2021 Paris-Nice Preview
After some stubbornness that looks rather foolish in retrospect, last year’s Paris-Nice had to be cut short due to Covid-19. The final, hilly stage was removed, and the race whimpered out of sight… taking the rest of the cycling season with it.
Now the Race to the Sun is back, with a great lineup of riders, including some impressive sprinters. Expect cold, windy days to start, and sun* in Nice to finish. There’s an early time-trial and hills throughout. It’s going to be wild.
*sun not guaranteed
Where to Watch
The 2021 Paris-Nice will be broadcast in 190 countries, across 33 rights holders. So this one’s a bit messy. Here’s our best attempt:
UK, Europe, Australia: GCN+
USA, Canada, New Zealand: GCN+, but only highlights
USA: NBC Sports Gold
Canada: Flobikes
France: France3
Belgium: Sporza & RTBF
Italy: Rai Sport
Netherlands: NOS
Asgard: Viking TV
Route
| 1 | Hilly | Sun, March 7 | Saint-Cyr-L’Ecole > Saint-Cyr-L’Ecole | 166 km |
| 2 | Flat | Mon, March 8 | Oinville-Sur-Montcient > Amilly | 188 km |
| 3 | Individual time-trial | Tues, March 9 | Gien > Gien | 14.4 km |
| 4 | Hilly | Wed, March 10 | Chalon-sur-Saone > Chiroubles | 187.5 km |
| 5 | Flat | Thurs, March 11 | Vienne > Bollene | 200 km |
| 6 | Hilly | Fri, March 12 | Brignoles > Biot | 202.5 km |
| 7 | Mountain | Sat, March 13, | Nice > Valdeblore La Colmiane | 166.5 km |
| 8 | Hilly | Sun, March 14 | Nice > Nice | 110.5 km |
Not posting the individual stage profiles. Stage Seven has some fairly big climbs though.
Startlist
2021 Paris-Nice startlist (external site)
Ones to Watch
Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) – Last year’s winner returns to defend his title. He led the race from the first stage all the way to its abrupt ending in 2020, but perhaps didn’t get much recognition for his performance due to everyone’s focus being elsewhere at the time.
Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) – The world number one and cycling’s most recent grand tour winner will also be one the start line. This race is often the domain of a formidable team, which Jumbo-Visma certainly has. Roglic’s focus is much later in the season, however.
Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) – How about the 2020 Giro d’Italia champion? And like last year’s Paris-Nice, the 2020 Giro was a race against the virus, with positives and withdrawals left, right, and center. His team has a remarkable record in this race, winning six of the last nine editions.
Rohan Dennis (Ineos Grenadiers) – We’re tempted to throw a sprinter’s name in here due to the race being so suited to them, but instead let’s make a (not so) bold claim: Rohan Dennis will win the Stage Three time-trial.