The cycling season is in full swing, and Tirreno Adriatico follows Strade Bianche in Italy this week. Over in France it’s the first of the major ‘tune-up’ races for the Tour de France … Paris-Nice.

The 81st edition of the ‘Race to the Sun’ has a stellar cast, and runs Sunday-Sunday, with opportunities for sprinters, breakaway specialists and climbers, as well as a Team Time Trial over the 8 days. Lead Sports Director Enrico Poitschke looks over the parcours:

“In general the race has a very strong startlist as always, and we start with two flat stages before a quite long Team Time Trial of 32km which will be very important for the GC. The real hard mountains come in the last two stages where the overall podium will be decided.”

Team Bahrain Victorious head to the French capital with a balanced line-up capable of performing on every type of stage profile. Jack Haig will be our leader, continuing his return from the wrist injuries at last year’s Tour that put an end to his season. The Australian has finished 4th, 6th & 7th here in previous years, and has ambitions of making the step up this week. He’ll be supported by Gino Mader and Wout Poels, both top level climbers in their own right. Poels is a former stage winner at the race, and Mader one of the ‘riders to watch’ this season, following two strong years in Bahrain’s colours.

It’s when we reach the Côte d’Azur that their main work will be done. Stage 7, from Nice to the Col de la Couillole is 143 kilometres, featuring two 1st category tests. The finale is 15.2km averaging 7.3%, and represents a first real challenge of the season for most of the field. For the last day the organisers have gifted us three 2nd category mountains in the first 51km, which are just a prelude to two cat 1s to decide the overall winner: first the Côte de Peille, and then of course, the Col d’Eze, before a descent into the finish on the Promenade des Anglais.

Filip Maciejuk, Kamil Gradek and Jonathan Milan all make their Paris-Nice debuts, and will combine as we strive for victory on the flatter days, in particular  stages 1, 2 & 5.

The team is completed by Englishman Fred Wright who returns after a strong start to the season, but still searching for that elusive 1st professional win.

Poitschke looks over the selection:

“We go to Paris-Nice with Jack as GC leader. Gino & Wout are there to help out on the climbs but also perhaps with the possibility to fight for a stage win.

They we have Johnny for the sprints, with top class helpers Filip & Kamil. 

Fred will be an asset in both situations – in the hard stages but also on the flat. Of course he’s also a guy who can go in breakaways and try to win a stage from the break.”

This year Paris Nice will be an extremely hard edition, featuring the two strongest riders in the peloton at the moment, the last two Tour de France winners, Tadej Pogačar (UAE) and Jonas Vingegaard (TJV), but with the diverse stage profiles laid before us, Poitschke says the team will be – as always – aiming high:

We have a strong team here and we’ll try to fight nearly every day for a stage win. The goal is to finish with Jack on, or close to, the podium, and to have a good week.

Au Soleil!