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Paris-Nice stage 6 - Live coverage

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The yellow jersey has been in Jumbo-Visma's possession since the start of Paris-Nice and on Thursday, the garment passed to the man expected to carry it all the way to Nice. Primož Roglič found himself more isolated than he would have liked in the finale of stage 5, but he held firm to finish with his direct rivals and inherit the jersey from Wout van Aert. Saturday's summit finish on the Col de Turini (weather permitting) and the grand finale in Nice are more obviously difficult days, but there is scarcely a metre of flat on today's 213km leg to Aubagne, and it won't be easy to control attackers.

The peloton sets off from Courthezon at 10.25 local time and is due to hit kilometre zero at 10.40 for the formal start of the stage.

General classification after stage 5

There are five classified climbs on today's stage, as well as uphill intermediate sprints at the Col du Pointu after 65km and at Lascours with a little under 9km to go. The categorised ascents are as follows:

The peloton is currently navigating the neutralised zone in Courthézon. After 18 riders didn't start yesterday and five more pulled out during the stage, there are four more non-starters to report this morning. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix), Dmitriy Gruzdev (Astana Qazaqstan) and Simon Geschke (Cofidis) have withdrawn due to illness, while Markus Hoelgaard (Trek-Segafredo) has left the race citing fatigue. 

-213km

-209km

-206km

-201km

This quintet has established a lead of 50 seconds over the peloton, but now there is a flurry of counter-attacking behind and the pace hasn't abated just yet.

-193km

The pace has definitively relented in the peloton, and it appears that the king of the mountains Madouas et al have been granted their bon de sortie for the early part of the stage. The bunch is now more than 3 minutes back. Grignard, meanwhile, is half a minute or so shy of the break and he may struggle to close that gap at this juncture.

-187km

-182km

Julien Bernard, whose father Jean-François won this race 30 years ago, sets the pace  in the peloton for Trek-Segafredo, who doubtless feel this is the kind of stage where Bauke Mollema could be a contender in the finale.

-179km

Fabio Jakobsen (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl), winner of stage 2, has abandoned Paris-Nice. The Dutchman has already confirmed that he won't race Milan-San Remo, with Brugge-De Panne, Gent-Wevelgem and Scheldeprijs his targets this spring. 

-177km

Primož Roglič is in yellow today while Wout van Aert is in green after he lost 24 minutes yesterday. With an eye to the Classics, Van Aert was probably always likely to sit up at some point yesterday, but it can't have been in Jumbo-Visma's plans for Roglič to be so isolated in the finale of stage 5. He was, of course, able to rely on the support of Rohan Dennis - "But Rohan, wow, he’s half-human, half-motor" - on the Col de la Mure, but in the final 20km, Roglič had to mark his rivals himself. "It was not the most comfortable," Roglič admitted afterwards. Read more here.

-172km

One senses that this could be a stage of two halves. The Col de Murs and the climb to the intermediate sprint up the Col du Pointu are followed by a long, long false flat towards the Col de Sambuc and Col des Portes. In particular, we can probably expect attacks from in the final 50km, with the Col d'Espigoulier as an obvious springboard. For now, Madouas and the escapees are being granted a degree of latitude. 

-164km

Cofidis have joined Trek-Segafredo and Jumbo-Visma in taking a controlling interest at the head of the peloton. Meanwhile, Jordi Warlop (B&B Hotels-KTM) has abandoned the race.

-153km

-149km

Julius van den Berg leads the break through the intermediate sprint atop the Pointu. Behind, there is an increase in urgency in the peloton, and the break's lead falls lower than four minutes.

-145km

-138km

Ruben Fernandez (Cofidis) spent much of yesterday in the break as the virtual race leader, but he has now become the latest rider to abandon this most attritional edition of Paris-Nice.

-127km

The break is on this interminable section of false flat north of Aix-en-Provence as they grind towards the Col de Sambuc, still almost 30km away. The peloton has made some more inroads into their advantage, which drops closer to 3 minutes.

Brandon McNulty scored his third solo victory of 2022 with his lone effort over the Col de la Mure yesterday. The Arizonan had come to this race with designs on overall victory, but a crash on stage 2 and his related travails the following day saw him drop out of the GC contest. He had considered abandoning Paris-Nice, but he entered the break yesterday and wound up winning the stage to continue his remarkable start to 2022. "I was debating even continuing on or just resetting, so from considering not even starting today, it's incredible," said McNulty. Read more here.

