Paris - Nice 10 March - 17 March 2019 77th edition

[sir fly]

Re:

Holy **** Egan!

Hardly surprising considering the opening stages.

 

[SafeBet]

BTW impressive collective performance by EF.

 

[Velolover2]

Bernal is faster than Kwia.

 

[DNP-Old]

Re: Re:

Holy **** Egan!

Hardly surprising considering the opening stages.

He is quicker than Kwiatek.

 

[Velolover2]

Fine time for Bernal. Yellow?

 

[Alexandre B.]

Bernal will win on Turini and win the race overall.

 

[Velolover2]

Strong time by Flower boy after all.

 

[Velolover2]

GC:
1. Kwiatkowski
2. Bernal
3. Sanchez
4. Jungels?

 

[SafeBet]

Re:

GC:
1. Kwiatkowski
2. Bernal
3. Sanchez
4. Jungels?

Jungels and Kelderman should have the same time.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Pretty whack that Bernal probably won't be unleashed on Turini now that Kwito is in yellow. Hoping he is exploding.

 

[KZD]

Incredible time by Bernal, he should be able to win the Paris-Nice on Turini and he is also looking great for the Giro.

 

[sir fly]

Very good tt parcourse.
Good to see MS improving their performances.
Slight shame for the change in conditions, but everything in its place overall.

 

[Escarabajo]

EF Education???
That shows that the TTT in Colombia was no fluke!
Dani Martinez and Bernal showing their TT abilities. Not bad from the TT champion and ex-champion from Colombia.
They said that the wind picked up so that makes it that much more impressive!

 

[DNP-Old]

Re:

Pretty whack that Bernal probably won't be unleashed on Turini now that Kwito is in yellow. Hoping he is exploding.

Nairo did a very good TT and seems to be in tremendous form. It’s likely he’ll attack and it seems only right to let Egan follow him.

 

[Dukerojo]

Re: Re:

Pretty whack that Bernal probably won't be unleashed on Turini now that Kwito is in yellow. Hoping he is exploding.

Nairo did a very good TT and seems to be in tremendous form. It’s likely he’ll attack and it seems only right to let Egan follow him.

Should be interesting. Also Egan may get some seconds tomorrow

 

[Escarabajo]

So realistically Bernal can only respond to attacks from Quintana and Bardet. So if they don't attack and sit on the train Kwiatkowski can still win this Paris-Nice.

I forgot to add Kelderman. But I am not sure about his form.

 

[tobydawq]

Re:

Why exactly didn't Yates wanna ride GC in this race?

He did want to?

He just lost out massively in the cross-winds on the second stage.

 

[Blanco]

Re: Re:

Pretty whack that Bernal probably won't be unleashed on Turini now that Kwito is in yellow. Hoping he is exploding.

Nairo did a very good TT and seems to be in tremendous form. It’s likely he’ll attack and it seems only right to let Egan follow him.

Of course he will mark Quintana, especially him, cause I think those two will be the strongest uphill. Also if Kelderman or Jungels go I think Bernal will follow them too.

Edit: Oh, and by the way, Simon Yates will win that stage too.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

Why exactly didn't Yates wanna ride GC in this race?

He did want to?

He just lost out massively in the cross-winds on the second stage.

Pretty sure I read before the race that he wasn't really targeting the GC. That could probably lead to him riding a bit more nonchalant on the first stages and just hoping not to lose time, but not really actively try to prevent it. But I dont know what really happened.

I hope you guys are right, really. Quintana needs to bring his a-game that's for sure.

 

[AlexNYC]

I don't believe Sky would be dumb enough to make Bernal work in the train. Kwito will only win this if he's able to follow the likes of Bardet and Quintana, which is a little far-fetched. But we know Bernal will probably be able to.

 

[yaco]

Never though S.Yates would win a WT ITT - Even more impressive considering how much work he did in yesterday's stage - Anyway riders will be busting to get into the breakaway with Sky riding at the front of the peleton.

