2023 Paris-Nice Race Preview
The details of this year's 2023 Paris-Nice are falling into place. Find the latest route profiles and maps below, followed by our strategic preview of the race.
The 2023 edition of Paris-Nice arrives as one of the most eagerly anticipated early season stage races on the calendar, with a strong field assembled for the week-long journey from the French capital toward the Mediterranean sunshine. Known as the Race to the Sun, Paris-Nice has long served as a key indicator of form heading into the spring classics and the broader stage racing season, and this year promises no shortage of drama across eight stages of varied and demanding terrain.
The start list reads like a who's who of modern cycling's elite, with defending champion Maximilian Schachmann among those hoping to make an impression, though the German faces serious competition from riders who have been carefully building their condition through the opening weeks of the season. Primoz Roglic enters as one of the pre-race favourites, the Slovenian having demonstrated his enduring class and desire to collect major victories at every opportunity. His Jumbo-Visma team brings considerable firepower and tactical depth, making them difficult to beat in any scenario.
Jonas Vingegaard, fresh from his Tour de France triumph, could also feature prominently if his early season preparation has gone according to plan, while Ben O'Connor and Thibaut Pinot represent genuine threats for the French crowds who will line the roads hoping for a home victory.
The race features a mixture of rolling stages in the early days before the terrain becomes increasingly mountainous and selective as the race approaches its conclusion on the Côte d'Azur. The climbing stages will almost certainly determine the overall classification, with the final days offering summit finishes that will test the pure climbers and the all-rounders alike.
Weather could play a significant role, as it so often does in March racing, with the peloton potentially facing cold and wet conditions in the early stages before hopefully finding warmer temperatures closer to Nice. Crosswinds and unpredictable weather patterns have a history of splitting the race open at unexpected moments.
All in all, Paris-Nice 2023 sets up as a genuinely open contest with multiple teams capable of controlling proceedings and multiple individuals capable of taking the overall honours.
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