Belgian fastman Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) made it two out of two at Paris-Nice on Monday as the race leader followed his victory on stage 1 with another bunch sprint win on Monday.
At the end of a fast, flat run across the plains west of Paris, Merlier was perfectly placed in fourth spot behind Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) as the pack blasted up the slightly rising finishing straight in Belleville.
With 100 metres to go, Merlier was already a bike length ahead of his rivals and he could even slow slightly before the line to savour his win ahead of Emilién Jeannière (TotalEnergies). Pedersen then claimed the third spot post-stage after Hugo Page (Intermarché-Wanty) was relegated to 136th.
Barring Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) snatching a two-second time bonus at the stage's one intermediate sprint, the GC contenders mostly concentrated on saving as much energy as possible prior to Tuesday's crunch team time trial stage.
Meanwhile some sizable crashes towards the back of the bunch saw several riders abandon, including Australian national champion Luke Durbridge (Jayco-AIUIa).
"This is one I'm going to remember, because I think it's the first time in my career I have won wearing a leader's jersey," Merlier pointed out afterwards, "Either that or I don't remember it any more.
"First of all our team were the only ones controlling the race, but then Trek started helping.
"It was a bit annoying because the break was playing with us, coming back and then getting more time again. And at the end [breakaway Jonas] Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) was really strong, staying a long time in front, but the team did a really good job again."
How it unfolded
Under leaden skies and on the flattest mass start stage of the 2025 edition of Paris-Nice, with just 878 metres of vertical climbing, three riders opened hostilities early as the race wended its way southwards just beyond the outskirts of Paris. Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), Alexandre Delettre (TotalEnergies) and Samuel Fernandez (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), all three of them from wildcard invitation teams so presumably keen to justify their selection, with Delettre and Fernández already on the attack on stage 1 -- opened an advantage of around three minutes in the face of minimal opposition from the bunch.
Already in the mountains ranking lead after the opening day, Delettre boosted his grip on the top spot by leading over the two category 3 climbs early on the stage. But barring some time in the television camera lens, there was set to be scant mid-to-long term reward for the two others in the break.
Rises in speed on a series of sharp right-angled bends in the final hour saw teams battling for position on the exposed, flat plains amidst concerns about possible (but actually close to non-existent) crosswinds, and saw the peloton all but reel in the break with 53 kilometres to go. Whilst his two companions cracked, Abrahamsen pushed on again solo to rebuild a 40-second advantage, while behind the bunch, one crash victim Guillaume Martin (Groupama-FDJ) finally returned to the pack after a long chase.
Another pileup at 47 kilometres to go, on a seemingly untechnical section of straight road, left half a dozen riders on the deck, including Merlier, who had to change a wheel after someone rode into his bike, and sprint rival Arnaud Démare (Arkéa-B&B Hotels). While the two sprinters could continue, Démare's teammate Florian Sénéchal was forced to abandon on a stretcher.
Meanwhile, Abrahamsen soldiered on, staying ahead for the intermediate sprint when the race powered through the finish for the first time with 21 kilometres to go.
While last year's overall winner Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) picked up a 2-second time bonus for third place, a crash at the back of the bunch left Gorka Sorarrain (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Australian national champion Luke Durbridge (Jayco-AIUIa) off their bikes and leaning against the finish line barriers in pain. Both riders later abandoned.
The peloton splintered into a large lead group and several knots of chasers as a result of the finish line fall, rendering the chase of Abrahamsen much more difficult. Ben O'Connor (Jayco-AIUIa) was one top rider caught behind, but a slight easing in pace subsequently allowed for a general regrouping.
Arkéa and Soudal then upped their game on a technical, narrower section of country roads, even as Abrahamsen's lead crept up to 35 seconds again. Unsurprisingly, the Norwegian did get awarded the Most Combative Rider prize, but on the long broad straightaway that followed right the way to the finish it became harder and harder for him to keep ahead.
Visma-Lease a Bike followed Soudal-QuickStep at the head of the peloton as they bore down on Abrahamsen, finally sucking him in with 2.5 kilometres to go. A bunch sprint was now all but certain, particularly as Uno-X and Tudor had added their weight to the front.
Tucked in on the right hand side of the pack, Merlier was perfectly placed to srke as they swung into the final kilometre at just over 60 kph. Axel Zingle (Visma-Lease a Bike) hit the front with 300 metres to go, but Merlier was able to stay out of the wind and out of trouble until very late, prior to blasting ahead of his rivals with a devastating late acceleration to claim his sixth win of the season and second in 24 hours.
Stage 3 on Tuesday sees the GC riders move to the fore, with a 28km team time trial at Nevers-Magny. Over a similar distance last year, the biggest gaps between the favourites were only around a minute. But in a race like Paris-Nice, which can be won and lost by a handful of seconds, any time could prove crucial in the final reckoning.
Results
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