2023 Paris-Nice Stage 1 Results & Recap
Stage 1 of the 2023 Paris-Nice is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Merlier wins opening stage
Tim Merlier (Soudal - QuickStep) displayed strong form today after capitalizing on a perfect lead out from his Soudal Quickstep team to take top honors on the opening day of Paris Nice. The Belgian champion outkicked Sam Bennett (BORA - Hansgrohe) and Mads Pedersen (Trek - Segafredo) to claim his fourth win of the 2023 season.
“It was a great effort from the team, and they believed in me and today and it was a great lead-out,” Merlier said to reporters after the race. “It was a hard day certainly, with a lot of strength in the peloton and the steep climb 9km from the finish, and we had to think tactically and we had two men in there and we come back on the last climb very well and Kasper Asgreen brought me to the front. From there the team worked well together, I can’t say how great it is to be on this team. It’s like a dream.”
Merlier will also be in the yellow jersey following today's stage. He leads the race by four seconds ahead of Bennett.
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