaks of the Ardèche or later on in the mountains around Nice, will place the climbers of tomorrow in an ideal situation to write their name in the race’s history. Romain Sicard (EUS), Tejay Van Garderen (HTC), Nicolas Roche (AG2R) or Richie Porte (SAX) could make experienced ‘mountaineers’ such as Frank Schleck (LEO), Luis-Leon Sanchez (RAB), Alexandre Vinokourov (AST), Andreas Klöden (RSH) and Pierrick Fédrigo (FDJ) start to feel their age.

As regards the new features, the 27-km time-trial, positioned two days before the finish will also be a good test for experienced all-rounders like Bradley Wiggins (SKY), Michael Rogers (SKY) or Levi Leipheimer (RSH), who will have to deal with the pedal power of Tony Martin (HTC), Janez Brajkovic (RSH) or the junior world champion in the discipline, Taylor Phinney (BMC). With such a web of uncertainty, making the right strategic choices will be a very delicate exercise for the pretenders to the crown. In general, the format could also suit Jean-Christophe Péraud (AG2R), Samuel Sanchez (EUS), Roman Kreuziger (RTC), Sylvain Chavanel (QST), Jurgen Van den Broeck (OLO), Ryder Hesjedal (GAR), Rein Taramae (COF), amongst others. Perhaps spring’s first rays of sun will shine on the most ambitious…

The main participants (on 23rd February)

AG2R: Roche (Irl), Péraud (Fra); BMC Racing Team: Phinney (USA), Moinard (Fra); Euskaltel-Euskadi: S.Sanchez (Spa), Sicard (Fra); HTC-Highroad: Martin (All), Van Garderen (USA); Katusha Team: Galimzyanov, Karpets (Rus); Lampre-ISD: Bole (Slo), Spilak (Slo); Liquigas-Cannondale: Sagan (Svk), Capecchi (Ita); Team Leopard Trek: F.Schleck (Lux),  B. Feillu (Fra); Movistar Team: Tondo, Gutierrez (Spa); Omega Pharma-Lotto: Bakelants, Van den Broeck (Bel); Pro Team Astana: Vinokourov (Kaz), Kreuziger (CzR); Quick Step Cycling Team: Chavanel (Fra), Steegmans (Bel); Rabobank Cycling Team: LL.Sanchez (Spa), Garate (Spa); Saxo Bank Sungard: N.Sorensen (Dan), Porte (Aus); Sky Procycling: Wiggins (Gbr), Rogers (Aus); Team Garmin-Cervelo: Haussler (Aus), Hesjedal (Can), Le Mével (Fra); Team RadioShack: Brajkovic (Slo), Leipheimer (USA); Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team: R.Feillu (Fra); Team Europcar: Voeckler (Fra), Rolland (Fra); Bretagne-Schuller: Calzati, Le Bon (Fra); Cofidis, le Crédit en ligne: Taramae (Est), Dumoulin, Moncoutié (Fra); FDJ: Casar (Fra) Fédrigo (Fra), Pauriol (Fra)

Rider’s list

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From 6th to 13th March, between Houdan (Yvelines) and Nice, the professional pack will ride a Race to the Sun of a slightly different format, with a 27-km individual time trial that should change the tactical plans.

Cycling is a sport that places much importance on respecting traditions, but sometimes it is useful to call them into question or even challenge them. This year, the stakes in the Race to the Sun will be similar, with the definition of a hierarchy in the world’s elite at the beginning of the season of major European stage races. However, the appearance of Paris-Nice will be different, due to the scheduling and characteristics of the stages proposed. With an increased length (1,307 km), the organisers are aiming for an attritional race, in which the difficulties will be equally spread through the second half of the week. More importantly, an individual time-trial that could be decisive for the destination of the title has been introduced two days before the finish. Between Rognes and Aix-en-Provence, the pretenders to the crown will do battle over a 27-km solo exercise, the longest on the event since 1968.

