Paris-Nice: Bissegger wins stage 3 time trial

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Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-Nippo) stormed to victory in the time trial on stage 3 of Paris-Nice, moving into the overall lead of the race in the process.

The 22-year-old Swiss rider was second only to World Champion Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) in the recent UAE Tour time trial, and went one better on the 14.4km course in Gien on Tuesday.

He averaged just over 49 kph to clock 17:35, straining across the line just under a second inside the previous best time set by Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck-QuickStep).

Cavagna ended up in second place, while the final podium spot went to Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), who finished on 17:40 and as the best of the pre-race contenders for the overall title.

Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange), who has pedigree in short time trials, produced a spirited defence of his yellow jersey but crossed the line 23 seconds down on Bissegger, slipping out of yellow by nine seconds.

The almost-circular, 14.4km course took the riders onto the twisting, rolling country roads outside Gien, with a short climb after two kilometres and a steep final ramp to the line in the last 400 metres.
 
Bissegger reached the intermediate checkpoint at 7km in 8:30, three seconds quicker than Cavagna and eight seconds quicker than Roglič. He lost a touch on the second part of the course but not enough to stop him claiming the first time trial victory of his career.
 
In fact, it was his first victory as a full-fledged professional, his only other win coming for the Swiss national team at the 2019 Tour de l’Ain, before he turned pro with EF Education-Nippo in August last year.
 
“It means a lot to me – I worked a long time for it,” he said. “I’m quite young, so I still have to establish myself to the others, but I think I could show today that I’m here and they have to be aware of me.
 
“Time trials like that are really my thing. I come from track, and the short punchy stuff is really good for me. It feels really great to finally show what I’m capable of and take the win here.”

The GC picture

Bissegger now tops the general classification, with Cavagna in second on the same time and Roglič third at six seconds, and it was the Vuelta a España champion who fared best of the pre-race favourites.

While Bissegger isn’t expected to challenge for overall honours, Roglič made himself the man to beat as the race heads for the hills on Wednesday and nears its conclusion in Nice on Sunday.

He put 38 seconds into Giro d’Italia winner Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) and 42 seconds into last year’s runner-up Tiesj Benoot, whose DSM teammate Jai Hindley shipped 56 seconds.

Roglič breezed past his minute-man Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), who ended up losing 1:10, while there was similar damage for Warren Barguil (Arkéa-Samsic) and Fabio Aru (Qhubeka Assos). David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) limited the damage to 46 seconds, while Bob Jungels (AG2R Citroën) will have been disappointed to lost 32 seconds in a race he was targeting for his new team.

There were a number of potential contenders who will be pleased with their day’s efforts, not least Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates), who finished in fourth place, just three seconds down on Roglič. The American had a strong Grand Tour debut at last year’s Giro d’Italia and has picked up where he left off.

Roglič’s teammate Steven Kruijswijk was 14 seconds slower, just ahead of last year’s champion, Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and the Astana-Premier Tech duo of Ion Izaguirre and Alexander Vlasov. Others to limit the deficit to Roglič to around 20 seconds were Dylan Teuns (Bahrain Victorious) – whose teammate Jack Haig tied Gaudu for time – and Matteo Jorgensen (Movistar).

How it unfolded

Maxime Bouet (Arkéa-Samsic) was the first rider to set off at 13:07 local time, and there was a heap of talent among the early starters. Two-time World Champion Rohan Dennis (Ineos Grenadiers) set an early benchmark of 17:47 but would eventually fall out of the top 10.

Patrick Bevin (Israel Start-Up Nation), Miles Scotson (Groupama-FDJ), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal), and the Jumbo-Visma duo of Tony Martin and Jos Van Emden were among the strong early pace-setters. Dylan Van Baarle (Ineos Grenadiers) then went only a shade quicker than his teammate Dennis, before some of the GC contenders started to come through - Izaguirre, Kruijswijk, Schachmann and Teuns - all producing strong displays.

The hotseat changed when Søren Kragh Andersen (Team DSM), winner of a BinckBank Tour time trial last year, clocked 17:44, which would eventually propel him to fifth place. Hour Record holder Victor Campenaerts (Qhubeka Assos), meanwhile, produced a disappointing ride that was only good enough for 30th place.

Then it was time for Roglič, who is clearly already on form. He breezed past minute-man Martin and stormed up the final ramp to beat Kragh Andersen’s time by four seconds. His lead didn’t last long, as French champion Cavagna backed up his opening split and put almost six seconds into Roglič.

However, word was soon out that Bissegger, who the TV motorbikes had elected not to follow, was flying. He was three seconds up on Cavagna at the checkpoint and didn’t lose much on the second part of the course. He strained up the final ramp a little more than Cavagna or Roglič but had enough in the tank to stop the clock while it was still green, and claim the biggest achievement of his young career so far.