2024 Paris-Nice Stage 7 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 7 of the 2024 Paris-Nice! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
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The Queen Stage of Paris-Nice is a mountainous test of 173 kilometres from Nice to the ski village Auron. The riders take on the Col Saint-Martin as an intermediate climb, while the ascent to the line averages 7.2% over 7.3 kilometres. Parts of the route are incorporated in the stage 19 and 20 of the coming Tour de France.
There is a ski station at the top of the Col Saint-Martin and it is called La Colmiane. Ring a bell? Paris-Nice finished there is 2018, 2020 and 2021, resulting in mountain top victories for Simon Yates, Nairo Quintana and Primoz Roglic. On all three occasions the mountain was ascended on the western side. This time the riders come from the east and this way the Col Saint-Martin is 7.5 kilometres long and averaging 7.1%
The run-up to Lantosque, at the base of the Col Saint-Martin, is nothing special. A 100 kilometres long loop takes the riders on rolling roads to where action really begins. Officially the climb does not commence in Lantosque, but in Saint-Martin-Vésubie. Yet, if you start to count in Lantosque the sheer distance of the Col Saint-Martin sounds more intimidating, 23 kilometres, while the average gradient of 4.5% tells a much more friendly story. Either way, the higher you climb the better the views. While zigzagging through the hairpins, you’ll see the high peaks of Monte Argentera and Cime du Gélas in Italy.
The riders fly down the Col Saint-Martin to the valley of the Tinée River. There are still over 30 kilometres to go at this point, most of it runs upstream, so false flat uphill. The first part goes to Isola – location of the sprint for time bonuses – and the route continues in the same fashion to the foot of the finish climb. A lefthander takes the riders out of the valley and onto the last 7.3 kilometres. The average gradient of the climb to Auron sits at 7.2%, but the first 5 kilometres are the hardest part, as it levels out considerably in the last kilometres
The big showdown of the upcoming Tour de France takes place in this very region. Stage 19 will finish in Isola 2000 after a climb out of the Tinée Valley (starting from Isola) and stage 20 includes the Col Saint-Martin (although it’s listed as Col de La Colmiane in the roadbook). The riders will turn left to tackle the Col de la Couilolle right after the descent while they continue 26 kilometres further upstream in Paris-Nice’s Queen Stage.
The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the intermediate sprint comes with 6, 4 and 2 seconds.
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