Paris-Nice (st. 4)

Catalan from Movistar Team again strong against the clock: finishes behind unstoppable Wout Poels (SKY) in Paris-Nice time trial, goes up to 4th overall, regains white jersey as best under-26.

Marc Soler continues to pave his way to a big career in cycling in the beginning of a 2018 season which seems to be destined to confirm the Catalan rider as one of the biggest names in the sport. The 24-year-old from the Movistar Team, podium finisher in the recent Vuelta a Andalucía, came just 11″ short to the stage win in Saint-Étienne, finishing point of the individual time trial in the 2018 Paris-Nice race, 18km with two tough uphill sections where the man from Vilanova i la Geltrú took advantage of his polyvalence and excellent skills on the bike.

Marc, 15″ shy of Wout Poels’ (SKY) leading time at the intermediate check, 8km in after the first of the ascent, completed a sensational second part of the course, improving his result against the Dutchman to get onto fourth in the overall standings. Marc, back in the lead of the Young riders’ classification -a tough fight ahead against Austraian rider Felix Grossschartner (BOH), 9″ back-, is now tied to Julian Alaphilippe (QST), eleven seconds behind Poels and just 26″ in arrears of Luis León Sánchez (AST), still leading the GC after taking over yellow on Tuesday.

Soler and his team-mates will have to get through a final flat finish in Sisteron on Thursday (165km) before three demanding mountain stages decide the GC outcome, Friday through Sunday.

Picture: Roberto Bettini + Ilario Biondi / BettiniPhoto.net