Tadej Pogacar he knew what was done. It was not anxiety or haste. Every second counts and the Slovenian was aware that he started with a certain disadvantage compared to Jonas Vingegaard in this Paris-Nice, in their first duel of the 2023 season. And it is that the formation of the Jumbo-Visma, swarming with accomplished time trialists, It was quite a declaration of intent that the revolutionary team time trial proposed by the ‘Carrera del Sol’ could leave the general very resolved. Therefore, the 12 seconds achieved by pogi in two bonuses in the first two days they make sense today if we look at the victory of the Dutch team in the time trial.
But there is a race, especially in the case of Pogacar, because the time trial approach itself reduced the level gap between the strongest teams and the worst prepared. Being the first runner to cross the finish line who would mark the time, there was no need to regulate efforts to keep the formation compact. The UAE took advantage of this, at a clear disadvantage compared to its direct rivals, for which reason He shot to death with each of his members until Pogacar accelerated in the last meters to mark the time alone. The Slovenian stopped the clock in 34:18, only 23 seconds worse than the Jumbo. If we subtract the 12 seconds of rent that Tadej brought with the bonuses, so only 11″ separates him from Vingegaard overall. Few could have thought that the race would be so open at this point…
The big surprise of the day was the signing of the Education First, since the American team took the lead with an incombustible Magnus Cort Nielsen. The Dane does not enjoy the impact of the big stars, but he is always there, regardless of the terrain or the circumstances, to guarantee a show. Thanks to the push from his teammates, Cort Nielsen took the lead in the last few meters to cross the finish line just 1 second from the record of the Jumbo, which had arrived with four of its runners previously, Van Hooydonck in the lead.
In key of favourites, fantastic performance of the Team Jayco, which was the first team to get below the 34-minute barrier (33:59). Its leader, Simon Yates, crossed the finish line in first place, which leaves him 1″ behind Vingegaard overall and 7″ ahead of Pogacar. The Briton, as he did last year with Primoz Roglic, whom he squeezed to the last meter on arrival in Nice, will be in the ointment. Of the rest, Groupama was fantastic through the mediation of a Stefan Küng who fully involved their leader, David Gaudu, in the noble zone of the classification (14″ from Jonas), while the Ineos was the most discreet of the favorites, which meant that Daniel Martinez stay 48″ from Vingegaard. Minimal differences for what is to come from a Paris-Nice that looks exciting…
Results of the 3rd stage
1st Jumbo-Visma (PBa) – 33:55
2nd EF Education (USA) – at 1″
3rd Team Jayco (Aus) – 4″
4th Groupama FDJ (Fra) – 14″
5th UAE Team Emirates (UAE) – 23″
General of the 81st Paris-Nice
1º Magnus Cort Nielsen (EF Education) – 7h 53:41
2nd Nathan van Hooydonck (Jumbo) – at 1″
3rd Michael Matthews (Jayco) – 3″
5th Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo) – mt
10th Tadej Pogacar (UAE) – 14″