Whilst the announcement of this innovation will whet the appetite of the ‘wheelers’, their climber colleagues will also have plenty of opportunities to express themselves and position themselves for victory. After three flat stages which could already witness movements in the pack, especially on the windy roads of the Beauce plain or the leg-sapping crossing of the Morvan region, the slopes on the menu during the stages at Belleville and Vernoux-en-Vivarais could be their springboard. On the gradients leading to the Fut d’Avenas, the Col de la Croix-de-Chaubouret pass or even the Col de la Mûre pass (making its first appearance on the race), the opportunities will incite all types of riders to try their luck. Whether, fighters, punchers or climbers, fortune will only smile on the brave.

The main participants (on 1st February)

AG2R: Roche (Irl), Péraud (Fra); BMC Racing Team: Phinney (USA), Moinard (Fra); Euskaltel-Euskadi: S. Sanchez (Spa), Sicard (Fra); HTC-Highroad: Martin (Ger), Van Garderen (USA); Katusha Team: Ivanov (Rus), Kolobnev (Rus); Lampre-ISD: Bole (Slo), Spilak (Slo); Liquigas-Cannondale: Sagan (Sk), Capecchi (Ita); Team Leopard Trek: F.Schleck (Lux), B. Feillu (Fra); Movistar Team: Tondo (Spa), Gutierrez (Spa); Omega Pharma-Lotto: Van den Broeck (Bel); Pro Team Astana: Vinokourov (Kaz), Kreuziger (Cz); Quick Step Cycling Team: Chavanel (Fra), Steegmans (Bel); Rabobank Cycling Team: LL. Sanchez (Spa), Garate (Spa); Saxo Bank Sungard: N.Sorensen (Den), Porte (Aus); Sky Procycling: Wiggins (GB), Rogers (Aus); Team Garmin-Cervelo: Haussler (Aus), Hesjedal (Can); Team RadioShack: Brajkovic (Slo), Leipheimer (USA); Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team: R. Feillu (Fra), Ricco (Ita); Team Europcar: Voeckler (Fra), Rolland (Fra);
Bretagne-Schuller : Calzati (Fra), Le Bon (Fra) ; Cofidis, le Crédit en ligne : Taramae (Est), Dumoulin (Fra) ; FDJ : Casar (Fra) Fédrigo (Fra), Pauriol (Fra)

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The European season for stage races traditionally begins in earnest with the start of Paris-Nice. For the 2011 edition, from 6th to 13th March 2011, 22 teams have been chosen by the organisers.

The following 18 teams have been selected in compliance with International Cycling Union rules:

OMEGA PHARMA-LOTTO (BEL)

QUICKSTEP CYCLING TEAM (BEL)

SAXO BANK SUNGARD (DEN)

EUSKALTEL-EUSKADI (ESP)

MOVISTAR TEAM (ESP)

AG2R LA MONDIALE (FRA)

SKY PROCYCLING (GBR)

LAMPRE - ISD (ITA)

LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE (ITA)

PRO TEAM ASTANA (KAZ)

TEAM LEOPARD - TREK (LUX)

RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM (HOL)

VACANSOLEIL-DCM PRO CYCLING TEAM (HOL)

KATUSHA TEAM (RUS)

BMC RACING TEAM (USA)

HTC-HIGHROAD (USA)

TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO (USA)

TEAM RADIOSHACK (USA)

4 other teams, invited by the organisers, will make up the field for the 69th edition of Paris-Nice:

COFIDIS, LE CREDIT EN LIGNE (FRA)

BRETAGNE-SCHULLER (FRA)

FDJ (FRA)

TEAM EUROPCAR (FRA)

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Alberto Contador controlled his rivals with calm, experience and class to win his second Paris-Nice, three years after the first in 2007, and top an all-Spanish podium.

The Tour de France champion seized the reins in the final Col d’Eze, preventing all attacks from his opponents, and crossed the line with the other favourites to triumph with a 11 seconds lead over compatriot Alejandro Valverde while title-holder Luis Leon Sanchez (also Caisse d’Epargne) finished third, 25 seconds adrift.The final stage was won by France’s Amael Moinard, who was adamant to prove his polka-dot jersey was amply deserved. On the line, the Cofidis rider upstaged Thomas Voeckler (BBOx), his breakaway companion in the three first category climbs on the final day’s menu.The green jersey stayed on the back of the revelation of this 68th edition, 20-year-old Peter Sagan of Slovakia.

Paris-Nice 2010

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