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Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling) marked the victory on the stage in the penultimate phase of Paris-Nice, the Australian solo at home for the last 2 km of a phase 7 truncated by the Breakaway.
Storer rained to the seventh victory of his career, and first with Tudor, after leaving Mauro Schmid (Jayco-Alula) behind the top of the 7.3 km closing climb, of 7.2%.
He would have had only one at the 20 second line on the Swiss champion, celebrating the victory in the rain after 109 km of racing. Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost) completed the podium at 30 seconds.
The stage was cut by 39 km due to bad weather at high altitudes, which means that the battle concerned the closing climb for Auron.
There was more combat among the knights on the run compared to GC men, however, with only Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Collo-Hansgrohe) who moved to the final kilometer to earn three seconds on the other main contenders of the GC.
The leader of the race Matteo Jornson (Visma-lease a bike) ended alongside Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) and João Almeida (team of the United Arab Emirates Emirates-XRGs), with the Dutch who moved to third place ever after the accident and abandonment of Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) with 50km to go.
Jornson Lipowitz Guide of 37 seconds before the last phase of Sunday in the hills around Nice, while Arensman is third at 1:20. Storer jumps on nine GC points per fourth at 2:25, while Almeida is located in the fifth at 2:40.
How it developed
The penultimate phase of Paris-Nice would be a modified and abbreviated route with two climbs removed from the menu due to bad weather at high altitudes. As a result, the 147.8 km phase would instead have taken only the knights 109.8 km from Nice to Auron.
The Knights still would have the second Côte d’Aspremont category (9 km 5%) after 20 km to be contended, together with a gradual rise of 50 km to Isola before the final climb-7.3 km at 7.2% at the Auron summit.
Given the truncated nature of the stage, it was not a surprise that the escape candidates moved from the beginning to try to move the day.
Initially, a group of 12 made the road, with solid climbers Michael Storer (Tudor) and Mauro Schmid (Jayco-Alula) accompanied by teammates Kelland O’Brien and Marco Haller.
There would have been a bit of mixing – the cyclists who left away, other attacks from behind – on the coast of Aspremont – however, with seven new knights who come across three, including Haller, left away.
In the end, Storer, Schmid and O’Brien were united in front of Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers), Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious), Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost), Bruno Armiral (Decathlon AG2R La World Championship), Julian Alaphpe (Tudur), Clément Izquidis) Groupama-Fdj Stefan Küng and Johan Jacobs, and the Totellegies duo of Jordan Jegat and Alexandre DeleTre.
Again in the Peloton, a responsible bike was visible to protect the yellow jersey of Matteo Jornson, even if only Storer-Alele 3:55 in the lower era close to resembling a GC threat.
The gap for the escape came out two minutes during the climb and the following hill not classified, and the group started the long resistance to the island with 2:30 on the group. Lidl-Trek had joined the fray in pursuit, but 51 km to go with the rain that fell, lost their leader Mattias Skjelmose, who crashed out of the race after hitting a divisor in the middle of the road.
In the meantime, the 15 men remained intact, nobody left away while the race hit the intermediate sprint in island. Further back, the Pelotton was at 2:40 am at the bottom with Nils Polytt who puts the work in pursuit for the team of the United Arab Emirates Emirates-XRGs.
When the final climb began, under heavy rain, the Peloton dedicated himself two minutes on pause, which still had his complete complement of 15 men. This would not last, however, as DeleTre, Alaphilippe and Jacobs let go of the final ascent soon.
In the Peloton, Jhonatan Narváez (Emirate Emirate-XRG team) took on peace at the head of the last 5 km, bringing the gap to 1:20 while the more pilots they fell from the pause-Izquierdo, Küng, Wright, Armirail.
When the break hit the last 4 km, with Ineos Grenodiers who now guides the Peloton, only Schmid and Storer remained in front, with the duo Ef Powless and Steinhauser the last two hangers.
The couple continued for a kilometer, at that point Storer continued to leave Schmid behind him, hitting alone for the victory on the stage. The Swiss pilot was briefly hung in a few seconds ago, but did not answer for Storer, who ran only in the final kilometer and continued to claim the victory.
Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R the World Cup) made a move from the front of the group, taking Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Vittorioso) with him, while the contender of GC João Almeida (Emirates-Xrg) was in trouble in the rear of the group.
Gall and Martinez, who were well out of the GC dispute, ran to end up in the sixth and seventh, 57 and 64 seconds less. The eighth place was taken by Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Collo-Hansgrohe), who jumped out of the main group of the best contenders to earn three seconds on the line.
Jornson’s GC group saw the best contenders ending together without earnings or important losses, while an impressive Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) put in time to end up among the climbers.
Results
Results fueled by Firstcycling
