Yellow jersey’s Brandon McNulty maintains a 4-second lead over his compatriot ahead of Sunday’s final stage. On Saturday, Aleksandr Vlasov won the 7th stage in Madone d’Utelle.
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Hollywood script. The two Americans are well positioned to win the Paris-Nice general classification, the final stage of which offers a series of climbs, including the Col des Quatre Chemins (category 1). At the top of Madonna d’Utella, on Saturday March 9, Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) maintained a 4 second advantage over Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a bike), for whom “Anything can happen on the most important day of the week.” The last American on the Race to the Sun list is Floyd Landis. It was 2006, a different time.
The most anticipated at the beginning of this edition, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Primoz Roglic (Bora-hansgrohe), 2nd and 3rd in the 8” stage, however, disappointed. The first tried a shy acceleration in the last four kilometers, but did not follow when Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-hansgrohe), an opportunist, broke away alone in the snow-shortened final stage at the Auron station, where the arrival was originally planned. “My hands were frozen in the final”Vlasov also confided.
The first five take place in less than a minute
Paris-Nice, the 27-year-old Russian knows. He finished second overall in 2021, 19” behind winner Maximilian Schachmann. Since then he has earned a reputation as an underdog in the biggest stage races on the calendar: 4th at the Giro (2021), 5th at the Tour de France (2022) and 7th at the Vuelta (2023). Two years ago he also won the Tour de Romandie.
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Step 7: Vlasov counters after Evenepoel’s first attack
If Remco Evenepoel was the one who started the hostilities in Madonna d’Utelle, Aleksandr Vlasov took advantage of the moment of lull to leave the group of favorites in turn. Somewhat further in the general classification, the other leaders gave him a few seconds advantage 4 kilometers from the finish line.
Before the 109.5 km final stage around Nice, five drivers are within a minute. Hidden behind the American duo, Dane Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek, +35”), Evenepoel (+36”) and Australian Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla, +47”) have the last chance to topple Table. “It will still be in full swing, we’ll see how my legs will be”McNulty, yellow jersey on borrowed time, reacted cautiously.