Paris-Nice: Cousin wins stage 5 in Sisteron
Breakaway narrowly takes the stage
Direct Energie's Jerome Cousin claimed a cagey victory in stage 5 of Paris-Nice, playing a smart strategic finale with breakaway companion Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin). With the peloton charging behind, Cousin calmly waited until the final 200 metres to make his move, powering to the line well ahead of the German.
The sprint was led home just four seconds later, with André Greipel (Lotto Soudal) taking third.
Race leader Luis Leon Sánchez (Astana) maintained his position on the stage, while Cousin's day-long efforts in the breakaway also earned him the polka dot jersey for taking the mountains classification lead. Sánchez leads Wout Poels (Team Sky) in the overall by 15 seconds, with Quick-Step Floors' Julian Alaphilippe and Movistar's Marc Soler another 11 seconds back.
"I had cramps towards the end," Cousin said. "The goal was to go for the breakaway and take the KOM jersey. I did not spare my efforts and we had a tacit agreement that if I went for the climbs they would leave me alone on the flat. Now when I saw that the victory was possible I worked hard to go after the Katusha rider and I played with his balls a little. That's the way I won. I'm so generous in my efforts all year and I was beaten in similar circumstances so many times before that I decided to maneuver differently for once and see if it worked. I didn't steal this.
"Last year I raced for only 30 days," Cousin said. "It's a great comeback. We've now won two stages, It's important for the team, but I must recover because I'm also supposed to be helping Lilian Calmejane make it into the top 10."
How it Unfolded
The 165km stage from Salon-de-Provence to Sisteron looked on paper like another likely day for the sprinters. The race included four categorised climbs, but with the final climb, the category 3 agent of Cote de la Marquise, topping out 13km from the finish, the sprinters' teams had this day marked down as another opportunity.
Those plans were laid to rest by Cousin and Politt, who bid adieu to the peloton early in the day when they joined Nicolas Edet (Cofidis) and Julien El Fares (Delko Marseille Provence KTM) off the front. Of the breakaway quartet, El Fares was the best-placed rider in the general classification, sitting in 54th place and 4:04 down on race leader Sánchez.
Cousin won the race to the top of the Pointu, taking seven KOM points for his efforts and giving himself a good shot of taking the jersey by the end of the day. The leaders' advantage swelled to 4:30 near the top of the category 1 Col de Legarde-d'Apt 76.5km into the day, and Cousin again scored maximum points, adding 10 more and taking his tally to a classification-leading 17. He added another point at the top of the penultimate climb of the day, the category 3 Col du Négron, which climbed for 5.9km at an average of three per cent.
From there, the riders faced a long descent to the finale of the stage, which featured a another short climb in the form of the Côte de la Marquise. The leaders hit the finishing circuit together, and with 19km to go they passed the finish line in Sisteron for the first time. Politt, Edet, Cousin, and El Fares came into Sisteron and took the bell with the gap standing at 2:15.
Politt attacked the breakaway with 15km to go, leaving his three former escapee partners to try and drag him back. Cousin attacked the chasing trio on the drag up to de la Marquise and was able to bridge to Politt just short of the final KOM, where he added a few more points to his tally.
Politt and Cousin then took the final descent together, with Politt supplying most of the power as Cousin ignored his pleas to come forward. Politt attacked several more times but could not jettison Cousin, and they came into the final kilometre together.
Politt jumped first, but his power was depleted by that point, and Cousin easily countered the move, leaving Politt in his wake as the German shook his head in disgust.
