Paris-Nice stage 7: Vlasov wins re-routed summit finish as McNulty's lead is slashed

Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hasngrohe) climbed to victory on stage 7 of Paris-Nice, as Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) clung grimly to his yellow jersey despite being distanced on the summit finish.

The penultimate stage of the ‘Race to the Sun’ was supposed to be the marquee mountain stage but snow on the key climbs forced a complete re-routing, with the short 103km stage boiling down to a single ascent of La Madone d’Utelle, a reasonably long climb at 15.3km but not so steep, at an average gradient of 5.7%.

It didn’t prove too selective, with Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) trying repeatedly to get away but in the end finishing in a five-man group, although McNulty was tailed off and saw his overall lead cut to just four seconds with a stage remaining.

Vlasov’s victory was the product of strong legs but mainly a canny head, as he made use of the lull following Evenepoel’s opening salvo to go clear and solo home from 4km out.

The Russian was already a good way down on the general classification, and was therefore allowed a little freedom as the yellow jersey favourites watched each other, and he managed to take it all the way to the top of the mountain to secure his first victory of the season.

"The plan was to see how final climb went, and either sprint with Primož [Roglic] or I’d follow some attacks. But I found the moment and decided to go, as the group was open, and I just went,” said Vlasov.

“I’m really happy to win here, it’s a WorldTour stage race, one of the most important races, it’s my training zone, I know these roads, and I’m super happy to win here.”

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Remco Evenepoel leads the GC contenders across the line

Eight seconds after Vlasov had crossed the line, Evenepoel won the scrap for second place, collecting six bonus seconds to add to the two he gained at the intermediate sprint further down the climb. In third place, and with the final four bonus seconds, was Vlasov's teammate Roglič, who climbed five places into sixth overall.

The day's biggest beneficiary, however, was Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike), who finished alongside Evenepoel and Roglič – plus Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek – to pile the pressure on his US compatriot, McNulty.

McNulty lost contact when Evenepoel attacked again and slimmed the lead GC group to five with 2km to go, with Jorgenson, who started the day second overall at 23 seconds, driving the move further clear in the final kilometre.

McNulty initially had Skjelmose for company but when the Dane skipped away and succeeded in bridging the gap, the race leader was forced into damage limitation mode. He stopped the clock with the damage at 19 seconds, hanging onto his yellow jersey by a mere four seconds over Jorgenson, with Skjelmose third at 35 seconds and Evenepoel a further second behind.

A short day but a freezing, sodden affair

The major mountain stage of Paris-Nice had been set to head up La Colmiane before finishing up at the ski resort of Auron, but heavy snow forced a complete re-design of the stage, which was cut to just 103.7 and finished on a less severe climb 500 metres lower in altitude.

Still, the riders were not escaping the cold, as low temperatures combined with heavy rainfall to produce a stage where staying warm, dry, and upright on the technical descents made for a significant challenge, in spite of the short distance.

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The day's two-man breakaway

The day's breakaway formed on the early climb of the category-2 Côte de Gattières, with Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) and Johan Jacobs (Movistar) going clear with Martijn Tusveld (dsm-firmenich-PostNL), although the latter would be dropped as the road continued to rise beyond the official summit.

A trio of riders – Sandy Dujardin (TotalEnergies), Brent Van Moer (Lotto Dstny) and Gijs Leemreize (dsm-firmenich-PostNL) launched a counter-attack but fell away one-by-one, leaving a leading duo to crack on with a slim advantage over the peloton. Soudal Quick-Step, UAE Team Emirates, and Visma-Lease a Bike marshalled the peloton, and kept the gap just above the one-minute mark for most of the day.

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A grim day in the rain

Just inside the 40km to go mark, Thomas sat up and Jacobs was alone, but the pace was ramping up as the descent from Gilette loomed, with the sodden roads making for a treacherous phase of the race. As Quick-Step dictated proceedings, everyone got down safe, but the peloton split in two at the bottom, leaving a brief scramble before things regathered ahead of the final climb.

The final climb

Jacobs hit the final climb of Madone d’Utelle (15.3km at 5.7%) with a lead of half a minute but within a kilometre the game was up. Ineos and Visma had been setting the early tempo but Evenepoel's QuickStep henchmen Louis Vervaeke and Ilan Van Wilder came through as the escapee was swallowed up.

Vervaeke did most of the leg-work and reduced the bunch to 25 riders but he was usurped by Ineos' Laurens De Plus a kilometre and a half shy of the intermediate sprint. A fresh-looking Bernal duly kicked out to collec thte maximum six bonus seconds, as Van Wilder looked to block but could only manage second, ultimately taking two seconds away from his own teammate Evenepoel in third.

Van Wilder immediately hit the front and drove the pace on as the acceleration caused splits and saw Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) dropped. The Belgian's pacing continued until 4.4km from the top, where Evenepoel launched his first attack. Jorgenson and McNulty were straight on it, while Skjelmose had to close the gap. Evenepoel soon eased, and Vlasov sensed his opportunity to slip away. He was never seen again.

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Remco Evenepoel goes on the attack

The main group was then propelled by Jorgenson's teammate Wilco Kelderman, the gap reaching 20 seconds by the time of Evenepoel's next attack with 2km to go. This one really split the group, with the likes of Bernal and former race leader Luke Plapp (Jayco-AlUla) falling away.

Jorgenson was again straight on the case, as were Roglič and Buitrago, but this time McNulty was caught out. At first, it looked like Skjelmose was in the same boat and the pair would work their way across but the gap started to go the other way and Skjelmose decided he had to take matters into his own hands. At that point, it was clear McNulty was on the ropes and his yellow jersey was in the balance. There was some initial hesitation behind but Jorgenson in the end came through inside the final kilometre to drive the gap from around seven seconds up to the final tally of 19.

As Vlasov finished the job, Evenepoel unfurled his sprint for a second place that saw him take a little time back but still needs him needing a raid on the medium-mountain final day.

McNulty dragged himself across the line to hang onto the yellow jersey but it now rests uneasily on his shoulders, not least because of the gap, the strength of his rivals, and the question marks over his team - Almeida and Vine were both off the pace here - in controlling the ambush terrain on the final day.

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Brandon McNulty remains in the yellow jersey

Paris-Nice - Stage 7

• Dates 9 Mar
• Race Length 103 kms
• Start Nice
• Finish Madone d'Utelle
• Race Category Elite Men