Discover the highlights of Paris-Nice 2023's Stage 2 - Bazainville / Fontainebleau.
General ranking after today's stage:
1 - PEDERSEN Mads (TREK - SEGAFREDO)
2 - POGAČAR Tadej (UAE TEAM EMIRATES)
3 - MERLIER Tim (SOUDAL QUICK-STEP)
More Information on:
http://www.paris-nice.fr/
https://www.facebook.com/parisnicecourse
https://twitter.com/parisnice
https://www.instagram.com/parisnicecourse/
© Amaury Sport Organisation - www.aso.fr
General ranking after today's stage:
1 - PEDERSEN Mads (TREK - SEGAFREDO)
2 - POGAČAR Tadej (UAE TEAM EMIRATES)
3 - MERLIER Tim (SOUDAL QUICK-STEP)
More Information on:
http://www.paris-nice.fr/
https://www.facebook.com/parisnicecourse
https://twitter.com/parisnice
https://www.instagram.com/parisnicecourse/
© Amaury Sport Organisation - www.aso.fr
Category
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SportTranscription
00:00 On to stage two of Paris-Nice.
00:14 After Tim Melies' storm to victory yesterday, this should be another one for the sprinters
00:19 unless the wind picks up later in the day.
00:22 There is a long straight run into the finish line, although there is a bit of a twist in
00:26 the final kilometre.
00:33 We have the horsepower in the team to keep the pace high.
00:40 We just need to see to be in front and run about and then keep the pace again.
01:02 Run high enough that you can't come from the back.
01:07 Every stage you have pressure as a sprinter, so it's still the same today.
01:14 It can be really difficult to get it right, so it's a bit annoying to have this 15km
01:24 straight run and then around about 500m from the finish.
01:29 We don't have the big train to go from 10km to go, so we have to stay second line and
01:34 then do what we do in the end.
01:39 Stage two takes us from Bazanneville to the magnificent Chateau de Fontainebleau.
01:43 There are two small climbs along the way, while the bonus sprint once again comes late
01:47 in the day, just 13km from the finish line.
01:51 With plenty of exposed roads, the wind could also be a factor.
01:58 There's not much wind forecast, but we know the region.
02:05 A small breeze could be a problem, so we're still being vigilant all day.
02:12 We'll see if there are any steps.
02:19 Only one man went up the road for the second day running, Jonas Gregar of UNO-X, but he
02:26 was always kept within five minutes.
02:28 There was a little bit of a split with 75km to go, but things soon came back together.
02:35 The average speed remained pretty high though, over 44km/h, and they actually caught Gregar
02:41 with over 50km remaining.
02:43 The day in taking over from Nielsen Paulus as the new King of the Mountains.
02:50 One of the team leaders then went to ground.
02:52 A nasty moment for Pierre Latour, who had started the day fifth overall.
02:57 With some help from his team mates, Jeremie Cabot and Paul Orsolan, he did make it back
03:01 to the peloton, but he is bound to be feeling sore this evening.
03:08 With no more echelons in the offing, the next big moment was the intermediate sprint, 13km
03:16 from home, where Tadej Pogacar was looking to hoover up more bonus seconds.
03:43 Pogacar moving into the virtual lead, but would that be enough to take the yellow jersey
03:47 at the end of the day?
03:48 Well, that was down to the sprinters who were hurtling their way into Fontainebleau with
03:53 a late crash and that pesky roundabout ending a few riders' hopes.
04:00 Coy now goes for the sprint.
04:05 In the middle it's Pedersen.
04:06 Pedersen looks superb.
04:08 In the middle it is Matt Pedersen, the world champion.
04:12 Formally takes the win into Fontainebleau.
04:19 Matt Pedersen celebrating his second victory of the season after winning the individual
04:25 time trial at Etoile de Beserges a month ago.
04:28 The day in making the most of a fine lead out from Alex Kirsch to get to the line just
04:32 ahead of Olaf Coy.
04:34 The 2019 world champion adding to his stage three win at Paris Nice last year and replacing
04:39 Malir as the race leader.
04:47 It's a really nice race, so of course it's nice to get a win.
04:53 It's a really hectic sprint like this.
04:56 We have like 10k full straight and then the roundabout in the end.
05:00 But the team did really well keeping us out of problems and Alex did a perfect lead out
05:06 in the end.
05:09 It was tight in the end, really close, so I'm happy that I got it.
05:15 Pedersen winning ahead of Coy, Magnus Court, Dan Maclay and Lionel Tamino.
05:20 Tamar rounded out the top ten for the second day running with Malir down in 14th.
05:27 Pedersen now leads the race having picked up 14 bonus seconds over the first two stages,
05:32 but he's only two seconds clear of Pogacar who's taken 12 at the bonus sprints.
05:36 The time gaps should really open up in tomorrow's team time trial.
05:41 Pedersen also on top in the points classification.
05:44 He is five ahead of Coy who will wear the green jersey on his behalf on Tuesday.
05:48 Gregar, the day's most aggressive rider, is our new king of the mountains with a total
05:52 of eight points.
05:58 And Pogacar still has a six second advantage in the youth classification, the 24-year-old
06:03 leading from Coy and Marijn van den Berg who was seventh today.
06:08 There's bound to be a big shake-up on stage three, the new look team time trial, where
06:12 Jonas Vingegaard and Jumbo Visma will be looking to put significant time into Pogacar and UAE
06:17 Team Emirates.
06:18 So do join us for that tomorrow and thanks very much for watching.
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