Paris-Nice: Nizzolo wins stage 2

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Giacomo Nizzolo (NTT Pro Cycling) won stage 2 of Paris-Nice to Châlette-sur-Loing, as the exposed roads of northern France sparked another day of attacks, echelons and significant time gaps.

Nizzolo timed his sprint effort perfectly into a headwind, coming past Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and holding off Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo).

Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) finished in the front group to retain the race leader's yellow jersey. Nizzolo is second overall at 15 seconds, with Stuyven third at 21 seconds. Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo) and Sergio Higuita (EF Pro Cycling) were also both in the front echelon after a superb team support and gained time on the other overall contenders.

The crosswinds sparked the first shakeout with 32km to go and then further splits whenever they blew strongly from the right. Nairo Quintana (Arkea Samsic) crashed with 25km to and was soon joined by Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep) in a chase group after the Frenchman appeared to take a bike change.

Trek-Segafredo and Bora-Hansgrohe then forced another selection with 10km to go, distancing Thibaut Pinot and his Groupama-FDJ teammates with a show of force. Pinot lost 18 seconds, while Alaphilippe and Quintana lost a far more significant 1:25.

New stringent orders from the French government, designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus, forced race organiser ASO to stop spectators from gathering at the finish, meaning the race was held on the open road but virtually behind closed doors. The podium ceremony went ahead but with little celebration and no contact between the riders and local dignitaries.

Nizzolo was pleased to win his second WorldTour race of 2020 after winning stage 5 of the Tour Down Under in January.

"I've been feeling good since the beginning of the season and it's a really good result. I'm really happy," Nizzolo said, explaining his tactics for the finish.

"For sure it was a stressful day with the wind and the rain. Actually, we didn't expect the rain today so it was even harder to get it.

"I knew they (Bora-Hansgrohe) had to pull for the GC, so I just tried to save as much as I could. In the end, of course, Ackermann was the main sprinter, so I took his wheel and I could pass him in the line."

Schachmann was disappointed Bora-Hansgrohe's hard work didn’t lead to the stage victory but was happy to stay in the leader's yellow jersey.

"I was quite lucky and I also have to thank my team because I didn’t expect the rain and it was cold at the beginning," he revealed.

"They brought me up to the front several times, then in the big action, Peter [Sagan] made such a huge, big effort to split it up again. In the last kilometres we had a good chance and so me and Felix (Großschartner) tried to make the lead-out and it was close I think. I think it shows how well we work together.

"It's even better for me in GC now but I also saw that EF did a good job and Sergio (Higuita) was also in the group, so on the climbs, he will be a big competitor."

How it unfolded

The riders gathered for another stage with no contact with the public and clear rules imposed to limit any possible spread of the coronavirus, but despite the forecast for rain and crosswinds, the riders were largely happy still to be racing.

The 165.5km stage from Chevreuse to Châlette-sur-Loing took the peloton south on often exposed country roads. The key points were expected in the final hour and so the peloton was happy to let Jonathan Hivert (Total Direct Energie) and Jose Manuel Días (Nippo Delko One Provence) attack from the start. They soon opened a two-minute gap as Hivert swept up the mountain points on three category 3 climbs to keep his polka-dot jersey.

The race changed as the intermediate sprint of the stage neared. Bora-Hansgrohe worked to catch the break with 62km to go and then Sagan led out Schachmann to take the three-second time bonus.

For a while, the pace eased as a forest protected the riders from the wind and a cold rain soaked them yet again. The exposed roads and crosswinds returned with 32km to go and immediately caused havoc.

Niki Terpstra (Total Direct Energie), Yves Lampaert and Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo) and others were on the wrong side of the first split, while Lotto Soudal said Caleb Ewan was stuck behind after another rider damaged his derailleur.

The peloton was divided into at least three groups, with the time gaps increasing as the strongest emerged at the front and drove the pace, while the weakest slipped backwards. It was the essence of bike racing.

Quintana was in the front echelon with several Arkea-Samsic teammates but suddenly crashed with 25km to go after what seemed like a ripple in the line of riders. He took a bike from his brother Dayer and had the support of a Diego Rosa but was soon a minute behind as the others accelerated away. He was soon joined by Alaphilippe, who seemed to have changed bikes. They fought to limit their losses but finished 1:25 down.

There were only 30 or so riders in the front group as the sun dried the roads, and with 10km to race, Peter Sagan forced another split with help from world champion Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo).

Stefan Kung tried to keep Pinot in contact but it was too late and a dozen riders powered clear. Bora-Hansgrohe had Sagan, Schachmann, Ackermann and Großschartner, while Trek-Segafredo had Pedersen, Stuyven and Nibali. Israel Start-Up Nation were also strong in the move with Nils Politt, Mads Würtz Schmidt and Krists Neilands, while Higuita and Nizzolo were there alone and logically took advantage of the hard work of the other teams.

Bora-Hansgrohe led out the sprint on the long straight run-in to Chalette-sur-Loing but Nizzolo was waiting on Ackermann's wheel and ready to pounce. He then kicked hard in the final 100 metres when the German began to fade.

Higuita, Nibali and Schachmann were happy to follow the sprinters home but for everyone else, it had been another hard and hurtful day in the wind and rain.

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