París-Niza (st. 5)

Spaniard safe through brutal crash in Sisteron's final straight by a nail; Cousin (TDE) upsets sprinters and break companions to win on day five. Marc keeps white jersey before trio of mountain stages.

Frechman Jérôme Cousin (TDE) took advantage on Thursday from a miscalculation by the sprinters’ teams and co-operation from his break companions to take a surprise victory in Sisteron, end of stage five in the 2018 Paris-Nice race (165km). Cousin and German Nils Politt (TKA) held off the bunch by only four seconds after the group was shaken by the tough final circuit, with two ascents -including the Côte de la Marquise (Cat-3)- inside the final 15km. Always inside the main group was Marc Soler, who continues in 4th place overall as best young rider, 26″ behind Luis León Sánchez (AST).

It was a day of scares for the Blues, with a pile-up momentarily sending the whole team to the back in Tirreno-Adriatico and a crash with no consequences for Dayer Quintana during the day in France. However, the day’s biggest near-miss was for Carlos Barbero. Boxed in against two riders while seeking for a position into the sprint at the long, final straight, the Spanish youngster barely, just managed to keep balance as a brutal crash happened just by his rear wheel, involving, amongst many others, Colombian Esteban Chaves (MTS). Barbero was not hit by the incident, but was left out of contention for the day.

#ParisNice La secuencía de la caída en el final de esta 5ª etapa, con @BarberoCbc encajonado entre dos corredores y manteniendo el equilibrio para salir sin golpes del trance. ??

General sin cambios; @solermarc93 se mantendrá como mejor joven y a 26" de Luis León Sánchez (AST) pic.twitter.com/aA2LpNZtVq

— Movistar Team (@Movistar_Team) March 8, 2018

The ‘Course to the Sun’ is tackling three tough mountain stages, starting on Friday, which will define the GC outcome. Day six will connect Sisteron and Vence over a 198km route that includes five rated climbs in its second half, most notably the Côte de la Colle-sur-Loupe (1.8km at 10% gradient) just 10km from the end.

Picture (c): BettiniPhoto.net