Paris-Nice (FRA) - 11-18.03.2007

(This event is on the 2007 UCI ProTour calendar but does not hold a UCI ProTour licence)

Paris-Nice is known as the ‘race to the sun’ because it starts near the capital of France and then heads south to the warmer and sunnier Mediterranean coast. First held in 1933, Paris-Nice is one of the first stage races of the European season always produces a worthy winner and indicates who will be a contender in longer races in the summer. The winner’s role of honour includes cycling legends such as Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx who dominated the race in the sixties and early seventies. Ireland’s Sean Kelly won seven consecutives editions between 1982 and 1988, while Laurent Jalabert and Alexandre Vinokourov were more recent two-time winners. American riders have won the special leader’s jersey in more recent times, with Bobby Julich winning in 2005 and Floyd Landis in 2006. The week of racing usually begins with a testing prologue time trial, several flat stages as the race heads south and then two or three hilly stages. In 2006 then World Champion Tom Boonen showed his rainbow jersey and powerful sprint in the race by winning three road stages. The often snow-covered stages in the hills of central France and the Provence region always shape the overall result, while the race has often been decided in the final stage on the spectacular Promenade des Anglais seafront.