It went full gas at the first intermediate sprint for the time bonus. Then when I saw that there was no breakaway attempt, I decided to save my strength before going for it. It was a decision we planned in the morning with my team directors and my team-mates. It's really a dream come true to win Paris-Nice and add my name to the winners list next to some of the greats of cycling. I'm progressing each year and I'm getting used to ride at that level. I'm progressing step by step.

I was never too far. If I had been told that I would ride such a good Paris-Nice at the start I would have been very pleased. Because I was so close, I'm a little disappointed as well. Now my priority will be the classics, it's important for me and my team. My next race is the Tour of Catalonya and I will just be going for a stage win. Then it'll be all for the classics"

"It was just one of those days. It was a really hard day from the start. The team did a really god job. We really did as good as we could. It was a really aggressive race as we expected. I was just empty in the finale there. Marc Soler did a very good ride, I congratulate him. He's a very good rider and we've known him for a long time already. I had a stage win yesterday. I'm getting closer. Last year I lost Romandie on the last day as well by 20 seconds and now I lost Paris-Nice by four seconds. I'm getting closer. Hopefully I can improve and work hard and I take the top...

"It was very cold today and everybody suffered. We always rode a good tempo. In the long descent, the peloton split and I found myself in the second group. We made it back to 15 seconds and then the peloton went full gas. I needed to give it my all to make it back. We came back at the bottom of the climb, it went full gas all day and when Yates and Izagirre went, I was a little bit dead. In the finale I gave it 110 pc and I did the best I could 
Thirteen seconds, it's still possible. I know the course well, I already won there two years ago and I have great memories....

"It was a very difficult day from the beginning but the guys looked after me very well.I always was in a great position. We avoided being in a split or anywhere. A lot of guys lost energy in those splits. We really saved energy there and it gave me a biota an extra in the finale. In the beginning of the climb, Astana were riding at a good pace. We had to be patient. At one moment, me and Roman Kreuziger decided it was the moment to squeeze the race a bit and we went. I attacked from there and as we saw I had good legs. The Izagirre brothers are very strong, it's always very...

I must again thank my team-mates (for the change of bikes). It was difficult. It was a fast descent but I stayed relaxed. I knew what I had to do. I'm sorry for Wout Poels who crashed, he was doing very well. But all my rivals are hard to beat even I still have a little bit of a gap. Esteban Chaves, for instance, has a great team and is very motivated. But I also have a great team with me and great team-mates like Jakob Fuglsang. We're going to keep fighting and see how it goes.

The orders were to go in the break and that's what I did. I had a chance to defend Jerome Cousin's polka-dot but I also had points of my own. I was unlucky to be in the break with such a strong rider as De Gendt. It will be hard to keep but I will try. But Jerome can also still go for it. It's a nice jersey to fight for and it's always nice to be on the podium. We're an aggressive team, always attacking so even if it's hard, well' keep on trying. 

It's fantastic to bring a second victory to Groupama-FDJ. I live in Antibes and I knew the course like the palm of my hand. Since the profile of this Paris-Nice was announced, I was delighted with such a finale which suited my qualities. I was in a good day and it's fantastic to win a stage here. I knew that in the Cote de la Colle-du-Loup it was useless giving my all, you just had to follow. I knew that the decision would come in the finale. I was expecting attacks and I knew I would have lost in a sprint. I really needed to attack before the sprint. I tried several times...

It's great to keep the yellow jersey today and I must thank my team-mates and especially Jakob (Fuglsang). The circumstances of the race were such that I found myself in the lead. For now I'm still in the yellow jersey but we must not forget that Jakob is the real leader of the team.

I had cramps towards the end. The goal was to go for the breakaway and take the KOM jersey. I did not spare my efforts and we had a tacit agreement that if I went for the climbers they would leave me alone on the flat. Now when I saw that the victory was possible I worked hard to go after the Katusha rider and I played with his b…. a little. That's the way i won. I'm so generous in my efforts all year and I was beaten in similar circumstances so many times before that I decided to maneuver differently for once and see if it worked. I didn't rob this. Last year I raced...