With 13 teams, eight riders per team and only 2.9 kilometers of prologue, the odds seem highly in favor of all 184 riders coming home later today, leaving us without a fulcrum after the first leg of the 2013 Paris-Nice.

The start and finish in Houilles, just outside of Paris, portends unpredictability though, so who knows what might happen by the end of today’s ride.

There are several riders expected to race who have proved their middle in earlier seasons, such as Michael Morkov and Vasili Kiryienka.