Paris-Nice: Molard surprises on stage 6 in Vence
Sanchez survives another day in yellow
Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ) surprised with a hard-fought solo victory during stage 6 of Paris-Nice on the climb in Vence. Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) finished second in the chase ahead of Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors).
Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana), raced in for fourth place, and kept his lead in the overall classification after a challenging finale that saw second placed Wout Poels (Team Sky) crash and break his collarbone. Alaphilippe moved into second place overall, now 22 seconds behind Sanchez while Marc Soler (Movistar) is third at 26 seconds.
It was only the second win of Molard's career, but a prestigious one ahead of some big names.
"It's fantastic, Groupama-FDJ's second victory Paris-Nice, and my first WorldTour victory," Molard said, adding he had some extra motivation and knowledge. "I live in Antibes nearby, I knew the final climb - I've done it a dozen times - and when the route for Paris-Nice was revealed in the winter I was delighted to see stage finish like that, one that's well suited to me. I was on a good day, it's fantastic."
The stinging climb of the Côte de la Colle sur Loup could have been a launching pad for victory, and AG2R La Mondiale's Alexis Vuillermoz gave it a go, but Team Sky's Sergio Henao chased him back. Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) attacked over the top and set a blistering pace on the descent, but was unable to stay away.
"I knew that on the Côte de la Colle sur Loup I had to follow the wheels but not give it everything. I saw Vuillermoz was doing a lot but I decided to sit there without making any huge accelerations as I knew it would come down to later on," Molard revealed. "I felt good and knew that if I waited for a sprint I'd lose. I attacked a couple of times but the last one was the good one."
Sanchez hangs on, Poels abandons
Luis Leon Sanchez's hopes of clinging onto the overall lead in Paris-Nice received a significant boost this afternoon, when the Spaniard survived a series of sharp accelerations on the final climb to Vence, and then saw race favourite Wout Poels crash out on a high speed descent.
As Molard slipped ahead of the final selection of 16 riders on roads the 28 year old knows well from training, to take the fourth French stage win of the week, Poels was being transported to hospital in St Laurent du Var, with a broken collarbone, cuts to his left knee and chest trauma.
The Dutchman's crash leaves Team Sky with yet more problems. Not only was Poels expected to challenge for the race lead in the weekend's back to back mountain stages, he was also slated to ride as key support — and possible substitute leader — to Chris Froome in the year's first Grand Tour, the Giro d'Italia.
"The guys went down a pretty steep descent and the race was full on," said Team Sky's sports director Gabriel Rasch. "I'm not sure what happened but Wout couldn't make the corner and hit the barriers."
With two stages remaining, including tomorrow's summit finish to Valdeblore La Colmiane, Sanchez's main rivals — Julian Alaphilippe, of Quick Step, Marc Soler of Movistar and Tim Wellens or Lotto Soudal — are running out of road on which to attack the Spaniard and to break down his Astana team's solid defence.
With Poels out of the race, Team Sky will now throw their weight behind defending Paris-Nice champion Sergio Henao. "Sergio looked good," Rasch said. "He had to pay for some of the work he was doing in the last four kilometres but he looked strong. We'll go all in for him now."
Chaos out of the gate
The 198-kilometre sixth stage of Paris-Nice left Sisteron under clear blue skies as it headed south through the Alpes-Maritimes towards Vence, overlooking the Cote d'Azur.
Not for the first time, there were some non-starters, further depleting the sprinters, with misfiring fast men, John Degenkolb and Nacer Bouhanni, both heading home due to illness.
A fast start was also marked by a bizarre incident after only 25 kilometres when the whole peloton took a rare wrong turn and found themselves mixing with the traffic on open roads.
Soon afterwards as the race got back on course, a six-man break, containing Lars Bak (Lotto Soudal), Amael Moinard (Fortuneo-Samsic), Paul Martens (LottoNL-Jumbo), Cyril Lemoine (Cofidis), Thomas Scully (EF-Drapac) and Fabien Grellier (Direct Energie) moved up the road.
They were joined by another seven riders, Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates), stage five escapee, Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal), Carlos Barbero (Movistar), Dylan Teuns (BMC), stage one winner, Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ) and Bert Van Lerberghe (Cofidis).
In a fast first hour, and despite going off course, the peloton clocked 46 kilometres of racing and the high speed took its toll on the breakaway on the steady drags towards Saint-Andre-les-Alpes, where the break fragmented as BMC's Dylan Teuns, best placed in the overall standings, dropped out of the move.
The ever-reliable breakaway specialist Thomas de Gendt — who else? — pushed on and led over the climb of the Col de Luens and the Col Bas, but with 50 kilometres still to race the group had dwindled to just four riders, De Gendt, Greilleir, Moinard and Scully.
But by the time the race reached the Cote de Gourdon with Mitchelton Scott chasing hard, the break's lead was down to half a minute. Although race leader Sanchez was dropped due to a puncture, as was Dan Martin (UAE), the Spaniard was soon back in the bunch as the peloton finally closed down the break with 22 kilometres to race.
