March 10, 2013

Kruijswijk Holds onto Point d’Appui to Cap Paris-Nice

Steven Kruijswijk

Steven Kruijswijk, the leading racer for Blanco Pro Cycling Team in the 2013 Paris-Nice stage race, has won the Point d’Appui, finishing at the middle of all 151 riders who finished Stage 7, the final stage of the race.

Kruijswijk grabbed hold of the fulcrum during Stage 6 and staved off competitors during the final time trial at Nice, despite some jockeying among other riders to slip into the middle spot. He finished 36 minutes and 19 seconds behind winner Richie Porte and 47 minutes and 31 seconds ahead of the Lanterne Rouge, David Millar of Garmin-Sharp.

The rider with the time closest to the overall Paris-Nice median was Martin Elmiger of IAM Cycling.

A recap of the stages:

Prologue – No fulcrum
Stage 1 – Jerome Cousin
Stage 2 – Jon Izagirre
Stage 3 – No fulcrum
Stage 4 – No fulcrum
Stage 5 – Stijn Vandenbergh
Stage 6 – Steven Kruijswijk
Stage 7 – Steven Kruijswijk

March 10, 2013

Field Narrows; Kruijswijk Holds Fulcrum Going into Finale

Steven Kruijswijk

After 14 abandons during Stage 6 of the 2013 Paris-Nice spring classic, Steven Kruijswijk of the Blanco Pro Cycling Team found himself at the center of the overall race, the Point d’Appui, going into the final stage.

Kruijswijk is 33 minutes and 27 seconds behind race leader Richie Porte and 46 minutes and change ahead of Blanco teammate, Rick Flens, the latest Lanterne Rouge.

Surrounding Kruijswijk are notable contenders: Vasil Kiryienka, the Point d’Appui of the 2012 Tour de France, is just a place ahead, and Remi Pauriol, who held the Point d’Appui after Stage 2 of the 2012 Vuelta, is one second behind Kruijswijk.

Kruijswijk, who took a tumble earlier in the Paris-Nice race, saw some success in 2011 while riding under the RaboBank colors, reaching the podium of the Tour de Suisse as the third-place finisher. He also finished eighth at the Giro d’Italia. During Paris-Nice, he has been riding in support of teammate Robert Gesink, but Gesink bowed out of Paris-Nice before the end of Stage 6 along with two other Blanco riders, Mark Renshaw and Wilco Kelderman. This leaves Kruijswijk as the team leader for Blanco.

The rider with the time closest to median time for the overall race is once again Mattia Cattaneo of Lampre-Merida. Cattaneo held the median time after Stage 4 as well and also was on the cusp of the fulcrum after Stage 3.

On the stage, Ivan Basso of Cannondale finished at the fulcrum.

March 7, 2013

Another Abandon Leaves Paris-Nice on Cuspides After Stage 3

Mattia Cattaneo of Lampre-Merida and Kanstantsin Siutsou of Sky Procycling share les Cuspides of the fulcrum at the end of Stage 3 of the Paris-Nice spring classic. José Ivan Gutierrez of Movistar did not start the third stage, bringing the number of surviving riders in the race to an even 178.

Cattaneo is 3 minutes 14 seconds behind the latest leader of the race, the American Andrew Talansky of Garmin Sharp, and more than 17 minutes ahead of the new Lanterne Rouge, Yann Huguet of Team Argos-Shimano. Huguet, as you will recall, had the median time after the Prologue.

On the stage, Ruben Plaza of Movistar and Gustav Larsson of IAM Cycling finished on the cusp. And our Stage 1 Point d’Appui, Jerome Cousin, brought up the rear of Stage 3.

The Stage 2 Point d’Appui, Jon Izagirre has moved up in the standings to 41st, and his brother Gorka contested for the stage win.

March 6, 2013

Crashes Again Shake Up Paris-Nice; Izagirre at Fulcrum

Jon Izagirre, leading a break in the 2012 Giro d’Italia on the stage he eventually won. Photo by Richard Schofield, via Wikimedia Commons

Jon Izagirre of Euskaltel-Euskadi is the new Point d’Appui after Stage 2 of the Paris-Nice spring classic. Izagirre placed fourth overall in the recent Tour Down Under and won a stage of the Giro last year. That says something about the top-flight quality of riders who still have excellent times at Paris-Nice but who are relegated to the middle of the pack by the relative ease of the race so far.

Izagirre finished 24 seconds adrift the leader of the race, Elia Viviani of Cannondale, and more than 17 minutes ahead of the Lanterne Rouge, Alexander Kristoff of Team Katusha. Andrea Palini of Lampre-Merida holds the median time for the general classification.

Jerome Cousin, who held the fulcrum after Stage 1, drifted back more than 20 places but might still have a stab at the middle on Stage 3 as the route heads into the Monts du Livradois and hits its first category climbs, a couple of Category 3s and a Category 2 climb – the Côte de Mauvagnat – near the end of the day.

On the stage, Francis De Greef of Lotto Belisol finished at the center of the peloton. Four riders abandoned, including the leader after Stage 1, Nacer Bouhanni.

March 3, 2013

Cofidis Teammates on Cuspides for Paris-Nice Prologue

A pair of Cofidis riders, Jerome Coppel and Rein Taaramae, have taken the Cuspides on the Prologue of the Paris-Nice stage race, the unofficial start of the 2013 racing season.

It took less than five minutes for even the slowest rider, Andreas Klier of Garmin Sharp, to finish the 2.9 kilometer Prologue in the Paris suburb of Houilles. All 184 riders came home safely, so there is no Point d’Appui to be awarded on the Prologue. Coppel and Taaramae were both 13 seconds adrift.

Damien Gaudin of Europcar won the Prologue, narrowly edging out Sylvain Chavanel of Omega Pharma-Quickstep and Lieuwe Westra of Vacansoleil-DMC. The Prologue win was unexpected for the Europcar Team, or at least anyone following Europcar. Chris Fontecchio over at Podiumcafe picked Europcar as the team whose ambition at Paris-Nice might be to “get noticed on camera at some point.” Gaudin has a string of first place finishes in the French national track championships, but this his first top finish in a stage race, albeit a Prologue that on paper looks more like a track race than a stage race.

A Frenchman, Yann Huguet of Team Argos-Shimano, had the median time of the day with right at 25 seconds.

Monday’s stage, 195 kilometers from Saint-Germain-en-Laye to Nemours, will be a romp for the sprinters. With only three seconds separating the middle 20 percent of the racers, anyone might slip into the fulcrum position by the end of the day.

March 11, 2012

Paris-Nice Finishes Even Up

An even 156 riders finished Paris-Nice, meaning no Point d’Appui could be awarded. Bradley Wiggins of Great Britain, riding for Sky Procycling, won the race with a time of 22:31:52.

Les Cuspides for Paris-Nice were two Italians: Leonardo Bertagnolli of Lampre-ISD, who finished 21:52 behind Wiggins, and Paolo Longo Borghini of Liquigas-Cannondale, who finished 22:17 back.

The Lanterne Rouge for the race was Polish rider Jaroslaw Marycz of Team Saxo Bank, coming in 1:15:35 behind the leader.