 

[hfer07]

So I guess is safe to say SKY already won P-N

 

[Poursuivant]

Re:

Why exactly didn't Yates wanna ride GC in this race?

"I have a deep passion to try to win this race [the Giro], but, just at this moment, the Tour isn't doing anything for me," Yates says.

"And that's OK. I think some people are the same; some people are the opposite, too. They only want to go and do the Tour; that’s what drives them to get out of bed in the morning. They want to go and race it and win it. At this moment in time, it's not me, and that's not a problem."

Yates cites "what happened last year" at the Giro d'Italia – when he was in the lead and within grasping distance of overall victory, but then lost almost at the last fence – as one of the reasons why he feels so strongly about the Italian Grand Tour.

But, interestingly, Yates says he doesn't have the same driving motivation behind him for Paris-Nice, despite taking the lead on stage 6, but then losing the lead to Marc Soler (Movistar) on the final, rain-soaked day.

"I enjoy Paris-Nice – it's a good race – and I've done it every year since I've been a professional. It's a very important part of the season," Yates says, "but I'm not going there to target it.

"As everyone knows, I'm going 100 per cent for the Giro. For me, personally, it's not the correct way to go about being ready for the Giro.

"So I'm not going to get to Paris-Nice super lean, super in-form. It's also often cold, so if you arrive there with five per cent body fat, it's not so nice. I'll arrive a few kilos heavier and do what I can.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Are they giving time bonuses on a TT stage?

Kwiatkowski was 11 seconds ahead of Bernal this morning, took 4 more seconds off him in today,and is now shown as having a 19 second margin.

I thought time bonuses on a time trial were an absolute no no, but (with Kwiatkowski being 3rd today) the normal 10-6-4 'bonifications' would account for that.

ARTICLE 13.Bonuses
In accordance with article 2.6.019 of the UCI regulations, time bonuses (applied only to the general individual classification) are awarded in the 7mass-start stages.
Bonuses are awarded as follows:
1) At each intermediate sprint:3′′, 2′′ and 1′′ to the first three riders.
2) At the finish of each stage:10′′, 6′′ and 4′′ to the first three riders.

Clear from the bolded that the rules of this race do not allow for bonuses today, but they are part of the currently published GC gaps.

EDIT: and now the official web site (but not PCS or First Cycling, and most others I bet) have corrected it to 15".
But damned incompetent to have released the results with bonifications applied in the first place.

 

[SafeBet]

Re: Re:

Why exactly didn't Yates wanna ride GC in this race?

"I have a deep passion to try to win this race [the Giro], but, just at this moment, the Tour isn't doing anything for me," Yates says.

"And that's OK. I think some people are the same; some people are the opposite, too. They only want to go and do the Tour; that’s what drives them to get out of bed in the morning. They want to go and race it and win it. At this moment in time, it's not me, and that's not a problem."

Yates cites "what happened last year" at the Giro d'Italia – when he was in the lead and within grasping distance of overall victory, but then lost almost at the last fence – as one of the reasons why he feels so strongly about the Italian Grand Tour.

But, interestingly, Yates says he doesn't have the same driving motivation behind him for Paris-Nice, despite taking the lead on stage 6, but then losing the lead to Marc Soler (Movistar) on the final, rain-soaked day.

"I enjoy Paris-Nice – it's a good race – and I've done it every year since I've been a professional. It's a very important part of the season," Yates says, "but I'm not going there to target it.

"As everyone knows, I'm going 100 per cent for the Giro. For me, personally, it's not the correct way to go about being ready for the Giro.

"So I'm not going to get to Paris-Nice super lean, super in-form. It's also often cold, so if you arrive there with five per cent body fat, it's not so nice. I'll arrive a few kilos heavier and do what I can.

Very sensible.
And shows how much he learnt from last year. He'll be scary good at the Giro.