The stage 3 time trial at Paris-Nice was always going to shape the overall complexion of the race, but it was also set to shape the complexion of the very discipline.
The TTT was the next target of organiser ASO’s continued weariness with modern cycling and an all-new format, where times would be taken from the first rider rather than the fourth or fifth, was supposed to breathe new life into the event.
In the end, it struck middle ground. This was not another inconsequential gimmick like the infamous Tour de France grid start a few years ago, but neither was it anything that felt truly revolutionary.
The only real hiccup was a stray Israel-Premier Tech rider getting in the way of Bahrain Victorious in the home straight, but that arguably owed more to the police strikes that closed the spacing between teams from five minutes to three minutes. On the positive side, we saw Tadej Pogačar sprinting at warp speed through the final bends on his time trial bike.
It was a striking new visual element but there was also a tactical aspect. The largely flat course design may have meant that squads stayed together and, up until the final kilometre, rode similarly to how they would have done before. However, the dash in the final kilometre made for more of an individual emphasis, in a discipline that’s obviously about the collective.
Pogačar was able to launch a fearsome sprint and complete the fastest final 400 metres of anyone perhaps bar Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost). He didn’t have to worry about dragging anyone along – as he had to earlier in the race when he shot through a bend and dislodged Felix Großschartner for several frantic seconds – and the end result was that he was able to single-handedly redress a small portion of the imbalance against the collective might of Jumbo-Visma’s squad.
In that respect, it was also striking to see that Vingegaard was not even Jumbo-Visma’s first rider over the line and that he was part of a finishing trio. Nathan van Hooydonck had collected bonus seconds the previous day and was in with a shout of the yellow jersey. It remains to be seen whether that was the stated aim, and whether they could have delivered Vingegaard any quicker had they burned the big Dutchman sooner.
Like UAE Team Emirates, EF Education-EasyPost launched Cort solo in the final kilometre, giving the team a nail-biting shot at stage victory but also allowing the Dane to reach out and grab the yellow jersey, which would not have happened under…
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