Aime De Gendt (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) abandons Paris-Nice. Between non-starters and abandons, a further ten riders have left the race today, leaving just 111 riders in the Race to the Sun from a starting peloton of 154.

Primož Roglič didn't anticipate much action among the GC contenders today despite the rolling terrain. "It’s a long one and also the wind is not really in our favour, so it will be quite a long day. We will see how it goes, if it will be for the breakaway or some kind of sprint," he said at the start, adding that today's final climb, the Espigoulier, is significantly easier than the Col de la Mure yesterday. "We just have to see what kind of control will go on, they will probably try to catch the break back for the sprint. if not, there could be some action, but the climb looks a lot less hard than yesterday."

-114km

Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) was unsure if a break would go the distance at the start, but he will be pleased with the lie of the land at this point. Fast men who can get over a climb are still in with a real chance of stage honours this afternoon. "It clearly depends on how the race plays out and how the bunch decides to ride. There are a lot of teams with riders missing, so that will complicate things when it comes to controlling the break," Coquard said. "We’ll have to see how it goes, if there’s a big break or not. If it’s ten or twelve riders, then the break will go the distance. If it’s four or five, then there’s a chance of working to bring them back to try to have a regrouping before the finish."

-99km

With the break's lead stable at just north of 3 minutes and a coalition of teams sharing the workload behind, and with Roglič reckoning the final ascent isn't steep enough for GC attacks, the remaining fast men could yet enjoy a sprint in Aubagne this afternoon. Wout van Aert, Mads Pedersen, Biniam Girmay and Bryan Coquard are the names that spring to mind, and theirs are the teams that have been setting the tempo in the peloton.

-95km

-91km

-85km

Grignard briefly lost contact with the break on the Col des Portes but he has battled his way back up to them. The escapees are 2:30 clear of the bunch on the third climb of the day.

-80km

-77km

Trek-Segafredo, Jumbo-Visma, Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert and Cofidis continue to lead the peloton. A delegation from Ineos has moved up to keep Daniel Martinez and Adam Yates well placed ahead of the finale.

-70km

-68km

The peloton stretches to breaking point and a number of riders are briefly caught on the wrong side of a split, including Ethan Hayter (Ineos), but they soon make it back on.

-62km

-59km

-57km

Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates) is the latest rider to abandon Paris-Nice. Some eleven riders have now withdrawn from the race today.

-56km

-53km

Grignard, dropped from the break, has now been jettisoned out the back of the bunch, but the road levels off soon and he should make it back on over the other side. 

Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) is struggling at the rear of the peloton but he stays in touch over the climb. The Irishman admitted earlier in the week that he is short of racing miles and still well shy of his best form this week.

The peloton crests the summit of the Col de Pas de la Couelle with a deficit of 1:24 to recoup on the break. For now, the day looks amenable to a bunch finish of some description, but it will all depend on how the GC contenders and would-be attackers like Guillaume Martin approach the final classified climb of the Col de l’Espigoulier. It's not especially steep, but it drags upwards for almost 11km. If the pace is high, some fast men will lose contact.

-49km

-45km`

-42km

A delegation from Ineos move ahead with intent on the approach to the base of the climb. Out in front, Julius van den Berg takes a flyer off the front of the break, but his companions come with him. The unity of the break, however, has formally been broken.

-40km

-39km

Van den Berg is dropped too. Koretzky tries to track Jacobs' move, but he's struggling to get on terms.

Back in the peloton, Matthews Holmes (Lotto Soudal) attacks with intent and opens a gap. He sets off in pursuit of the escapees and starts picking off the riders dropped by Jacobs.

Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) is among the riders dropped from the peloton, together with Andrey Amador (Ineos) and Michael Morkov (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl). This climb's steepest section comes at the bottom, so they might be able to stay in sight of the bunch at least.

-36.5km

Julien Bernard (Trek-Segafredo) sets the pace in the peloton, with a delegation from Jumbo-Visma perched behind him.

-35.5km

There are still seven kilometres this climb to go, and so Jacobs and Koretzky will struggle to fend off the bunch. The question, however, is whether there will be an attacks or forcing in the peloton. For now, Julien Bernard is set to keep the break's lead steady, though his tempo has burnt off Nathan Van Hooydonck (Jumbo-Visma), who is distanced by the peloton.

