Primoz Roglic suffers Paris-Nice collapse as Maximilian Schachmann retains title

Sunday March 14 — Le Plan-du-Var to Levens, 92.7km

Primoz Roglic suffered yet another collapse on French roads when the Jumbo-Visma rider lost the 52sec lead he held over Maximilian Schachmann going into Sunday's shortened eighth and final stage at Paris-Nice, the 92.7-kilometre run from Le Plan-du-Var to Levens.

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Having failed to complete last year's Critérium du Dauphiné after crashing out while in the leader's yellow jersey, the Slovenian lost another maillot jaune to compatriot Tadej Pogacar the following month in dramatic circumstances on the penultimate day at the Tour de France.

With three stage wins at Paris-Nice and appearing on course to win only his second stage race on French soil following last year's Tour de l'Ain, Roglic's hopes were left in tatters on Sunday when he crashed twice on a twisty technical descent around 25km from the finish line in Levens.

"It's not the stage we were hoping for," Roglic told cyclingnews.com while also revealing that he had dislocated his shoulder in the first crash.

Having lost contact with the leading group and without any team-mates following the crashes Roglic was left floundering in the wind, exposed with his shorts in tatters, while defending champion Schachmann and his Bora-Hansgrohe squad pressed on in pursuit of their first victory of what had, until Sunday, been a disappointing season for them.

Though Roglic did receive some assistance from the likes of Nacer Bouhanni (Arkéa-Samsic) and Victor Campenaerts (Qhubeka-Assos), the chase was in vain as Astana-Premier Tech, working for team-mates Aleksandr Vlasov and Ion Izaguirre who subsequently took second and third on general classification, collaborated with Bora-Hansgrohe.

Schachmann later said he had 'mixed feelings' to have become the first rider since Alexandre Vinokourov in 2003 to have retained the title, the German saying he was unhappy at benefiting from Roglic's misfortune.

"I’m happy about winning the general classification, however, I have some mixed feelings," Schachmann said. "We tried to wait for him, but when he went down for the second time, we had a strong leading group in front of us and were trying to fight for the stage win.

"It was just crazy today. I don't know if I can be too happy about the victory at the moment, because it's never the ideal way to win a race."

With the finishing line in sight, Magnus Cort (EF Education-Nippo) clipped off the front to take the eighth and final stage ahead of Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) with Pierre Latour (Total Direct Énergie) in third.

Stage seven: Roglic breaks Swiss hearts as he edges closer

Saturday March 13 — Le Broc to Valdeblore La Colmiane, 119.2km

Primoz Roglic broke Swiss hearts on Saturday, nicking his third stage win of the week and the 50th of his career from under the nose of Gino Mäder who had looked to be heading for a career-changing victory in Valdeblore La Colmiane.

Mäder (Bahrain Victorious), 24, came agonisingly close to holding off the charge of Roglic and Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe). The chasing duo had appeared to give up their chase having closed to within a few seconds of the Swiss with 500m remaining.

But one last acceleration from Roglic in the final 100 metres saw him surge past the exhausted Bahrain Victorious rider on the line and extend his lead at the top of the general classification to 52 seconds from Schachmann. Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana-Premier Tech) is a further 19secs back in third.

“It was hard all day," said Roglic, whose painful defeat in last year's Tour de France has clearly made him hungry for any and every victory he can get. "The end was really really tight but luckily I managed to come past at the line."

Asked whether the race was as good as over, with nearly a minute's advantage and just one shortened stage to go on Sunday, Roglic added: “Not really. There’s still another race day tomorrow, another challenge, another short day. For sure it will be hard. We need to stay focused.”

Due to Covid restrictions, Sunday's eighth stage been reduced from 110.5km to 92.5km and will now start in Plain-du-Var before taking on two circuits that include the Côte de Duranus and a finish in Levens, a small village around 20km inland from Nice.

Stage six: Roglic wins again to tighten grip on lead

Friday March 12 — Brignoles to Biot, 202.4km

Primoz Roglic took his second stage of the week to extend his lead at Paris-Nice after the pre-race favourite beat a strong field of sprinters on a slightly uphill finish at the end of the 202km run from Brignoles to Biot.

