Paris-Nice 2010
Mar 10 - Mar 17

Paris-Nice Dashboard

Stage 0:  Montfort l'Amaury 8 km prologue  Full Results and Report

Few in the peloton like the cold weather like big Lars Boom of Rabobank who has crossed over from Cyclocross. He set an early best time (10.56) and then watched from the team bus while...	Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack) ended up 3rd with a fine time of 11.02 (6 seconds back)	Jens Voigt came the closest rocking his machine to 2nd just three seconds back
According to a certain race announcer, the Spaniards don't perform well in cold weather. Spain's best prologue result today came from Alberto Contador: 4th (6 seconds back)	Lars Boom's early best time stuck. (He's won a lot in Cyclocross if you didn't already know)	Win a prologue and you sweep all the other jerseys too

Stage 1:  Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines - Contres 203.5km  Full Results and Report

Alberto Contador at the start in Montfort l'Amaury talking to the Euskaltel boys about the second gorgeous but very chilly morning	By now you know that Lars Boom looked strong bridging up to the main break and held onto his Yellow Jersey	The French winter landscape with the peloton huddled for protection from the wind
Jens Voigt in green because he finished second in the prologue and Lars Boom can't wear all four leaders jerseys at once. (Although he might have wanted to for warmth today.)	Drafty ripped shorts and numb road rash. Euskaltel's Koldo Fernandez was one of the many crash victims in the strong winds, but amazingly no one was seriously hurt ( ie. no one DNF'ed).	Caisse d'Epargne was mainly responsible for driving the main break with Alejandro Valverde leading the way here in his polka-dots. He then watched from the 4th position as...
Grega Bole of Lampre couldn't hold off Sky's Greg Henderson during the slow-motion bunch sprint finish into wind	Greg Henderson gets another win early in the year...	He called the finish "a slow-motion sprint that seemed to take forever"

Stage 2:  Contres - Limoges 201.5km  Full Results and Report

Liquigas' Mauro Finetto and three riders from teams looking to impress Tour de France organizers broke free in the first four km with a 200 km remaining	Rabobank allowed a maximum lead of 4.15...	... with the goal to keep their team leader, Lars Boom, in Yellow for one more day
Young Peter Sagan of Liquigas (right) leads the charge during the drag to the line in Limoges	But, it's Frenchman William Bonnet (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) capturing his biggest win to date	The former leadout man celebrates his first win since 2008

Stage 3:  Saint-Junien - Aurillac 208km  Full Results and Report

An early break after a winter storm caused the stage to be shortened by 53 km...	It was Yann Huguet's turn to get Skil Shimano in the long break of the day seen here flanked by Omega Pharma rider Maes Nikolas and Quick Step's Jurgen Roelandts	The weather improved along the way as the peloton weaved through the French countryside south to the finish in Aurillac
The sunny uphill finish was won by 20 year-old Peter Sagan of Liquigas who narrowly missed winning yesterday	Young and confident. He's already thinking of getting another win at this year's Paris-Nice	From one of the youngest stage winners in Paris-Nice history, we now have one of the oldest riders in the peloton donning Yellow. Jens Voigt at age 38 takes over the race lead.

Stage 4:  Maurs - Mende 208km  Full Results and Report

Skil-Shimano again started the long break after 10 kilometers of racing. Marco Mercato of Vacansoleil (front and center here) was one of seven other riders to join in	With a mountaintop finish coming up, it would be a difficult stage for the 38 years-old Jens Voigt to retain the Yellow Jersey he earned yesterday	Alberto Contador gradually distanced himself by doing more stomping and then dancing in the final two steep kilometers
Alberto Contador takes the only mountaintop finish at this year's Paris-Nice	A delightful shot of Jerome Coppel (Saur - Sojasun) unwinding after crossing 37 seconds back in 11th place just ahead of...	A gritty effort by Jens Voigt to cross 12th 44 seconds back of Contador
A tough day for Levi Leipheimer and Franck Schleck finishing 29th and 30th respectively, 1:09 back	Alberto Contador celebrates the win...	... And takes the Yellow Jersey off Jens Voigt's shoulders and leads the race by 24 seconds. Now, how well Astana will ride at the front to protect it.

Stage 5:  Pernes-les-Fontaines - Aix-en-Provence 157km  Full Results and Report

Astana was determined to chased down every break at the beginning of the stage so the peloton didn't have much time to enjoy the Provence scenery. The average speed for the second hour of racing was 45 kph.	Finally with 50 km to go, this group of four escaped the Astana grasp. Quick Step's Carlos Barredo leads a group that included Cofdis' Rein Taaramae and Cervelo's Volodymir Gustov	When they were caught, Ag2R left it to the Champion of France to either in win solo or to setup a bunch sprint for Nicolas Roche
A2gR's Cyril Dessel (middle) was also instrumental in driving the pace that shed some names including RadioShack's Levi Leipheimer	Frank Schleck and Caisse d'Epargne chasing now with the eventual winner lurking in the background and Alberto Contador in middle	Liquigas' Peter Sagan gapped the field with two km to go for his second win in three days
Those are some big names the 20 year-pld left in his dust including Alejandro Valverde (left) who placed third and normally excels in uphill sprints	With today's win and the bonus time, Peter Sagan now sits 8th overall, 42 seconds back while his team leader, Roman Kreuziger is 3rd @ 25 seconds	"It was a terrible stage," Alberto Contador said. "We tried to control the breaks for 100 kms but it's impossible for one team to control a race like Paris-Nice. Sagan is a very strong rider and I'm sure he will very quickly be a rival to watch in future races."

Stage 6:  Peynier - Tourrettes-sur-Loup 220km  Full Results and Report

Half way up the 10km 6% cat 1 Col de Vence which crests 33 km from the finish: an early large break was whittled down to just (R-to-L) Xavier Tondo of Cervelo Test Team, Damiano Cunego of Lampre and Cyril Gautier of Bbox Bouygues Telecom	The GC centenders roughly two minutes back of the break	Tondo dropped Cunego and Gautier near the top. While Gautier retreated to the peloton, Cunego attempted to bridge up on the descent
However, the Spaniard was able to solo the 33+ km to the finish thus avoiding a sprint finish with Cunego, the better sprinter. The peloton crossed just five seconds later.	Winning a hard, fast stage at Paris-Nice in solo fashion is easily the biggest win to date for the 31 year-old Xavier Tondo

Stage 7:  Nice-Nice 119km  Full Results and Report

The polka jersey often clashes, but it fits right in with the Cofidis kit/color scheme. Eventual mountain classification winner, Amaël Moinard, formed a break on the first climb...	... with fellow Frenchman and breakway specialist, Thomas Voeckler of Bbox Bouygues Telecom	Frank Schleck at the front of the chase group with the GC contenders
Jens Voigt with RadioShack's Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner tucked in behind	The break clearly survived, but Thomas Voeckler jumped too soon with 400m to go; Amaël Moinard clawed back the gap and nipped Voeckler at the line.	Contador celebrates his overall win after another wild day at Paris-Nice
Winning his second "mini Tour de France" with a sense of relief and pride	Happy Spaniards on the 2010 podium: 3rd Luis-Leon Sanchez of Caisse d'Epargne @ 25 secs, 1st Alberto Contador of Astana and 2nd Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne @ 11 secs	The final jersey winners: Mountains: Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis Le Credit en Ligne, Young Rider: Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas - Doimo, Overall: Alberto Contador, Points: Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas - Doimo