This is a fine stint of work from Julien Bernard, who was already active earlier in the stage. He brings back Van den Berg, who has been distanced by Holmes. The Briton is stalking Jacobs and Koretzky at the head of the race, and he looks like bridging across. 

-34km

Holmes come to the front immediately and tries to raise the tempo. Jacobs and Koretzky hang on, but the bunch is drawing nearer and there is still half of the Col de l’Espigoulier to go.

-33km

The peloton has been pared down on this climb, but not quite reduced to its bare bones. Cees Bol (DSM) has managed to hang on at the back thus far, even if he is struggling to hold the wheels.

-32km

Jumbo-Visma are obviously content to let Julien Bernard (Trek-Segafredo) continue to set the tempo, but it's beginning to look as though the Frenchman could do with some help from some quarter. Still, he sticks diligently to his task for now. 

It doesn't appear as though there will be any frissons among the GC contenders on this climb, but if the three escapees are brought back before the uphill intermediate sprint in Lascours, then that status quo will undoubtedly change. 

-30km

-29km

There's a block headwind over the top of the ascent, which further explains the lack of movement in the peloton here. Jumbo-Visma take over from Bernard approaching the summit just to ensure their positioning for the descent.

-28.5km

-27km

-24km

Soren Kragh Andersen (DSM) forces the pace on this sinuous descent, but he has only opened a small gap for the time being. His forcing might, however, serve to form splits further back in the bunch. And the Dane is, it must be remembered, 7th overall at 1:26.

-21km

-19km

-17km

-16km

-15km

Cees Bol (DSM) is among the fast men distanced on the descent, and his chances of fighting for stage victory are effectively over. 

-14km

-12km

-10km

-9.5km

Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) comes across and goes over the top of these attackers. One assumed he was trying to tee up Pierre Latour, but instead the Frenchman looks set to help himself to the seconds.

Burgaudeau leads Laporte and Guillaume Martin through the sprint, and they snaffle up the bonus seconds. No sparks among the top GC men in the sprint.

-7.5km

-7km

-6km

-5km

Burgaudeau has extended his advantage, but a number of fast men, including Ethan Hayter and Cees Bol, have battled their way back up to the rear of the peloton.

-4km

-3km

Burgaudeau rides with his tongue out in the manner of Jacky Durand. Christophe Laporte leads the chase and his strength is such that he has ridden off the front of the peloton with Luca Mozzato on his wheel.. 

-1.5km

-1km

Burgaudeau climbs from the saddle as he enters the final 500m. He's still in front as he swings into the finishing straight...

Burgaudeau is still in front as the sprint opens behind him...

Mads Pedersen draws near but Burgaudeau is hanging on...

Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) wins stage 6 of Paris-Nice.

Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) won the sprint for second ahead of Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma).

Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) remains in the overall lead.

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Results
Pos.Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Mathieu Burgaudeau (Fra) TotalEnergies 5:33:06
2Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
3Wout Van Aert (Bel) Jumbo-Visma
4Biniam Girmay (Eri) Intermarch�-Wanty-Gobert Mat�riaux
5Bryan Coquard (Fra) Cofidis
6Luka Mezgec (Slo) BikeExchange-Jayco
7Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Movistar Team
8Dorian Godon (Fra) AG2R Citroen Team
9Florian Senechal (Fra) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
10Luca Mozzato (Ita) B&B Hotels-KTM
Swipe to scroll horizontally
General classification after stage 6
Pos.Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo-Visma 22:23:34
2Simon Yates (GBr) BikeExchange-Jayco 0:00:39
3Pierre Latour (Fra) TotalEnergies 0:00:41
4Daniel Martinez Poveda (Col) Ineos Grenadiers 0:00:56
5Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:59
6Adam Yates (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 0:01:11
7S�ren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team DSM 0:01:26
8Jack Haig (Aus) Bahrain Victorious 0:01:35
9Nairo Quintana (Col) Arkea-Samsic 0:01:45
10Ion Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Cofidis 0:02:01

TotalEnergies French rider Mathieu Burgaudeau celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the 6th stage of the 80th Paris Nice cycling race 214 km between Courthezon and Aubagne on March 11 2022 Photo by FRANCK FIFE AFP Photo by FRANCK FIFEAFP via Getty Images

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) on his victory: "The legs were really good like they had been since the start of the season, but cycling isn’t just about the physical, you have to have the confidence and be sure in your head. That’s what I was lacking in the last weeks and a lot of times in the past, but today I told myself to go and not look back."