A summit finish in the Alps Saturday afternoon.
Due to the inclement weather, the organisers were forced to redesign the course of the penultimate stage to Auron, leaving as the only difficulty of the day the 7.3km ascent averaging 7.2% which was used for the first time in a professional cycling race. This didn’t mean that things were easier for the peloton, who once again had to battle the low temperatures, nagging rain and even snow, which all made climbing Auron a real ordeal.
It didn’t come as a surprise that the weather had an adverse effect on the way things unfolded, giving a chance to the 15-man breakaway that was at the front. The gap began coming down only 30 kilometers from the finish, but it still wasn’t enough for the peloton to bring back the front group – which still had a lot of firepower – from where Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling) emerged victorious.
Many riders began suffering early on the stiff gradients, and as a consequence were dumped out of the small bunch, but Ilan Van Wilder fought admirably to remain there for as long as possible, keen on defending his GC position. It was only two kilometers from the finish that the Belgian had to let go of the group, but he continued to give his best and came across the line some half a minute behind the others, exhausted and gasping for air after the huge effort he put in in what was another wearing day for the Paris-Nice riders.
Only one stage remains now for the bunch before the conclusion of the 83rd edition, a short but hard one featuring four climbs and a fast descent to the Nice city center.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