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Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Jerome Cousin (Fra) Direct Energie | 3:57:25 |
2 | Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin | 0:00:02 |
3 | André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal | 0:00:04 |
4 | Magnus Cort (Den) Astana Pro Team | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
5 | Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
6 | Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
7 | Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
8 | Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Sunweb | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
9 | Matti Breschel (Den) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
10 | Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
11 | Timo Roosen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 10 - Cell 2 |
12 | Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 11 - Cell 2 |
13 | Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Direct Energie | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
14 | Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 13 - Cell 2 |
15 | Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | Row 14 - Cell 2 |
16 | Laurent Pichon (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
17 | Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
18 | Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
19 | Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
20 | Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
21 | Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
22 | David De La Cruz (Spa) Team Sky | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
23 | Brenton Jones (Aus) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
24 | Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 23 - Cell 2 |
25 | Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 24 - Cell 2 |
26 | Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team | Row 25 - Cell 2 |
27 | Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) BMC Racing Team | Row 26 - Cell 2 |
28 | Elia Viviani (Ita) Quick-Step Floors | Row 27 - Cell 2 |
29 | Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Trek-Segafredo | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
30 | Benjamin King (USA) Dimension Data | Row 29 - Cell 2 |
31 | Diego Rosa (Ita) Team Sky | Row 30 - Cell 2 |
32 | Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky | Row 31 - Cell 2 |
33 | Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 32 - Cell 2 |
34 | Gorka Izagirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
35 | Rudy Molard (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
36 | Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 35 - Cell 2 |
37 | Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors | Row 36 - Cell 2 |
38 | Dan Martin (Irl) UAE Team Emirates | Row 37 - Cell 2 |
39 | Ion Izagirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | Row 38 - Cell 2 |
40 | Christopher Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb | Row 39 - Cell 2 |
41 | Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie | Row 40 - Cell 2 |
42 | Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Quick-Step Floors | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
43 | Manuele Boaro (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | 0:00:13 |
44 | Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Movistar Team | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
45 | Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Mitchelton-Scott | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
46 | Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team | Row 45 - Cell 2 |
47 | Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
48 | Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team | Row 47 - Cell 2 |
49 | Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
50 | Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott | 0:00:16 |
51 | Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 50 - Cell 2 |
52 | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:00:18 |
53 | Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Movistar Team | 0:00:21 |
54 | Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 53 - Cell 2 |
55 | Remy Di Gregorio (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | Row 54 - Cell 2 |
56 | Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 55 - Cell 2 |
57 | Delio Fernandez Cruz (Spa) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | Row 56 - Cell 2 |
58 | Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
59 | Romain Combaud (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
60 | Jesus Herrada (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 59 - Cell 2 |
61 | Jose Herrada (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 60 - Cell 2 |
62 | Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 61 - Cell 2 |
63 | Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek-Segafredo | 0:00:26 |
64 | Ian Boswell (USA) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
65 | Nicolas Roche (Irl) BMC Racing Team | Row 64 - Cell 2 |
66 | Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 65 - Cell 2 |
67 | Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 66 - Cell 2 |
68 | Gregory Rast (Swi) Trek-Segafredo | Row 67 - Cell 2 |
69 | Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates | Row 68 - Cell 2 |
70 | Paul Martens (Ger) LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 69 - Cell 2 |
71 | Dylan Teuns (Bel) BMC Racing Team | Row 70 - Cell 2 |
72 | Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
73 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 72 - Cell 2 |
74 | Julien El Fares (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | Row 73 - Cell 2 |
75 | Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Team Sunweb | Row 74 - Cell 2 |
76 | Omar Fraile (Spa) Astana Pro Team | Row 75 - Cell 2 |
77 | Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo | Row 76 - Cell 2 |
78 | Simon Gerrans (Aus) BMC Racing Team | 0:00:40 |
79 | Natnael Berhane (Eri) Dimension Data | 0:00:45 |
80 | Mathew Hayman (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott | 0:01:19 |
81 | Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Bahrain-Merida | 0:01:21 |
82 | Carlos Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:01:37 |
83 | Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | 0:01:44 |
84 | Warren Barguil (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | Row 83 - Cell 2 |
85 | Cyril Gautier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:01:57 |
86 | Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott | 0:02:01 |
87 | David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Team Sky | 0:02:06 |
88 | Esteban Chaves (Col) Mitchelton-Scott | 0:02:09 |
89 | Angelo Tulik (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:02:38 |
90 | Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:02:43 |
91 | Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | 0:02:48 |
92 | Jelle Wallays (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 91 - Cell 2 |
93 | Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz (Pol) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 0:02:54 |
94 | Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:03:19 |
95 | Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Groupama-FDJ | 0:03:43 |
96 | Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Groupama-FDJ | Row 95 - Cell 2 |
97 | Markel Irizar (Spa) Trek-Segafredo | Row 96 - Cell 2 |
98 | Luka Pibernik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida | 0:03:51 |
99 | Mitchell Docker (Aus) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | 0:04:26 |
100 | Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb | 0:05:11 |
101 | Erik Baska (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 100 - Cell 2 |
102 | Johann Van Zyl (RSA) Dimension Data | 0:07:41 |
103 | Robert Gesink (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 102 - Cell 2 |
104 | Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team | Row 103 - Cell 2 |
105 | Axel Domont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 104 - Cell 2 |
106 | Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 105 - Cell 2 |
107 | Tim Declercq (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | Row 106 - Cell 2 |
