Betancur wins second straight stage at Paris-Nice

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He may be, by his own admission, still a couple of kilograms over his ideal racing weight, but Carlos Betancur (Ag2r-La Mondiale) made light of the short, sharp climb to the line at Fayence to claim stage victory and the overall lead at Paris-Nice.

On a finale that brought to mind the Mur de Huy – in length if not quite in difficulty – Betancur showed that he had digested the lessons of his third place finish at Flèche Wallonne last April, when he had bounded clear of the leading group on the lower slopes only for his charge to fizzle out in the final 300 metres.

This time around, the Colombian gauged his effort more cautiously, following the wheels on the steeper gradients and then overhauling world champion Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) as the road flattened out to take the stage win and divest Geraint Thomas (Sky) – who crossed the line three seconds down in 4th – of the yellow jersey in the process.

“It was a very hard stage with a lot of kilometres, but the team rode very well and did great work for me,” Betancur said as he waited to mount the podium, mindful that his chance of overall success had almost slipped away on the approach to the base of the final climb.

Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) launched two separate attacks on the descent of the Col de Bourigaille, the second of which threatened to take a ten-man move clear and leave Betancur stranded in the third group with five kilometres remaining. Ag2r rider Mickaël Chérel’s stalling tactics up ahead, however, allied to a concerted chase from Betancur’s remaining teammates, helped to seal up the gaps just as the final haul to the line began.

Once on the 1.5 kilometre climb – which the peloton had already tackled at the foot of the Bourigaille – Ag2r’s Alexis Vuillermoz went on the offensive, stretching out the leading group with an effort that distanced a number of riders, including Nibali, as the gradient began to bite. After Simon Spilak (Katusha) and Arthur Vichot (FDJ.fr) tried to get away on the steepest section, the impressive Tom Jelte Slagter (Garmin-Sharp) then joined Vuillermoz at the front of the shrinking leading group.

The pair led determinedly through the twin set of hairpin bends that preceded the finish, only for ill fortune to thwart both of their challenges almost simultaneously – Vuillermoz crashed as he zipped out of the second bend, while seconds later Slagter pulled over with a mechanical problem.

In the confusion, Rui Costa, who had appeared comfortable on the climb, appeared set to capitalise, jumping clear with considerable force, but Betancur summoned up the strength to make it across to the world champion, and then came around him in the final 100 metres to claim victory.

Just behind, Thomas was scrambling gamely to get back on terms, but he was unable to close the gap to the two leaders, and he ultimately had to settle for fourth on the stage as Zdenek Stybar (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) – a rider pedalling with real facility ahead of the spring classics – nipped around him to lead the chasers home at three seconds.

Thanks to the time bonus he picked up at the finish, Betancur now holds a lead of eight seconds over Rui Costa in the overall standings, while Thomas slips to third, a further ten seconds back.

Betancur’s Paris-Nice stage wins are the third and fourth victories of his season after he landed a stage and the overall at the Tour du Haut-Var last month. The Colombian struggled in his first race of the campaign at the Tour de San Luis in January, but he has found form quickly since arriving at his European base in Tuscany, where he is coached by Michele Bartoli.

“I’m in good condition and you have to seize the moment,” Betancur said. “The plan now is to hold the overall lead and celebrate victory in the end.”

Fireworks on the Bourigaille

Paris-Nice’s longest day was played out in pleasant spring sunshine in the Vaucluse and Var départements, and the early exchanges were animated by a ten-man breakaway that included Steve Cummings (BMC), Jens Keukeleire (Orica-GreenEdge), Pim Ligthart (Lotto-Belisol) and Alessandro De Marchi (Cannondale).

Keukeleire began the day just 25 seconds down on Thomas’ yellow jersey, and as a consequence, the break was never allowed that much freedom, with their maximum advantage a very manageable three minutes. As Sky began to close the gap in the final 60 kilometres, the French pair of Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) and Sylvain Chavanel (IAM Cycling) sensed their chance, punching clear on Côte des Tuilières and joining the leaders on the descent.

After the following Côte de Mont Meaulx, with 40 kilometres remaining, only four riders remained in front – Chavanel, Voeckler, De Marchi and Ligthart – while the Sky-led peloton whittled away at the leaders’ advantage. By the time Chavanel et al reached the finish line at Fayence for the first time at the foot of the Col de Bourigaille, their margin was down to just 25 seconds, and it continued to shrink as the gradient stiffened.

As Voeckler struggled, the king of the mountains Chavanel forced his way clear, but he was picked off shortly afterwards when Astana’s Lieuwe Westra wound up the pace in support of Nibali and Jakob Fulgang.

Closer to the summit, Fränk Schleck (Trek) launched himself off the front, and though short of the vim of old, it was enough to bring Stefan Denifl (IAM Cycling) and Vuillermoz clear with him. As they crested the summit, they were joined by Przemyslaw Niemiec (Lampre-Merida), Eduardo Sepulveda (Bretagne-Séché) and Yury Trofimov (Katusha), while behind, the yellow jersey group had been reduced to just 35 riders.

Once over the top, Nibali launched his first attack, which was enough to peg back the leaders, and presaged an intense assault on Thomas’ slender overall lead. Nibali, however, would not be the man to dislodge the Welshman, who covered the moves as best he could all the way to the finish, but ultimately had to give best to Betancur on the final kick to the line.