Paris-Nice: Marcel Kittel wins as Bouhanni crashes out

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Fortunes can change quickly on Paris-Nice as Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) found out when he clinched the second stage in Cerilly while the previous day’s winner Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ) crashed out in an incident-packed 200.5-kms ride from Vimory.

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Germany’s Kittel, who had missed the first bunch sprint in Nemours after a puncture, surged impressively in the long final stretch to take the day’s laurels ahead of Elia Viviani. The Italian made the best of his consistency over the first three days of the race to take the yellow jersey away from Bouhanni. The Cannondale sprinter also picked the green and white jersey on a perfect day in which only stage victory eluded him. Bouhanni slid and hit the deck after 156 kms of a long trek against headwind on the roads to Auvergne and was taken to hospital with lip and hand injuries.

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The day’s break
Latvia’s Gatis Smukulis (KAT), Belgium’s Kris Boeckmans (VCD) and Dane Mads Christensen (TST) broke clear from the first kilometre. Sixteen kilometres later, Boeckmans won the first intermediate sprint in Les Choux (Km 15.5) but waited for the peloton, leaving his two companions to continue their effort without him. The pair did not try too hard either against headwind and were finally reined in at kilometer 43.

At kilometre 64, two Vacansoleil riders, Thomas de Gendt and Romain Feillu, attacked. They were rapidly joined by Maxime Bouet (ALT) and Mikel Astarloza (EUS). Their lead stabilised around four minutes. Overall, because of the wind, the average speed was extremely, especially in the second hour, raced at 26 kph. While American Jacob Rather (GRS) called it quits with a wrist injury. With some 80 kms left in the stage, as rain started falling, the pace went up a gear

Rain and even hail fell briefly on the peloton with serious consequences as two crashes took place, involving notably three BMC riders – Moinard, Frank and Bookwalter, two Sky riders – Siutsov then Boswell – and two Europcar riders – prologue winner Damien Gaudin and Alexandre Pichot, who were forced out of the race. Nacer Bouhanni’s lead-out man Geoffrey Soupe was also held back. The gap with 60 kms to go went down to the minute.

But the key accident took place at kilometre 143 when Paris-Nice leader Bouhanni slid and crashed, hitting the road heavily. The French champion, blood pouring from his face, was forced out of the race and evacuated with lip and hand injuries. The tempo raised again after the crash and the four-man break finally called it a day at kilometer 156.

The stage was then set for a sprint finish without Bouhanni and the first passage on the line in Cerilly saw Viviani outpace Sylvain Chavanel and Ruben Perez Moreno (EUS). Omega Pharma Quick Step had been aggressive on the final loop but could not prevent the bunch kick.

Argos Shimano, Lampre and Cannondale tried in turn to take the upper hand and FDJ’s William Bonnet and Geoffrey Soupe also tried to avenge Bouhanni’s loss. But there was no real opposition when Kittel made his move to win easily ahead of Viviani and Australia’s Leigh Howard (GreenEdge).

Afterwards, Kittel explained  “The last 80km were really nervous today. We lost the race leader, Bouhanni, so his team stopped working and we took the responsibility together with Orica-GreenEdge. But it was not easy to control the bunch and it was very chaotic. When we brought back the four leaders it became clear that we were heading for a bunch sprint.”

“We had planned to stay together and come to the front with our train really late, and that’s what we did. Our team did a perfect job in the finale, keeping the train together and staying up front. I was able to start the sprint late, with 200m to go, and I went around and was able to win. I am really proud of the team. It was a very long day—not easy, but everyone worked hard until the final meters.

“Yesterday we had bad luck. I punctured at a key moment in the race and missed the first group, so we had to take revenge, and that is exactly what we did. Now the race for the GC will start. I do not expect any more opportunities, so I will stay in the bunch and survive the upcoming hard days.”

Viviani – back on the road

The new Paris-Nice leader Viviani knew that he had to sprint twice in Cerilly to secure the Yellow Jersey even if it meant sacrificing the stage win. “When I saw the peloton catch the break, I thought that today I would have to make two sprints. One in the final lap and the final sprint. For today I thought maybe I can win the stage, I thought it would be too hard for Kittel, but it was not hard for Kittel. He’s a very strong sprinter and my satisfaction is this jersey.”