108 | Lars Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal | Row 107 - Cell 2 |
109 | Michael Mørkøv (Den) Quick-Step Floors | Row 108 - Cell 2 |
110 | Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal | Row 109 - Cell 2 |
111 | Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | Row 110 - Cell 2 |
112 | Michael Valgren (Den) Astana Pro Team | 0:09:10 |
113 | Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Sky | Row 112 - Cell 2 |
114 | Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | Row 113 - Cell 2 |
115 | Antonio Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | Row 114 - Cell 2 |
116 | Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky | Row 115 - Cell 2 |
117 | Ben Swift (GBr) UAE Team Emirates | Row 116 - Cell 2 |
118 | Yves Lampaert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | 0:09:38 |
119 | Jay Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data | 0:11:36 |
120 | Rory Sutherland (Aus) UAE Team Emirates | Row 119 - Cell 2 |
121 | Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 120 - Cell 2 |
122 | Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) Dimension Data | Row 121 - Cell 2 |
123 | Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 122 - Cell 2 |
124 | Pierre Luc Perichon (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | Row 123 - Cell 2 |
125 | Alex Edmondson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott | Row 124 - Cell 2 |
126 | Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | Row 125 - Cell 2 |
127 | Pierre Rolland (Fra) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 126 - Cell 2 |
128 | Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 127 - Cell 2 |
129 | Thomas Leezer (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 128 - Cell 2 |
130 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo | Row 129 - Cell 2 |
131 | Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 130 - Cell 2 |
132 | Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 131 - Cell 2 |
133 | Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 132 - Cell 2 |
134 | Amael Moinard (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | Row 133 - Cell 2 |
135 | Dayer Quintana (Col) Movistar Team | Row 134 - Cell 2 |
136 | Mickael Delage (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | Row 135 - Cell 2 |
137 | Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Groupama-FDJ | Row 136 - Cell 2 |
138 | Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team | Row 137 - Cell 2 |
139 | Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | Row 138 - Cell 2 |
140 | Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 139 - Cell 2 |
141 | Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | Row 140 - Cell 2 |
142 | Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 141 - Cell 2 |
143 | Thomas Boudat (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:11:44 |
DNS | Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 143 - Cell 2 |
DNS | Maxime Bouet (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | Row 144 - Cell 2 |
DNS | Lars Boom (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 145 - Cell 2 |
DNS | Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 146 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Amund Grøndahl Jansen (Nor) LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 147 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Edward Theuns (Bel) Team Sunweb | Row 148 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Daniel McLay (GBr) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 149 - Cell 2 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin | 3 | pts |
2 | Julien El Fares (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 2 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 1 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin | 3 | pts |
2 | Jerome Cousin (Fra) Direct Energie | 2 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 1 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jerome Cousin (Fra) Direct Energie | 15 | pts |
2 | Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin | 12 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal | 9 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Magnus Cort (Den) Astana Pro Team | 7 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates | 6 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
6 | Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 5 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
7 | Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott | 4 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
8 | Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Sunweb | 3 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
9 | Matti Breschel (Den) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | 2 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
10 | Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo | 1 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jerome Cousin (Fra) Direct Energie | 7 | pts |
2 | Julien El Fares (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 5 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 3 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin | 2 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Pierre Luc Perichon (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | 1 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jerome Cousin (Fra) Direct Energie | 10 | pts |
2 | Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 8 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Julien El Fares (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 6 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin | 4 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie | 3 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
6 | Pierre Luc Perichon (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | 2 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
7 | Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 1 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jerome Cousin (Fra) Direct Energie | 4 | pts |
2 | Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 2 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Julien El Fares (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 1 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jerome Cousin (Fra) Direct Energie | 4 | pts |
2 | Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin | 2 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 1 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin | 3:57:27 |
2 | Magnus Cort (Den) Astana Pro Team | 0:00:02 |
3 | Timo Roosen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
4 | Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
5 | Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
6 | Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
7 | Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
8 | Christopher Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
9 | Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Movistar Team | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
10 | Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
11 | Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 10 - Cell 2 |
12 | Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie | Row 11 - Cell 2 |
13 | Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
14 | Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Team Sunweb | Row 13 - Cell 2 |
15 | Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | 0:01:42 |
16 | Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz (Pol) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 0:02:52 |
17 | Luka Pibernik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida | 0:03:49 |
18 | Erik Baska (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:05:09 |
19 | Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | 0:07:39 |
20 | Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 0:09:08 |
21 | Alex Edmondson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott | 0:11:34 |
22 | Thomas Boudat (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:11:42 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Direct Energie | 11:52:23 |
2 | Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:00:04 |
3 | Team Sunweb | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
4 | Team Sky | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
5 | Bahrain-Merida | Row 4 - Cell 2 |