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| Sunday, March 14th, 2004 |
| Stage 8 - Nice > Nice - 144 km |
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| Jaksche from start to finish |
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 While Alexandre Vinokourov wins his third stage victory in four days, Jorg Jaksche keeps the yellow and white jersey he won on the first day in the Chaville time trial right to the end. Rebellin finishes in green, Osa with the polka dot jersey. |
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A pushy VDB
From the opening kilometres and the start of the Col d'Eze climb, the Belgian Franck Vandenbroucke (6th in the general classification) proved the most enterprising. But the peloton soon cracked down on his drive to break away. At the summit of the pass, it made contact. Osa consolidated his polka dot jersey by taking the lead, ahead of Vandenbroucke, Julich, Serrano, Cuesta and Hamilton.
A 2'20'' gap
A small group of 5 riders emerged from this thick core of leaders as Hamilton, Serrano, Osa, Aerts and Cuesta joined forces. After passing the Contes bonus sprint (1st passing) in the order Aerts-Serrano-Osa, the “Famous Five” increased their lead to a maximum gap of 2'20'' at the summit of the Col de Châteauneuf, where once again Osa picked up maximum points.
 Osa makes it to safety
Though no-one was ever really convinced of their chances of total success, the breakaway pushed on to the second Col de Châteauneuf climb. In passing, Osa warded off all rivals for the leadership in the mountains classification by passing the Col d'Eze first, while the second bonus sprint line was cleared in the order Serrano-Cuesta-Osa. The new elite that pulled free was made up of about ten riders, including Hamilton, Vinokourov and even Menchov, though none of the leaders in the general classification were to be seen.
Vino attacks
 During the day's last difficulty, it was the Kazakh champion who spearheaded the vanguard. Vinokourov, Moncoutié, Contador and Menchov - also joined by Hamilton - attacked for the last time at the Col d'Eze. This was the moment Vinokourov chose to raise the tempo and pull ahead by some ten seconds. Menchov set off in hot pursuit, catching up with Vino just before the crest. At that point, the two men had a lead of about 1'30'' on the pack, but only 15'' on Contador, Moncoutié and Leipheimer.
The final showdown
It was on the descent towards Nice that Vinokourov and Menchov (then at 2-1 in their stage victories in this Paris-Nice) widened the gap and prepared for a final showdown on the Promenade des Anglais. At 10 km from the finish, the “yellow jersey” peloton was more than two minutes away, while the first intermediate riders clocked in at 45''. Then, attacking at 200 metres from the finishing line, Vinokourov proved himself the sturdiest, beating Menchov to it. But despite his three stage victories, the double-titleholder could not stop Jaksche taking the yellow jersey in the first and last stage of the Paris-Nice. This was a performance that hadn't been seen since Vandenbrouke's sacred feat in 1998.
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Alexandre Vinokourov (stage winner)
 Was a third stage victory in this Paris-Nice really unexpected?
It's true enough that when we left Paris I could never have dreamt of experiencing a week like this. I didn't even aspire to the general classification. But each day I was stronger than the previous day and, when I won at Rasteau – which was definitely my toughest day – I realised I had what it took to chase after other stage victories.
Given the display you treated us to at the end of the race, isn't it fair to think that you're the real winner?
No, because Jaksche and the whole of his team were very strong throughout the whole week. He was in a position that wasn't easy to defend over the last days, because a lot of riders wanted to attack, so he had a fairly reduced lead. He really deserves this victory because he behaved like a yellow jersey. He took on his responsibilities.
And now?
First of all, I'm savouring this stage victory, which is terrific. I really feel at home here. Next, I'm going to start thinking quickly about my following big date, which is next week at Milan-San Remo. Obviously, the goal is to work with the team to help Erik Zabel win, and I think I'm now in perfect condition to carry out that assignment. It's very likely that we'll first try to stay in contact with the lead group, then grab hold of the first good opportunity to break away.
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| Stage winner: |
VINOKOUROV Alexandre |
 (yellow / white jersey) |
JAKSCHE Jorg |
 (green / white jersey) |
REBELLIN Davide |
 (red polka dotted jersey) |
OSA Aitor |
 (blue / white jersey) |
ROGERS Michael |
 (red dossard) |
OSA Aitor |
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| Riders list | Time schedule |
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| Stage |
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| Overall |
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| 1 |
Sunday, March 7th |
13,2 km |
| Chaville > Issy-les-Moulineaux / Vanves |
| 2 |
Monday, March 8th |
166,5 km |
| Chaville > Montargis |
| 3 |
Tuesday, March 9th |
229 km |
| La Chapelle-Saint-Ursin > Roanne |
| 4 |
Wednesday, March 10th |
179 km |
| Roanne > Le Puy-en-Velay |
| 5 |
Thursday, March 11th |
215 km |
| Le Puy-en-Velay > Rasteau |
| 6 |
Friday, March 12th |
173,5 km |
| Rasteau > Gap |
| 7 |
Saturday, March 13th |
185,5 km |
| Digne-les-Bains > Cannes |
| 8 |
Sunday, March 14th |
144 km |
| Nice > Nice |
| Total |
1 305,7 km |
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