Paris-Nice 2014 - Stage 8
Paris-Nice 2014 concluded yesterday with a short but tricky 128 kilometre stage around Nice. Geraint Thomas was a non-starter in the stage after crashing late in stage seven, along with Edvald Boasson Hagen. The amount of finishers of the race would slowly diminish over the course of the day, but a breakaway animated things at the other end of the race.
Thomas' Sky teammate Xabier Zandio was in the huge twenty one man break, which contained many riders evidently frustrated by their week and looking to get something out the race for themselves and their teams. They worked well together despite not being allowed much leeway due to their size, and pushed their lead over three minutes at one stage.
The penultimate climb of the day is where the cohesion broke down however, as their lead dropped under a minute. Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) decided to have a dig off the front, along with Simon Spilak of Katusha. However, the peloton were working hard, and they soon brought back The Shark and his companion. Yury Trofimov was the next rider to try his hand, but despite gaining ground on the peloton, he too was brought back.
The Col d'Eze, traditionally the finishing climb of Paris-Nice, was the last climb of the day, and was too much for the likes of Andy Schleck and Zdenek Stybar, who were both dropped from the front group. Schleck's brother Frank had a better day however, and put in a move on the top of the Col d'Eze. He worked well with Simon Spilak, but couldn't get rid of the chasing group, who were determined to get a bunch sprint.
Schleck tried again in the final kilometre, but the remainder of the peloton contested a bunch sprint, and it was French national champion Arthur Vichot who crossed the line first with Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) in tow. Carlos Betancur was safe in the peloton to secure his first major stage race victory, also claiming the youth classification in the process. Another successful edition of Paris-Nice is in the books, and another successful winner is crowned in Betancur.