Thomas wins Paris-Nice despite Contador attack

Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) came back from the brink on the Col d’Eze to fight back and take overall victory at Paris-Nice by just four seconds over Alberto Contador (Tinkoff). Contador looked to have Thomas on the ropes after an attack on the final ascent but had to settle for second best after a breathless chase from Thomas on the descent.

Contador had to settle for second best on the stage also, with Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal) beating him in the sprint in Nice. Richie Porte (BMC), who got away with Contador, took third on the day and in the overall classification. Thomas came close to winning Paris-Nice two years ago but crashed out while in yellow on the penultimate day. It is Thomas’ second general classification victory this season after winning the Volta ao Algarve last month.

Contador was visibly emotional on the podium, after giving it everything and with this likely to be his final Paris-Nice. The Spaniard had promised to have a go on the final day to try and make back the 15-second deficit to Thomas, and he did just that. He made his first move on the Cote de Peille, but Thomas remained calm, and it was all back together by the foot of the Col d’Eze.

As they began climbing for the final time in the race, Rafal Majka went to the front for Tinkoff. Doing what he had done the day before, the Polish rider put on the afterburners and began shedding riders from the main group. Thomas was not so relaxed when Majka’s efforts saw him, and Contador move clear at the front. Majka soon peeled off but Porte joined up with Contador, and it was a race for time to make it into Nice.

Picking up Wellens, who had been in the day’s break, along the way, the trio had as much as 35 seconds on the climb. Thomas had clearly expected an aggressive challenge from Contador on the final stage and had geared up appropriately. He utilised his set-up to bring that gap back down to just five seconds on the line.

"When he went on [the Cote de] Peille, at first, I stuck with the team. I felt good; I felt strong. But when he went halfway up the Col d’Eze my legs just gave way. It was horrible," Thomas said after the stage. "I thought that it was all over, and then I got dropped from the other group, and I thought I was going to struggle to stay on the podium. Sergio stayed with me. I had a 54 chainring on for the descent, in case I had to chase and I certainly needed that in the end. It was just full gas and to finally catch back in the last few k. It was really good.

"It’s incredible; it's hard to believe. Contador, man, he’s one of the best stage racers ever. Richie, he won nearly every stage race he did last year so to beat those two I can’t believe it. I obviously came here wanting to do the best I could and win but to actually do it is the biggest win for sure of my whole career and I’m over the moon."

Despite the presence of Thomas looming on the Promenade des Anglais, Contador continued to drive to the finish line. However, he didn’t have the legs to outsprint Wellens, who would take the biggest win of his young career.

"I was a little bit unhappy yesterday and today I really tried to give it my best," said Wellens. "It was a good opportunity for me to go with Contador and we were full gas all the way to the line. This is a great victory, a very great victory."

Click here to subscribe to the Cyclingnews video channel.

How it happened

It was all still to play for going into the final stage of Paris-Nice and with only 134 kilometres to play with it was always going to be an active day. A total of six climbs were on the menu and several riders, including Alexander Kristoff (Katusha), decided that it wasn’t for them.

The action kicked off right from the start with a large group of 18 riders breaking free in the first five kilometres. Importantly for Contador, one of the riders who made it into the breakaway group was his teammate Robert Kiserlovski. The break wasn’t a done deal and there was some chopping and changing with another Tinkoff rider, Yuri Trofimov joining the leading group along with Matt Brammeier (Dimension Data), Lilian Calmejane (Direct Energie) and Sep Vanmarcke (LottoNL-Jumbo). Brammeier’s day in the break wouldn’t last long, however, and he would soon be dropped.

Aside from a few movements in the break group, there was an element of calm in the main bunch. It wasn’t until the Cote de Peille that all hell broke loose when Contador finally struck out. He quickly built an advantage, joining up with his two teammates in the break and blowing the race apart. At one point, Contador had well over a minute on the Thomas group but he wasn’t able to hold that advantage once they’d made it over the top of the climb.

With an in-form Sergio Henao and Nicolas Roche for help, Thomas’ group began to bring back Contador. It was gruppo compacto for the Col d’Eze with just a few remnants of the original break dangling at the head of the race. With just a few cards left to play, Contador put Majka to the fore and the 26-year-old delivered a leg-sapping pace.

He may not have been in the fight for the top spots in overall classification anymore, but Romain Bardet (AG2R-La Mondiale) was keen to show that his race was not done and dusted. The Frenchman launched a few speculative moves up the road at 20 kilometres to go, only to be chased down by Contador. He may not have got away but his attacks showed early signs of Thomas struggling. Majka took to the head of proceedings again and this time, he appeared to break Thomas.

Majka and Contador slowly moved clear, with the Polish rider pulling off when the two had a clear advantage. Contador wasn’t alone for long, with Porte bridging across and the two raced away from an ailing Thomas. The pair caught up with Wellens and held a gap of over 30 seconds by the top.

Thomas was not ready to give up though and raced every kilometre to the finish line. He did just enough to hold onto his race lead in what was a thrilling finale to the week.

Full Results