“When I saw that Chavanel in the sprint, I thought; ‘OK, I’ll make two sprints’. The first objective was the Yellow Jersey for today. This winter I really worked hard for this and for the road after a fantastic season last year on the track and in London. I see this result as the proof that the work paid off. There’s a good generation of French sprinters but there’s also a good generation of Italian sprinters…”

Stage Result
1 RKITTEL Marcel TEAM ARGOS-SHIMANO 05h 42′ 18”
2 VIVIANI Elia CANNONDALE + 00′ 00”
3 HOWARD Leigh ORICA GREENEDGE
4 BOZIC Borut ASTANA PRO TEAM
5 DUMOULIN Samuel AG2R LA MONDIALE
6 MEERSMAN Gianni OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP
7 FEILLU Romain VACANSOLEIL-DCM
8 DEBUSSCHERE Jens LOTTO-BELISOL
9 ROJAS Jose Joaquin MOVISTAR TEAM
10 GALLOPIN Tony RADIOSHACK LEOPARD
11 RAST Gregory RADIOSHACK LEOPARD
12 PETACCHI Alessandro LAMPRE – MERIDA
13 TURGOT Sébastien TEAM EUROPCAR
14 SOUPE GEOFFREY FDJ
15 BOECKMANS Kris VACANSOLEIL-DCM
16 CHAVANEL Sylvain OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP
17 HUTAROVICH Yauheni AG2R LA MONDIALE
18 IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI Ion EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI
19 KRISTOFF Alexander KATUSHA TEAM
20 TALANSKY Andrew GARMIN – SHARP
21 BRESCHEL Matti TEAM SAXO-TINKOFF
22 GRIVKO Andriy ASTANA PRO TEAM
23 JEANNESSON Arnold FDJ
24 ULISSI Diego LAMPRE – MERIDA
25 ROCHE Nicolas TEAM SAXO-TINKOFF
26 GASPAROTTO Enrico ASTANA PRO TEAM
27 PORTE Richie SKY PROCYCLING
28 NERZ Dominik BMC RACING TEAM
29 VAN GARDEREN Tejay BMC RACING TEAM
30 MONFORT Maxime RADIOSHACK LEOPARD
31 KLÖDEN Andréas RADIOSHACK LEOPARD
32 LOPEZ GARCIA David SKY PROCYCLING
33 PEREZ MORENO Ruben EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI
34 RENSHAW Mark BLANCO PRO CYCLING TEAM
35 GESINK Robert BLANCO PRO CYCLING TEAM
36 DE CLERCQ Bart LOTTO-BELISOL
37 DE WEERT Kevin OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP
38 GILBERT Philippe BMC RACING TEAM
39 SMUKULIS Gatis KATUSHA TEAM
40 FUGLSANG Jakob ASTANA PRO TEAM
41 KRUIJSWIJK Steven BLANCO PRO CYCLING TEAM
42 VELITS Peter OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP
43 LEUKEMANS Bjorn VACANSOLEIL-DCM
44 HAUSSLER Heinrich IAM CYCLING
45 DENIFL Stephan IAM CYCLING
46 LÖVKVIST Thomas IAM CYCLING
47 EL FARES Julien SOJASUN
48 BEPPU Fumiyuki ORICA GREENEDGE
49 ZANDIO Xabier SKY PROCYCLING
50 COPPEL Jérôme COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS
51 KELDERMAN Wilco BLANCO PRO CYCLING TEAM
52 RATTO Daniele CANNONDALE
53 WESTRA Lieuwe VACANSOLEIL-DCM
54 SCARPONI Michele LAMPRE – MERIDA
55 FLORENCIO CABRE Xavier KATUSHA TEAM
56 SIMON Julien SOJASUN
57 VANDENBERGH Stijn OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP
58 BONNAFOND Guillaume AG2R LA MONDIALE
59 ZINGLE Romain COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS
