Primož Roglič continued the Jumbo-Visma show at Paris-Nice on Saturday's stage up the Col de Turini, sprinting to victory from a small group of GC contenders to take his team's third win of the week.
The Slovenian, who has held the lead since stage 5 after inheriting it from teammates Wout van Aert and Christophe Laporte, further extended his overall lead on the climb, famous for featuring in the Monte Carlo Rally and appearing in Paris-Nice for only the second time.
He added eight seconds to his lead over Simon Yates (BikeExchange-Jayco). The Briton now lies 47 seconds down, while new third-placed man Dani Martínez (Ineos Grenadiers) is at a minute. It's a comfortable lead for Roglič heading into Sunday's finale in Nice, but after last year's last day disaster there's still space to be cautious with one day left.
"It's a stage of only 115 kilometres so there won't be many tactics involved," Roglič said of the day, which includes five climbs in the hills around Nice. "They're going to fly from the start. It will be hard to control.
"We saw last year that it will be a super demanding one. It's the decisive day and I'm ready."
Last year's race saw Roglič crash twice and dislocate his shoulder on the final day. What was then a comfortable 52-second GC lead evaporated as he battled to stay in touch with his rivals before finally succumbing and losing three minutes, ending the race in 15th overall.
On Saturday, his Jumbo-Visma directeur sportif Grischa Niermann sounded a cautious note, while stating that he, Roglič, and the team remained confident.
"We're not going to count ourselves rich just yet," Niermann told Het Laatste Nieuws. "It is again a treacherous stage, a lot of up and down, one climb after another.
"There are difficult descents, too, and the weather will be bad with rain and the cold. We're confident but it's not over yet."
Still, there was time for Roglič to celebrate his stage victory, his first of the new season after finishing second to Laporte and Van Aert on stages 1 and 4. He endured several attacks from his GC rivals, including from Yates, on the Turini, keeping in touch with ease, before utilising his well-known quick finish in the final dash to the line.
"It was a fast race from the beginning, but I felt good," he said. "I was always able to follow and keep control during the attacks by Yates and Nairo Quintana, among others. So yes, everything went as hoped.
"It was racing on the limit. There were a few of us who were well matched, and we pushed each other to the limit. I had the legs today so it was a great day.
"It's nice to get confirmation that you are doing well because after the winter you're always a little uncertain."
Roglič later took to the podium to celebrate with his trademark 'Telemark' ski jumping pose, while his two-year-old son Lev joined him on the podium too, also performing the now-famous celebration pose.
"This was my best podium ever," Roglič said later. "We are going to practice a bit more though, because it's not 100 per cent perfect yet. Next time we will try to do it even better.
"[My wife and son] are my biggest fans. It's nice to win for them and on my local climb, too."