From there on, it was all about positioning and on the steep tight bends of the Cote de la Colle sur Loup, Simon Yates played his hand, moving ahead with Alaphilipp and Poels as Sanchez slipped back a little.
It was Yates' flying descent on a bad surface that drew out Poels and led to the Dutchman's high-speed crash as the leaders rejoined a main road. With Poels prone, Yates pressed on with Tim Wellens, but a regrouping of the major favourites in the final kilometres allowed Molard to slip away as the group entered the final kilometre.
The Frenchman's acceleration, allied to a moment's hesitancy among the favourites, took him clear to the biggest win of a career, in which his only other success had been a stage in the Tour of Limousin.
Molard's win, hot on the heels of Jerome Cousin's mugging of Nils Pollit on the road to Sisteron, is further evidence of a French renaissance.
"Every year I progress," Molard, based in nearby Antibes, said. "I started the season with a good foundation and this win confirms that.
"French cycling is now at a high level, you can see that in the results here and in the Grand Tours," he said. "I don't have any specific explanation but we are on the right track and the race isn't over yet. I hope French riders shine right through to Sunday."
With four stage wins out of six, not since 1989 has the home nation enjoyed such a successful Paris-Nice. The dream scenarios now for the hosts is for Alaphilippe to seize the day and become the first French rider since Laurent Jalabert, 21 years ago, to win the 'Course au Soleil.'
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Rudy Molard (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 4:40:05 |
2 | Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:00:02 |
3 | Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
4 | Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
5 | Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
6 | Dylan Teuns (Bel) BMC Racing Team | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
7 | Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
8 | Esteban Chaves (Col) Mitchelton-Scott | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
9 | Gorka Izagirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
10 | Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
11 | Ion Izagirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | Row 10 - Cell 2 |
12 | Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 11 - Cell 2 |
13 | David De La Cruz (Spa) Team Sky | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
14 | Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Mitchelton-Scott | Row 13 - Cell 2 |
15 | Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott | Row 14 - Cell 2 |
16 | Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
17 | Remy Di Gregorio (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 0:00:44 |
18 | Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
19 | Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
20 | Pierre Rolland (Fra) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
21 | Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
22 | Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 0:01:11 |
23 | Delio Fernandez Cruz (Spa) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
24 | Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 23 - Cell 2 |
25 | Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 24 - Cell 2 |
26 | Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Trek-Segafredo | Row 25 - Cell 2 |
27 | Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Movistar Team | Row 26 - Cell 2 |
28 | Jose Herrada (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:02:20 |
29 | Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
30 | Jesus Herrada (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 29 - Cell 2 |
31 | Timo Roosen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 30 - Cell 2 |
32 | Yves Lampaert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | Row 31 - Cell 2 |
33 | Natnael Berhane (Eri) Dimension Data | 0:03:36 |
34 | Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
35 | Nicolas Roche (Irl) BMC Racing Team | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
36 | Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Bahrain-Merida | 0:03:40 |
37 | Warren Barguil (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | Row 36 - Cell 2 |
38 | Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Movistar Team | Row 37 - Cell 2 |
39 | Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:04:16 |
40 | Axel Domont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:05:15 |
41 | Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 40 - Cell 2 |
42 | Matti Breschel (Den) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
43 | Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek-Segafredo | Row 42 - Cell 2 |
44 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
45 | Cyril Gautier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
46 | Romain Combaud (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | Row 45 - Cell 2 |
47 | Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) BMC Racing Team | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
48 | Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 47 - Cell 2 |
49 | Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
50 | Dayer Quintana (Col) Movistar Team | Row 49 - Cell 2 |
51 | Luka Pibernik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida | 0:06:28 |
52 | Robert Gesink (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | 0:06:48 |
53 | Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Sunweb | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
54 | Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 53 - Cell 2 |
55 | Mitchell Docker (Aus) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 54 - Cell 2 |
56 | Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team | Row 55 - Cell 2 |
57 | Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | Row 56 - Cell 2 |
58 | Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
59 | Manuele Boaro (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | 0:09:36 |
60 | Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott | Row 59 - Cell 2 |
61 | Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | Row 60 - Cell 2 |
62 | Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 61 - Cell 2 |
63 | Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Team Sunweb | Row 62 - Cell 2 |
64 | Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
65 | Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 64 - Cell 2 |
66 | Benjamin King (USA) Dimension Data | Row 65 - Cell 2 |
67 | Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data | Row 66 - Cell 2 |
68 | Gregory Rast (Swi) Trek-Segafredo | Row 67 - Cell 2 |
69 | Simon Gerrans (Aus) BMC Racing Team | Row 68 - Cell 2 |
70 | Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | Row 69 - Cell 2 |
71 | Laurent Pichon (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | Row 70 - Cell 2 |
72 | Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
73 | Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 72 - Cell 2 |
74 | Dan Martin (Irl) UAE Team Emirates | Row 73 - Cell 2 |
75 | Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 74 - Cell 2 |
76 | Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | Row 75 - Cell 2 |
77 | Jerome Cousin (Fra) Direct Energie | Row 76 - Cell 2 |
78 | Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky | Row 77 - Cell 2 |
79 | David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Team Sky | Row 78 - Cell 2 |
80 | Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Quick-Step Floors | 0:11:27 |
81 | Elia Viviani (Ita) Quick-Step Floors | Row 80 - Cell 2 |
81 | Diego Rosa (Ita) Team Sky | Row 81 - Cell 2 |
83 | Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 82 - Cell 2 |
84 | Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal | Row 83 - Cell 2 |
