Paris-Nice (st. 7)

Catalan youngster from Movistar Team -always supported by splendid Richard Carapaz- finishes 8th atop Valdeblore La Colmiane, remains in white as Young riders' leader, 25" off overall podium.

Simon Yates turned the tables in the 2018 Paris-Nice race by becoming the new yellow jersey holder following a resounding stage win in the toughest day of the event, finishing atop Valdeblore La Colmiane (Cat-1, 16km long). The Briton’s Mitchelton-Scott squad took former GC leader Luis León Sánchez (AST) out of contention and off the back of the favourites’ group, where two youngsters from the Movistar Team completed an impressive performance: Richard Carapaz and under-26 leader Marc Soler.

Well supported all day by his team-mates, most notably Carretero, Barbero and Erviti into the second half of the stage on rainy, foggy, even snowy terrain, Soler decided to tackle the entire climb at his own pace, with no changes of rhythm. Supported by a fantastic Carapaz, the Catalan rider covered all gaps left by the riders dropping back from the GC group, until the favourites’ final accelerations with 2km remaining got the better of him. After a brilliant effort, Marc and Richie were eighth (+46″) and eleventh (+54″) in the day.

Marc -still in the lead of the Young Riders’ classification, with 1’15” over Sam Oomen (SUN)- sits now in 6th overall, 37″ behind Yates and 25″ after the third step of the podium. The ‘Course to the Sun’ will be decided on Sunday’s intense 110km around Nice, with six categorized climbs including the Col d’Eze (Cat-1) and the Col des Quatre Chemins (Cat-2), the latter completed just 9km from the Promenade des Anglais.

Picture (c): Roberto Bettini / BettiniPhoto.net