When Alberto Contador screeched to a standstill on the Promenade des Anglais all of Paris-Nice held its breath. The seconds ticked by, the Spaniard desperately looked up at the clock, and Sergio Henao drew ever-closer to the line. For all the recent talk of discs, doctors and dropboxes, this was pure racing at its best.
Contador (Trek-Segafredo) needed to finish 23 seconds ahead of the Team Sky rider to win a gripping race but in the end he missed out by a slender two seconds. Last year, Contador lost the race by a mere four seconds but this was a far more tense affair, and had it been for series of ifs and buts, Contador would have taken the top step on the podium.
If only he had won the sprint bonus on the Col d'Eze; if only Marc Soler (Movistar) had collaborated in a late break; if only Contador could have won the stage sprint against David de la Cruz (Quick-Step Floors) and picked up an additional four seconds in the process; if only Henao had panicked under the relentless pressure.
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"On one hand I'm really happy because to do that in a final you need to be very, very strong. Everyone knew that I would attack because my team pulled hard for me. Then it's difficult to go alone when every other rider is looking to you," Contador told Cyclingnews at the finish.
Contador's attack was on the cards from the very start. He began the stage 31 seconds off Henao's yellow jersey and in third place overall. After having the measure of the Team Sky rider on stage 7, the only question was where on the map Contador would begin his assault. He plumbed for almost the exact same spot as last year, accelerating away on the Côte de Peille after the impressive Jarlinson Pantano reduced the peloton to a slender group of around 30 riders.
When Contador went, with around 50 kilometres to go, Henao and Dan Martin briefly held him but a second and third acceleration saw the former Tour de France winner snap the elastic and break free. Within a couple of hairpins he was on the back of the morning break, sweeping past a collection of double takes and dropped jaws, before moving to the front and setting his own tempo.
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