After a six-man breakaway had lit up the stage, just one remained — Kenny Elissonde (Trek-Segafredo) — before Jonas Rutsch (EF Education-Nippo) bridged over to the pint-sized climber. Despite having formed a brief alliance, the pair were unable to hold off the galloping bunch.

With the finishing line looming, Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) was the first to open up his sprint before Roglic responded in kind. The Slovenian, in the end, outsprinted the Frenchman on the uphill finish to earn himself a 10sec time bonus, while Michael Matthews (BikeExchange) was third.

Ion Izagirre (Astana-Premier Tech) moved up to third on general classification after Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) abandoned.

Stage five: Bennett sprints to second stage win of the week

Thursday March 11 — Vienne to Bollène, 200.2km

Sam Bennett took his second win of the week on Thursday as the Deceuninck-Quick Step sprinter became the joint second most successful Irishman at Paris-Nice alongside Stephen Roche with five stage wins.

On a day that was dictated by a strong headwind there was no breakaway to speak of, though a group of Belgian riders did test themselves — and the peloton — with a brief sortie off the front 70km from the finish.

Unsurprisingly, Deceuninck-Quick Step appeared in total control as the wind blew and eventually delivered their fastman to the line where he beat Nacer Bouhanni (Arkéa-Samsic) and Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) to seal a double for the Belgian team, winning just moments after Julian Alaphilippe had taken the second stage at Tirreno-Adriatico.

Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) retained his overall lead despite suffering a fall around 35km from the line. The Slovenian, however, will start Friday's sixth stage without key lieutenant Tony Martin after the German was taken away in an ambulance having crashed in the same incident.

Stage four: Geoghegan Hart crashes out; Roglic takes lead

Wednesday March 10 — Chalon-sur-Saône to Chiroubles, 187.6km

Tao Geoghegan Hart was forced to abandon Paris-Nice on Wednesday after the Ineos Grenadiers rider crashed on a descent around 19km from the end of the 187.6km fourth stage from Chalon-sur-Saône to Chiroubles.

Despite remounting and continuing to ride, the Giro d'Italia champion was unable to continue. Gabriel Rasch, Ineos Grenadiers sports director, later said that the rider had felt 'dizzy' before he was withdrawn.

"On the descent there his front wheel slipped in the corner," Rasch said. "He was in fourth position so it was really bad luck. I don't know if there was some gravel or why exactly he slipped. He landed on his face and his head and his knee pretty badly. He felt a bit dizzy and we thought it was the right decision to stop him and not take any risks."

"Not our race this year," the team wrote on Twitter. "Sadly stage four concludes at Paris-Nice without Tao Geoghegan Hart. The team added that Geoghegan Hart would head to hospital "for further assessment" following the crash that led to him becoming their second rider to abandon after Richie Porte's exit during stage one.

Meanwhile, Primoz Roglic made a huge statement when the Jumbo-Visma rider launched himself off the front of the leading group of riders before soloing to victory and into the overall leader's yellow jersey.

Competing in his first race of the new campaign, the Slovenian who climbed to third overall on Tuesday following a strong performance in the time trial, showed that he has lost none of his form over the winter.

After a series of attempted moves off the front had fizzled out, a strong group of riders formed at the front of the race as it edged up towards the summit of the Chirouble, the first summit finish of the eight-day race. Sensing his moment, Roglic rose out of his saddle before escaping up the road where minutes later he was able to celebrate his first stage win at Paris-Nice, a race he arrived at as the pre-race favourite.

Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) led home the chasing group 12sec later, a result that propelled the defending champion to second on general classification, while Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) was third. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates), meanwhile, retained his third place on general classification despite finishing 16sec off the pace in 14th.

Stage three: Bissegger wins time trial to grab overall lead

Tuesday March 9 — Gien to Gien, 14.4km (individual time trial)

Stefan Bissegger won stage three at Paris-Nice on Tuesday when the Swiss clocked 17min 34sec for the 14.4km time trial course around Gien.

Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick Step), the French national time trial champion, was second fastest on the day 1sec down on the EF Education-Nippo rider, while Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) was the highest-placed general classification contender in third, 7sec down on Bissegger.

Following two sprint stages, the only time trial of the eight-day race resulted in a big shake-up in the general classification, with pre-race favourtite Roglic climbing to third overall behind Bissegger and Cavagna.

Although Tao Geoghegan Hart, who is riding as team leader for Ineos Grenadiers, climbed 33 places to 38th, the Giro d'Italia champion was 38sec slower than Roglic and goes into stage four 44sec off the lead.

Stage two: Bol wins as Matthews takes leader's jersey

Monday March 8 — Oinville-sur-Montcient to Amilly, 188km

Cees Bol won only the second WorldTour race of his career on Monday after the Dutchman timed his sprint to perfection to beat Mads Pedersen and Michael Matthews at the end of the 188km second stage at Paris-Nice.

Bol, who threatened to breakthrough at last year's Tour de France though ultimately fell short, was delivered to the line by his well-drilled DSM squad before finishing off the job with the first win of 2021 for his team.

“It’s the best feeling there is,” said Bol in a team statement. “I had a bit of a struggle at the start of the season and wasn’t too good until now but we kept believing and today I got superb help from my team-mates.

“It’s a good boost for the confidence after we didn’t do too well yesterday but today we showed what we’re capable of as a team. It gives us confidence for the next sprint stages but also for on other days where we’ve got chances with other guys in the team.”

Matthews (BikeExchange), who gained time bonuses at both the intermediate sprints and finishing line, took the lead in the general classification, the Australian taking a 4sec advantage over Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) into Tuesday's time trial. Overnight leader Irishman Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-Quick Step) dropped to third overall.

Tao Geoghegan Hart, the reigning Giro d'Italia champion who is leading Ineos Grenadiers at Paris-Nice after team-mate Richie Porte abandoned during stage one, finished safely in the bunch alongside pre-race favourite Primoz Roglic. The Jumbo-Visma team leader will have been worried, however, when George Bennett crashed 35km from the finish, the New Zealand national champion requiring a new helmet before remounting his bike looking a little dazed.

Further crashes followed on the run-in forcing Alexis Vuillermoz (Total Direct Énergie) to become the second rider to abandon the race.

Stage one: Bennett outsprints rivals to take early lead

Sunday March 7 — Saint-Cyr-L’École to Saint-Cyr-L’École, 165.8km

Sam Bennett became the first Irishman since Stephen Roche in 1990 to wear the leader's jersey at Paris-Nice after the Deceuninck-Quick Step rider won a chaotic sprint in the 165.8km first stage in Saint-Cyr-L'École.

It was Bennett's third win of the season having taken two stages last month at the UAE Tour, but after competing for the first time this year in Europe the 30-year-old said it had been a 'good test' of his form.

“Coming into the race I didn’t know how my shape would be, because racing here is different from the UAE, here it’s full gas the entire day and today it was another test to see where the legs were,” Bennett said.

With a strong field of sprinters at the eight-day race, Bennett once again proved he was one of the best sprinters in the world right now after coming from behind to beat Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ) and Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo), the 2019 world road race champion.

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“We were a bit blocked in the last kilometres and could come to the front only with two kilometres to go, which was thanks to [lead-out rider] Michael [Morkov], who always stays calm and knows what he has to do,” Bennett added. “I was confident and I just waited for the right moment to go and all I can say is that I’m happy with the kick I had and my victory.”

Tao Geoghegan Hart, who is leading Ineos Grenadiers as his preparations for the Tour de France get under way in earnest having made a decent start at last month's Tour du Haut Var, finished safely in the bunch and will start Monday's second stage on the same time as his general classification rivals. He will, however, be without team-mate Richie Porte after the two-time winner of Paris-Nice abandoned following a crash.

“Porte was assessed by the team back at the hotel before being taken to hospital for a scan," his Ineos Grenadiers team said in a statement.

Mark Cavendish, meanwhile, took second at Grote prijs Jean-Pierre Monseré, a one-day race in Belgium, finishing as runner-up to the in-form Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix) who last week won Le Samyn.