The weather had a significant impact on the stage around Auxerre on Tuesday, allowing UAE Team Emirates to maintain its lead, particularly at Soudal-Quick Step.
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It was better to go early, on Tuesday 5 March, for the team time trial of this Paris-Nice 2024 edition. The inclement weather favored the UAE Team Emirates team, who avoided the rain and won the 26.9 km course around Auxerre (Yonne). In this special sun race format where the team reference time is taken from the first runner to cross the line and everyone’s time counts towards the overall, it is Brandon McNulty who takes the overall lead.
Gaudu and Roglić lose big seconds
Starting well and leading well on the first intermediate stage on the Emirati formation (-17″), Soudal-Quick Step, although six almost to the end, could not maintain their rhythm during the last kilometers penalized by the road becoming wet. They finished at the foot of the podium ( +22″). Team Jayco AlUl (+15″) and EF Education EasyPost (+20″), who also left in the mid-afternoon, took the podium behind UAE.
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Step 3: Primoz Roglic wastes time compared to Remco Evenepoel
Disappointment for Primoz Roglic, who lost 32 seconds to Remco Evenepoel in this team time trial in Auxerre. The Bora-Hansgrohe leader did his best in the final but ended up 54 seconds behind UAE Teams Emirates, the day’s winner.
Groupama-FDJ of David Gaudu and Laurence Pithie, who wore the yellow shirt, finished in 14th place, more than a minute behind (1’01”), while Primoz Roglic also lost among the favorites, leaving 54 seconds to Joao Almeida and more than 30 on Remco Evenepoel’s La Visma-Lease bike, with its atypical helmets that the UCI plans to legislate, took sixth place at 38 seconds.