60 BOUET Maxime AG2R LA MONDIALE
61 TALABARDON Yannick SOJASUN
62 MALACARNE Davide TEAM EUROPCAR
63 NIEVE ITURRALDE Mikel EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI
64 ELMIGER Martin IAM CYCLING
65 NAVARRO Daniel COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS
66 HOWES Alex GARMIN – SHARP
67 HERRADA LOPEZ Jesus MOVISTAR TEAM
68 LE MEVEL Christophe COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS
69 LONGO BORGHINI Paolo CANNONDALE
70 VANENDERT DENNIS LOTTO-BELISOL
71 QUINTANA ROJAS Nairo Alexander MOVISTAR TEAM
72 BARGUIL WARREN TEAM ARGOS-SHIMANO
73 SORENSEN Nicki TEAM SAXO-TINKOFF
74 OSS Daniel BMC RACING TEAM
75 MENCHOV Denis KATUSHA TEAM
76 HIVERT Jonathan SOJASUN
77 PERAUD Jean-Christophe AG2R LA MONDIALE
78 BILLE Gaëtan LOTTO-BELISOL
79 BAUER Jack GARMIN – SHARP
80 VUILLERMOZ Alexis SOJASUN
81 KISERLOVSKI Robert RADIOSHACK LEOPARD
82 PLAZA MOLINA Ruben MOVISTAR TEAM
83 ZEITS Andrey ASTANA PRO TEAM
84 PINEAU Jérôme OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP
85 SISKEVICIUS Evaldas SOJASUN
86 VORGANOV Eduard KATUSHA TEAM
87 VOECKLER Thomas TEAM EUROPCAR
88 SPILAK Simon KATUSHA TEAM
89 DE GREEF Francis LOTTO-BELISOL
90 KEIZER Martijn VACANSOLEIL-DCM
91 LOSADA ALGUACIL Alberto KATUSHA TEAM
92 BASSO Ivan CANNONDALE
93 MARCHAND Romain COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS
94 SIUTSOV Kanstantsin SKY PROCYCLING
95 GUTIERREZ José Ivan MOVISTAR TEAM
96 BANDIERA Marco IAM CYCLING
97 MORENO Javier MOVISTAR TEAM
98 SANTAROMITA Ivan BMC RACING TEAM
99 DE GENDT Thomas VACANSOLEIL-DCM
100 IZAGUIRRE INSAUSTI Gorka EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI
101 HINAULT Sébastien IAM CYCLING
102 KING Edward CANNONDALE
103 JEROME Vincent TEAM EUROPCAR
104 SICARD Romain EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI
105 DIDIER Laurent RADIOSHACK LEOPARD
106 IRIZAR Markel RADIOSHACK LEOPARD
107 TAARAMAE Rein COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS
108 LINDEMAN Bert Jan VACANSOLEIL-DCM
109 KIRYIENKA Vasili SKY PROCYCLING
110 ERVITI Imanol MOVISTAR TEAM
111 SILIN Egor ASTANA PRO TEAM
112 GARCIA ECHEGUIBEL Egoitz COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS
113 CLEMENT Stef BLANCO PRO CYCLING TEAM
114 MORI Manuele LAMPRE – MERIDA
115 LARSSON Gustav IAM CYCLING
116 TIERNAN LOCKE Jonathan SKY PROCYCLING
117 DE MARCHI Alessandro CANNONDALE
118 VEUCHELEN Frederik VACANSOLEIL-DCM
119 BOSWELL Ian SKY PROCYCLING
120 CATTANEO Mattia LAMPRE – MERIDA
121 IGLINSKIY Maxim ASTANA PRO TEAM
122 DURASEK Kristijan LAMPRE – MERIDA
123 MAES Nikolas OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP
124 BAK Lars Ytting LOTTO-BELISOL
125 TROFIMOV Yury KATUSHA TEAM
126 PATE Danny SKY PROCYCLING
127 PETROV Evgeni TEAM SAXO-TINKOFF
128 TSCHOPP Johann IAM CYCLING
129 DUPONT Hubert AG2R LA MONDIALE
130 CHRISTENSEN Mads TEAM SAXO-TINKOFF
