Paris-Nice: the first stage for Luke Lamperti

For the launch of this 84th edition of Paris-Nice, 154 riders set off from Achères in the Yvelines for 170 km of racing. At the finish in Carrières-sous-Poissy, it was Luke Lamperti who won and takes the first yellow jersey.

The first major stage race taking place in mainland France, Paris-Nice started at noon from Achères in the Yvelines department for eight days of racing until Nice. For this first day of racing, the riders covered 170 km to Carrières-sous-Poissy, still in the same department. On the agenda, a fairly challenging stage with nearly 2,000 meters of climbing, most of which was located 40 kilometers from the finish. An undulating circuit that cyclists covered three times. The main difficulty, the Chanteloup-les-Vignes climb in the third category. Before that, riders had to tackle two other third-category climbs.

Six men found themselves at the front in a very fast stage, averaging nearly 46 km/h. Among them were two men from the Jayco AlUla team, Patrick Gamper and Luke Durbridge. They were accompanied by Max Walker (EF Education EasyPost), Sébastien Grignard (Lotto Intermarché), Mathis Le Berre (TotalEnergies) and Casper Pedersen (Soudal Quick-Step). The latter two fought over the points in the mountain classification, whose first leader is none other than Casper Pedersen.

Luke Lamperti well positioned for the sprint

As for the favorites, everyone stayed warm in a peloton that controlled the breakaway, not without difficulty, around 1 min 30. It remained to be seen whether the sprinters would manage to get over the short but difficult climb of Chanteloup-les-Vignes (1.1 km at 8.3%).

It took until the last lap of the 16 km circuit to see the escapees, exhausted, caught less than two kilometers from the finish by the peloton led by the favorite’s team Jonas Vingegaard.

The victory was decided in the sprint. Although many sprinters failed to hold the wheels on the final climb, a few big names were still at the front. But on the line, it was Luke Lamperti (EF Education EasyPost) who prevailed ahead of Vito Braet (Lotto Intermarché) and Orluis Aular (Movistar).

The victory for EF Education EasyPost rewards the work done throughout the day by Max Walker at the front of the race.

Note the consequence-free crash in the last kilometer of Cannes resident Lenny Martinez, who got back up and does not lose time in the overall classification.

Next appointment for this 84th edition of the Race to the Sun on Monday with a stage between Épône and Montargis (187 km) which will be suited to the sprinters. Unless the wind comes to disrupt the race!