Following an undulating 154km parcours, stage 1 of Paris-Nice was characterised by wet and windy weather, the conditions making it difficult from the outset. Following a circuitous out and back route that started and finished in Plaisir, riders faced crosswinds that regularly split the peloton. While a break did form in the early kilometres and built a strong advantage, as the day went on and the winds took their toll, the bunch used their strength in numbers to combat the wind and bring the break back in contact. The challenging road conditions, a combination of wind, rain and the occasional cobblestone section, saw riders crash and gaps form, but the BORA-hansgrohe riders kept out of trouble and stayed near the front. As more breaks formed, Patrick Konrad and Felix Grossschartner went out in front to keep things under control, but a strong duo went on the attack with 29km to go, just as the rain got even worse. With 10km remaining, the gap was still at more than thirty seconds, but as BORA-hansgrohe hit the front again, the advantage dropped down to ten seconds with 5km to go. The German National Champion, Maximilian Schachmann, gave chase as the kilometres dropped, joining up with another rider and bridging to the lead duo with 3km left, before the BORA-hansgrohe rider attacked with 2km to go. Reeled back, Maximilian wasn’t going to be denied as the quartet approached the finish line and he timed his sprint to perfection – taking a commanding victory and claiming the first stage of the 2020 Paris-Nice race.
Results
01 M.Schachmann 3h32’19”
02 D.Teuns + 0:00
03 T.Benoot + 0:00
09 F.Grossschartner + 0:15
From the Finish Line
“I’m so happy with this victory. Actually, things worked out a bit better for me because in the tailwind, there was a traffic island in the middle and I found myself on the left, so I entered the crosswind nearly last. I managed to make it back step by step and I’d like to thank the team for their work. In one moment, Peter helped me and really saved me and in the finale, Felix did a fantastic job. It was the first really hard race for me and coming here I didn’t know what my form was. My legs felt a bit painful in the finale but I could see the other struggling even more, so that gave me confidence. I’m very happy to bring home this victory for BORA-hansgrohe. I had a good start to the season, I missed a stage in Algarve by a few centimetres, so it’s nice to win here. Being the overall leader is a great feeling and a responsibility but we’ll certainly do our best, we have a very good team here.” – Maximilian Schachmann
“We came here to France with a team consisting of several strong riders, and we had to make a plan that allowed each of them to have the opportunity to share their strengths. That’s why we prepared ourselves for three different scenarios today. We rode at the front of the field the whole day, with Patrick Konrad and Felix Grossschartner also making it into the 16-man leading group. From this group, Alaphilippe and Benoot then launched an attack and we had to invest everything in chasing this down, because we knew that the final 15km featured a tail crosswind. Felix did a fantastic job of chasing down the duo and bringing them back, and even took 9th place in the end. As planned, Max attacked on the top of the cobbled climb with 5km to go, and in the end was able to take a very impressive win. Now we’ll try to defend the jersey, and tomorrow looks like it could be a day for the sprinters.” – Christian Pömer