131 BARDET Romain AG2R LA MONDIALE
132 MINARD Sébastien AG2R LA MONDIALE
133 ASTARLOZA Mikel EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI
134 TJALLINGII Maarten BLANCO PRO CYCLING TEAM
135 BELLEMAKERS Dirk LOTTO-BELISOL
136 ALBASINI Michael ORICA GREENEDGE
137 MATE MARDONES Luis Angel COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS
138 LUND Anders TEAM SAXO-TINKOFF
139 PALINI Andrea Francesco LAMPRE – MERIDA
140 FRANK Mathias BMC RACING TEAM
141 VAN SUMMEREN Johan GARMIN – SHARP
142 MOINARD Amaël BMC RACING TEAM
143 GAUDIN Damien TEAM EUROPCAR
144 PAURIOL Rémi SOJASUN
145 GENIEZ Alexandre FDJ
146 TANNER David BLANCO PRO CYCLING TEAM
147 GERRANS Simon ORICA GREENEDGE
148 KLIER Andreas GARMIN – SHARP
149 FAVILLI Elia LAMPRE – MERIDA
150 KEUKELEIRE Jens ORICA GREENEDGE
151 OFFREDO Yoann FDJ
152 CURVERS Roy TEAM ARGOS-SHIMANO + 00′ 39”
153 VEELERS Tom TEAM ARGOS-SHIMANO + 00′ 39”
154 VERDUGO Gorka EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI + 00′ 39”
155 TULIK ANGÉLO TEAM EUROPCAR + 00′ 39”
156 DA DALTO Mauro CANNONDALE + 00′ 39”
157 COUSIN Jérome TEAM EUROPCAR + 00′ 39”
158 ROY Jérémy FDJ + 00′ 39”
159 BONNET William FDJ + 00′ 46”
160 WEGMANN Fabian GARMIN – SHARP + 00′ 46”
161 HAEDO Lucas Sebastian CANNONDALE + 00′ 46”
162 VOIGT Jens RADIOSHACK LEOPARD + 00′ 50”
163 WILLEMS Frederik LOTTO-BELISOL + 00′ 50”
164 CLARKE Simon ORICA GREENEDGE + 00′ 51”
165 COOKE Baden ORICA GREENEDGE + 00′ 53”
166 DE BACKER Bert TEAM ARGOS-SHIMANO + 00′ 59”
167 STAMSNIJDER Tom TEAM ARGOS-SHIMANO + 00′ 59”
168 MATTHEWS Michael ORICA GREENEDGE + 01′ 01”
169 BOONEN Tom OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP + 01′ 01”
170 SUTHERLAND Rory TEAM SAXO-TINKOFF + 00′ 00”
171 BOOKWALTER Brent BMC RACING TEAM + 01′ 01”
172 MILLAR David GARMIN – SHARP + 01′ 01”
173 MORKOV Michael TEAM SAXO-TINKOFF + 01′ 01”
174 LEMOINE Cyril SOJASUN + 00′ 00”
175 HUPOND Thierry TEAM ARGOS-SHIMANO + 02′ 09”
176 HUGUET Yann TEAM ARGOS-SHIMANO + 02′ 09”
177 FLENS Rick BLANCO PRO CYCLING TEAM + 08′ 02”

Overall
1 VIVIANI Elia CANNONDALE 10h 33′ 11”
2 CHAVANEL Sylvain OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP + 00′ 07”
3 GAUDIN Damien TEAM EUROPCAR + 00′ 08”
4 WESTRA Lieuwe VACANSOLEIL-DCM + 00′ 09”
5 PETACCHI Alessandro LAMPRE – MERIDA + 00′ 10”
6 KELDERMAN Wilco BLANCO PRO CYCLING TEAM + 00′ 10”
7 SOUPE GEOFFREY FDJ + 00′ 10”
8 VELITS Peter OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP + 00′ 11”
9 GALLOPIN Tony RADIOSHACK LEOPARD + 00′ 11”
10 BOZIC Borut ASTANA PRO TEAM + 00′ 11”
11 TURGOT Sébastien TEAM EUROPCAR + 00′ 12”
12 SMUKULIS Gatis KATUSHA TEAM + 00′ 13”
13 GRIVKO Andriy ASTANA PRO TEAM + 00′ 13”
14 HERRADA LOPEZ Jesus MOVISTAR TEAM + 00′ 13”
15 MAES Nikolas OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP + 00′ 13”

 

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