Paris-Nice: Max Kanter wins the sprint in Montargis

The second stage of Paris-Nice between Épône and Montargis saw German rider Max Kanter (XDS Astana) win in a sprint, in a very calm stage.

A tailor-made day for sprinters on the Paris-Nice route. After a fairly eventful first stage won by Luke Lamperti, the peloton took a leisurely ride on Monday. The riders covered 187 km between Épône (Yvelines) and Montargis (Loiret). A fairly flat course with a finish suited for sprinters, as when the race passed through two years ago. At that time, it was Arvid de Kleijn who had won the sprint.

The only minor highlight of the day was the battle for the polka dot jersey that emerged between the two protagonists from the previous day, Mathis Le Berre (TotalEnergies) and Casper Pedersen (Soudal Quick-Step). In this contest, the Dane proved strongest once again by leading over the three categorized climbs of the day. He thus extends his lead in the mountain classification to four points over his main rival, Mathis Le Berre.

After that, while one might have thought that the wind could play a major role on these long straightaways in the Loiret department, it didn’t. The peloton decided to control the race.

Although several crashes occurred towards the end of the race, no favorites were observed on the ground. Only sprinter Cees Bol, who had a chance to play, appeared affected but continued bravely. As a result of this incident, his teammate Daan Hoole attempted his chance by attacking alone 20 km from the finish. The climber from the Décathlon CMA CGR team was voted most aggressive rider of the day for his boldness in a race destined for sprinter teams. The Dutchman was ultimately logically caught by the peloton just meters from the finish despite an impressive effort.

Well supported by his Astana teammates, it was finally German Max Kanter (28 years old) who won to general surprise. He scores his third career stage victory. Laurence Pithie (Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe), one of the favorites of the day, finishes second ahead of Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step). French champion Dorian Godon (Ineos Grenadiers) takes 4th place ahead of the yellow jersey wearer and previous day winner, Luke Lamperti (EF Education EasyPost).

In the standings, no change: American Luke Lamperti retains his yellow jersey. A jersey he may lose tomorrow following the team time trial of 23.5 kilometers between Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire and Pouilly-sur-Loire.