The route is a copy of last year’s final stage, which turned out to be a thriller of a race. David de la Cruz took the day hounours and Marc Soler won the GC 4 seconds ahead of Simon Yates.
The race begins with a false flat to Saint-Martin-du-Var before the Côte de Levens is tackled. Following this 6.2 kilometres climb at 5.5% the route moves through the village Levens. A downhill leads to the foot of the Côte de Chateauneuf, which is a 5.4 kilometres climb at 4.4%. Back in the valley the Col de Calaïson appears – 6.3 kilometes at 4.4%.
The riders are now halfway. A 10 kilometres drop – gentle and steady – leads to the Côte De Peille. The ascent is 6.6 kilometres and the average slope 6.8%, so this is arguably the toughest task of the day. Another long descent takes the riders to the village Èze, at the foot of the famous climb with the same name.
Climbing from Nice, the Col d’Èze is 7.7 kilometres at 5.5%, but if you hit the col from this side it is a punchy 1.6 kilometres drag at 8.1%. After cresting the riders drop down to Nice before they turn back to the mountains for one last time.
The Col des Quatre Chemins is an ascent of 5.5 kilometres at 5.5%, while the finale is a 9 kilometres descent into Nice. The finish is on the Promenade des Anglais overlooking the Mediterranean.
The finales in the last three editions of Paris-Nice were breathtaking. In 2016 and 2017 the now retired Alberto Contador missed out on the win by a few seconds, while Simon Yates lost last year’s race because of time bonuses to Marc Soler.
The first three riders on the line take time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the two intermediate sprints (at kilometre 24 and at kilometre 78.5) come with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.
Another interesting read: results/race report 8th stage Paris-Nice 2019.
Paris-Nice 2019 stage 8: route, profile, more
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