85 | André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal | Row 84 - Cell 2 |
86 | Michael Valgren (Den) Astana Pro Team | Row 85 - Cell 2 |
87 | Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 86 - Cell 2 |
88 | Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 87 - Cell 2 |
89 | Jelle Wallays (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 88 - Cell 2 |
90 | Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 89 - Cell 2 |
91 | Pierre Luc Perichon (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | Row 90 - Cell 2 |
92 | Carlos Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 91 - Cell 2 |
93 | Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 92 - Cell 2 |
94 | Alex Edmondson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott | Row 93 - Cell 2 |
95 | Amael Moinard (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | Row 94 - Cell 2 |
96 | Mathew Hayman (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott | Row 95 - Cell 2 |
97 | Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott | Row 96 - Cell 2 |
98 | Thomas Boudat (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:12:59 |
99 | Jay Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data | 0:13:04 |
100 | Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Sky | Row 99 - Cell 2 |
101 | Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates | Row 100 - Cell 2 |
102 | Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | Row 101 - Cell 2 |
103 | Julien El Fares (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | Row 102 - Cell 2 |
104 | Tim Declercq (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | 0:14:11 |
105 | Paul Martens (Ger) LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 104 - Cell 2 |
106 | Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 105 - Cell 2 |
107 | Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz (Pol) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | Row 106 - Cell 2 |
108 | Rory Sutherland (Aus) UAE Team Emirates | Row 107 - Cell 2 |
109 | Ian Boswell (USA) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 108 - Cell 2 |
110 | Magnus Cort (Den) Astana Pro Team | 0:15:29 |
111 | Omar Fraile (Spa) Astana Pro Team | Row 110 - Cell 2 |
112 | Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team | Row 111 - Cell 2 |
113 | Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data | 0:18:01 |
114 | Johann Van Zyl (RSA) Dimension Data | Row 113 - Cell 2 |
115 | Lars Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal | Row 114 - Cell 2 |
116 | Michael Mørkøv (Den) Quick-Step Floors | Row 115 - Cell 2 |
117 | Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Groupama-FDJ | Row 116 - Cell 2 |
118 | Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates | Row 117 - Cell 2 |
119 | Markel Irizar (Spa) Trek-Segafredo | Row 118 - Cell 2 |
120 | Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie | Row 119 - Cell 2 |
121 | Mickael Delage (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | Row 120 - Cell 2 |
122 | Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 121 - Cell 2 |
123 | Antonio Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | Row 122 - Cell 2 |
124 | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:18:32 |
125 | Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo | 0:20:13 |
126 | Brenton Jones (Aus) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | Row 125 - Cell 2 |
127 | Erik Baska (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 126 - Cell 2 |
128 | Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | Row 127 - Cell 2 |
129 | Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 128 - Cell 2 |
130 | Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Groupama-FDJ | 0:22:22 |
131 | Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | Row 130 - Cell 2 |
132 | Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 0:26:30 |
DNF | Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky | Row 132 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ben Swift (GBr) UAE Team Emirates | Row 133 - Cell 2 |
DNS | Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 134 - Cell 2 |
DNS | John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo | Row 135 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Groupama-FDJ | Row 136 - Cell 2 |
DNS | Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | Row 137 - Cell 2 |
DNS | Thomas Leezer (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 138 - Cell 2 |
DNS | Christopher Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb | Row 139 - Cell 2 |
DNS | Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 140 - Cell 2 |
DNS | Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) Dimension Data | Row 141 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Angelo Tulik (Fra) Direct Energie | Row 142 - Cell 2 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Carlos Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team | 3 | pts |
2 | Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | 2 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie | 1 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott | 3 | pts |
2 | Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky | 2 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 1 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Rudy Molard (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 15 | pts |
2 | Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 12 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors | 9 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team | 7 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb | 6 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
6 | Dylan Teuns (Bel) BMC Racing Team | 5 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
7 | Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | 4 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
8 | Esteban Chaves (Col) Mitchelton-Scott | 3 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
9 | Gorka Izagirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | 2 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
10 | Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky | 1 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 7 | pts |
2 | Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie | 5 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Lars Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal | 3 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Amael Moinard (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | 2 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | 1 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 7 | pts |
2 | Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie | 5 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Amael Moinard (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | 3 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | 2 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Carlos Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team | 1 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 7 | pts |
2 | Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie | 5 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Amael Moinard (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | 3 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Carlos Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team | 2 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | 1 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 7 | pts |
2 | Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie | 5 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Amael Moinard (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | 3 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Carlos Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team | 2 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | 1 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |