The Paris Nice time trial on Wednesday was won by Wout Poels but Luis Leon Sanchez did enough in finishing 7th to hold on to the Yellow jersey …
![]() |
Paris Nice Time Trial won by Wout Poels
Team Sky won five of the last six editions of Paris-Nice, and the British outfit showed, with Wout Poels’s victory in Wednesday’s 18.4-km individual time trial in St Etienne that they would still be a force to reckon with in this edition.
Photo: @ParisNice – Poels and Sanchez
But the Dutchman’s brilliant effort in 25:33 was not enough for him to dislodge race leader Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana), who finished 7th, limited the damage and retained his yellow and white jersey for 15 seconds. France’s Julian Alaphilippe (Quick Step) took third place, both in the stage and in the GC, where he now lies 26 seconds behind Sanchez.
Ignatas Konovalovas (Groupama-FDJ), the first starter, finished in 29:55 and set the first reference time. He was quickly upstaged and the most impressive time by an early rider was clocked by Dylan Van Baarle (Sky) in 26:21, at an average speed of 41.89 kph. The mark lasted for an hour and half despite brave efforts by Thomas De Gendt (26:44), Australia road champion Alex Edmondson (26:42) or Colombia’s Jarlinson Pantano (26:36).
… continued after advert
Dane Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) was fastest at the 8-km intermediate mark but faltered in the descent to finish eight seconds behind Van Baarle.
The changing weather made things even more difficult for riders as the descent was a slippery one but it didn’t hamper the overall performance of Team Sky, which saw David de la Cruz dislodge his team-mate Van Baarle in 26:07 at an average speed of 42.271 kph. Winner of a time-trial in the Ruta del Sol earlier in the season, De La Cruz was narrowly beaten by Simon Yates in 26:06 but Team Sky regained the upper-hand when title-holder Sergio Henao also clocked 26:06 but beat the Briton by fractions of a second.
But the day belonged to another Team Sky rider, former Liege-Bastogne-Liege winner Wout Poels, who smashed the times of his rivals as well as the 26-minute mark in 25: 33 at an average speed of 43:20 kph. While the stage victory was out of reach, the contenders for overall victory battled it out to lose as little time as possible and maintain their overall chances. Spain’s hopeful Marc Soler (Movistar) was an excellent second, 11 seconds adrift, while Julian Alaphilippe, winner of last year’s time trial in Mont Brouilly, finished strongly to clinch third place in 25:49.
… continued after advert
Behind the leading trio, Germany’s Felix Grossschartner (Bora-Hansgrohe) lost his white jersey to Soler but still finished a remarkable 4th in 25:53. Among the pre-race favourites, Sergio Henao (Team Sky) limited the damage in 10th place, 33 seconds behind his team-mate Poels. Belgium’s Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal), 8th today, Briton Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), who ended ninth, and his Colombian team-mate Esteban Chaves are all still in contention. France’s Tony Gallopin (AG2R-La Mondiale) lost 1:04 on Poels and lost most of his chances for overall victory while Dan Martin (UAE) was also disappointing in 34th place, 1:21 adrift.
Wout Poels (Team Sky): “I saw this morning at the recon that it was a good course for me especially the first part. It was a very good TT for me especially after the bad luck I had yesterday when I had to change by back wheel as Luis Leon Sanchez had gone. I don’t know if 15 seconds is too much, I hope not. We will see in the next coupe of days. We were two leaders at the start and it did not change much because Sergio (Henao) also rode a good TT. It’s probably better to have more leaders tactically. Changing from eight to seven riders makes it more tricky tactically but it’s going to be interesting.”
Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana): In yesterday’s stage, I left a lot of energy and I could feel today that I was paying for my efforts. I know I lost time on this TT but at the start of this Paris-Nice I was not even here with the idea to go for the yellow jersey. So it’s already bonus to keep it for another day. In the team we also have Jakob Fuglsang who lost a bit of time in a crash, and the idea is also to see what he can do in the final weekend. We now have two possibilities and we’re going to play it day by day. Yesterday I was sent a picture of the 2009 Paris-Nice, it was really funny. I changed quite a bit. Nine years of professional cycling went by and I’m glad to see I’m still at that level.
Cycle Division’s New Shop
Send your results as well as club, team & event news here
Other Results on VeloUK (including reports containing results)
- Features, Reports, Results
- TT Result: Kent CA 10m Time Trial
- TT Result: Southern Counties CU 25m TT
- HC Result: Elevate RT Hill Climb
- Result: Welsh Road Race Championships 2024
- Result: Will Houghton Circuit Race (Hillingdon)
- STARTLIST: National Youth (GHS) Championship Final
- TT Result: Barnesbury CC 25m TT
- TT Result: Rutland CC 10m Time Trial
- TT Result: VC Glasgow South 22m TT
- BMCR Result: E/F/G/H/W Stallard Finale (Darley Moor)
- Crit Result: Melton Olympic CC Summer Crit 4
- Youth Result: The ‘Back to School’ Youth Races
- HC Result: Dursley Road Club Hill Climb
- TT Report: VTTA 100 Mile Championship
- Tour of Britain: Provisional Startlist
- RR Result: Nick Clayton Memorial RR
- RR Result: Jef Schils Memorial Road Race (Nat B)
- TT Result: Northampton & District CA 10m TT
- Crit Result: YBC & No Nonsense Circuit races
- RTTC 10 Mile Time Trial Championship (Women)
- RTTC 10 mile Time Trial Championships (Youth/Junior)
- RTTC 10 Mile Time Trial Championship
- Sunday: Jef Schils Memorial (National B)
- REPORT: Victor Berlemont Trophy Race
- RR Result: Junior Tour of Wales
- BMCR RESULT: Dulwich Paragon Road Race
- BMCR Result: Dinosaurs at the Palace
- This Weekend: RTTC National 10 mile Championship
- Crit Result: Mountbatten Summer Circuit Series #10
- Crit Result: Full Gas Summer Circuit Series #25
- RR Result: Victor Berlemont Trophy Road Race
- Youth Results: RL360 Isle of Man Youth League 19
- Youth Result: 360 Cycling North West Youth Tour (Girls)
- Youth Result: 360 Cycling North West Youth Tour (Boys)
- Crit Result: 360 Cycling Open Circuit Race
- Q&A: Killian O’Brien – third in the Junior Tour of Wales
- TT Result: Sussex CA 25m TT
- TT Result: Coalville Wheelers 19.8m TT
- Crit Result: Cliff Pratt Deca Community Crits 9
- Youth Result: Scottish National Youth Circuit Series 4
Other News on VeloUK
- STARTLIST: National Youth (GHS) Championship Final
- Tour of Britain: Provisional Startlist
- Sunday: Jef Schils Memorial (National B)
- This Weekend: RTTC National 10 mile Championship
- Q&A: Killian O’Brien – third in the Junior Tour of Wales
- TOM PIDCOCK CONFIRMED FOR LLOYDS BANK TOUR OF BRITAIN MEN
- Startlist: 42nd Junior Tour of Wales
- Startlist: 360 North West Youth Tour
- Tour of Britain: Evenepoel/Alaphilippe To Race National Tour
- GB Juniors for Track Worlds in China
- THIS WEEKEND: CYCLOCROSS (Leicestershire)
- Startlist: Men’s National B (Worcestershire)
- Startlists: Fenwicks Tour of Mendip 2024
- Startlists: 19th Ryedale Grasscrete Grand Prix Road Races
- Men’s Tour of Britain News: Teams for 2024 Race
- Men’s Tour of Britain Route Revealed (Stages 5 & 6)
- NEWS: Women’s UCI Drops Team to Close
- Startlist: Youth and Junior Track Championships 2024
- Startlist: RTTC National 25 Mile Championship (Women/JuniorsYouth)
- Startlists: RTTC National 25 Mile Championship (Men)
- Hill Climb Championships: Change of Course
- TT Result: Ross-On-Wye & Dist CC 25m TT
- News: Men’s Tour of Britain Route (Stage 1 & 2)
- GB News: Paracycling Squad for Paris 2024
- Ribble Redefines Road with launch of Allroad
- BMCR: National Road Bike Time Trial Championship
- SUNDAY: Bath Road Club Junior National Series Road Race
- TLI CYCLING FEATURE: SUPER4SERIES
- NATIONAL CIRCUIT SERIES UPDATE 2024
- News: Josh Tarling Extends Contract at Ineos
- Tour of Britain for Men 2024
- News: Connor Swift Extends Contract with Ineos
- Updated GB Olympic Team News
- Sunday: 2024 Youth Circuit Race Championships (Cyclopark)
- ROBBED BY THE HIGHWAYS AGENCY – National Highways
- Startlist: BMCR National Road Championships E/F/G/H
- OLYMPIC NEWS – Team GB Announces First Riders for Olympics
- News: Alex Richardson Retires
- New Releases from Shutt Velo Rapide
- STARTLIST: Men’s British Road Race Championships