Last chance before the final showdown

March 14 ^th 2020 - 05:15

The sprinters have done their job. The climbers have yet to do theirs. And the 161.5-km 6th stage of Paris-Nice between Sorgues and Apt is the last chance for the riders with nothing to lose and nothing to hope for in the last weekend to win a stage at last. With six climbs on the menu, four of them second category ascents, the course looks ideal for “baroudeurs” and classic specialists probably denied the chance to ride a proper one-day race in the near future. Having lost their sprinter Sam Bennett, Deceuninck-Quickstep’s Bob Jungels and Julian Alaphilippe have shown how keen they were in the finale of yesterday’s 5th stage to La Cote St. Andre. With their Danish team-mate Kasper Asgreen, they look set to try and upset overall leader Maximilian Schachmann’s Bora Hansgrohe team-mates, who will have a lot to do to control the race without losing too much energy before the decisive stage 7 to La Colmiane. And in the same time, the profile would ideally suit Peter Sagan! Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-McLaren), Tiesj Benoot (Team Sunweb) or Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) have also been restless since the start in Plaisir and are on ideal terrain. A lot will depend on the composition of the early break, which might include strong riders not posing a threat overall, like world champion Mads Pedersen, France’s Pierre Latour or Belgium’s Thomas De Gendt to name but a few.