2021 Paris-Nice Stage 1 Results & Recap
Stage 1 of the 2021 Paris-Nice is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Bennett wins opening stage of Paris Nice\nBy Clara Beard
Sam Bennett is back on the hoods and back in action after his exciting performance just over half a year ago at the Tour de France, continuing his legendary status as one of the top sprinters in the world on the opening day of Paris Nice.
The Irish rocket claimed first in Versailles after a picture-perfect lead out from his Deceuninck Quick-Step team ahead of Arnaud Demare (FDJ) and past world champion Mads Pedersen (Trek Segafredo), marking his fourth stage win at the Race to the Sun.
"The guys did a fantastic job again today," Bennett said to reporters after the race. "I was a little blocked in the last 15 km and the nature of the sprint here made it a little chaotic. The narrowing in the last 500 metres made it even more tricky. But the guys delivered me on the wheel. Michael was always calm, and he always seems to get me there the whole time. The team was amazing. I was a bit worried coming here, and I spent the whole day until the last ten or 15 kilometres wondering whether the legs would be there in the sprint. I feel good now. I like to ride in France for sure. I suppose it's where all the big races are."
The 166km stage around St Cyr L'Ecole started under sunny, yet chilly temperatures, and saw Fabien Doubey (Team Total Direct Energie) slide off the front 16 kilometres into the race. We hoped, along with Doubey, that other eager breakaway riders would join to share the workload, but it wasn't to be.
"I attacked after the small windy section, and I thought someone would come along with me," Doubey said. "When they didn't, I really enjoyed giving some pleasure to the people cheering me up. It was a beautiful and sunny day on Paris-Nice. When I was a kid, I always wanted to hold the polka-dot jersey on the Tour de France, it's a first glimpse of it. This is a distinctive jersey on a great race, and it's already fantastic. It's a way to thank the team for trusting me especially as Total Direct Energie have more ambitions on this Paris-Nice."
Doubey settled into the stage, gaining an advantage of five minutes while collecting max points on three of the four KOM summits, and the first intermediate sprint, along the way.
After Doubey completed first 81km loop, his lead fell to 3'25", and he was eventually joined by Philippe Gilbert, Stefano Oldani (Lotto Soudal), Antony Perez (Cofidis) and teammate Chris Lawless (Total Direct Energie).
Lawless didn't have the legs to contribute in the break, and quickly fell back into the safety of the peloton that was gearing up for a sprint finale. The four leaders had a slim lead of 30 seconds with 50km to go, and were reabsorbed with about 25km left.
Lotto-Soudal then sent Kobe Goosens up the road, but he was caught a few kilometres later. From there, the sprinters' teams took control, and Bennett accelerated to his third win, after stage victories at the UAE Tour, this season.
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