The 83rd edition of Paris-Nice came to a close this Sunday. Fortunately for the riders, it did with relatively pleasant weather. In this final battle, which took place in the Nice’s hinterland, Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet showed solid form and took twelfth place on the line. In the general classification, the French climber gained one spot to secure thirteenth.
Paris-Nice truly earned its nickname, the “Race to the Sun.” After a week marked by daunting weather conditions, the very last stage was contested under clear skies on Sunday. One hundred and twenty kilometres made up this final day of racing, with the usual series of ups and downs around Nice. However, nearly forty kilometres had to be covered before reaching the first climb, the Col de la Porte, and numerous breakaway attempts took place. Rémi Cavagna was notably on the attack, but almost everything returned to normal for the first slopes. “We knew that Ineos Grenadiers, with three riders in the top ten, would make a move,” explained Benoît Vaugrenard. “We didn’t know how, but we knew they would make it hard and try to isolate the yellow jersey, which didn’t have a team for the climbs. We wanted to get a head start, but that wasn’t possible today.” The pace set by the British team thus made the race come down to a battle between the favorites.
“We laid the foundations, collectively and individually,” Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet
Barely thirty riders were able to reach the summit of the Col de la Porte, including Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet and Kevin Geniets, then another selection took place on the Côte de Peille forty kilometres from the finish. While the yellow jersey group was reduced to around fifteen riders, the Groupama-FDJ leader was still there. “It was a fast stage from start to finish, but the legs were better than the previous days,” said Guillaume. “On Saturday, I really finished the stage in a bad state, with hypothermia. It’s good to finish the week with more positive feelings and being a bit more involved in the race.” On the next climb, the Col d’Èze, the yellow jersey launched the final fight, and Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet then held on in a third group. On the Col des Quatre Chemins, before descending to Nice, he came close to catching the white jersey group. “I’m not far from finishing with the group that’s fighting for fourth place,” he said. “It would have been better, but it wouldn’t have changed much either. The important thing is the trend and being able to finish on a positive note.”On the finish line, the French climber then took twelfth place for the day, gaining one place in the overall standings (13th). “Guillaume fought hard, he rode a very good stage, and he’s finishing this Paris-Nice on a high note,” claimed Benoît. “The goal of a top 10 finish hasn’t been met, but the only real disappointment of this Paris-Nice is the team time trial. As for the rest, I think we got the best out of the group, so we can’t be disappointed.” “I definitely expected better from this Paris-Nice,” Guillaume added. “I can’t be satisfied with this result, but I believe that we did a good job and that we laid the foundations collectively, and for my part individually, for future results.
