2024 Paris Nice continues to animate race with a Team Time Trial

The Race to Sun next March includes the usual windy stages through France with a team time trial thrown in for good measure. The final two days cover some of the roads which the 2024 Tour de France finale will use

Won last year by Tadej Pogacar, Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard came third on the Promenade des Anglais finish line in downtown Nice, organisers hope to also attract rising Belgian star Remco Evenepoel for the 2024 edition.

"There's hope he'll be on the roster this year," said race CEO Christian Prudhomme.

Known as "The Race to the Sun", the eight days of action are packed with a variety of challenges starting with a team time-trial and the vast and windy plains south of Paris.

The race speeds down the Rhone and Loire valleys, takes in the remote Ardeche and then the rugged peaks of Haute Provence.

But with two mountain top finishes, there is a taste of the Alps before a downhill dash to the seafront in Nice on March 10th.

"Paris-Nice will serve as a dress rehearsal and the riders love to practise in race conditions," said Prudhomme.

Pogacar won three stages in 2023 and relegated French climber David Gaudu to second with eventual Tour de France winner Vingegaard third at 1min 39sec.

The final two days cover many of the roads upon which the 2024 Tour de France finale will play out as the world's biggest bike race finishes outside Paris for the first time in its history.

The 2024 race outside Paris, in nearby Les Mureaux. The first stage finishes there, featuring a classics-style finale. Stage two will probably be one for the sprinters, while the third stage features a 27-kilometer team time trial around Auxerre. This is where the general classification riders can make their first move.

Stage Fuor is one for the climbers, with a finish on the steep Mont Brouilly. On the sixth stage, attackers are likely to have their oppotunity again, before the start of the traditionally challenging final weekend around the southern city of Nice.

Last year Team Jumbo-Visma won the team time trial after a lightning-fast race against the clock, the Dutch team had the fastest time at the finish line. Team Jumbo-Visma won the race with an average speed of almost 57 kilometres per hour, earning them their eighth victory of the season.

The team time trial was right up the yellow-and-black team's alley. Team Jumbo-Visma, which consists of time trial experts Rohan Dennis, Edoardo Affini, and Tobias Foss, already had the best time at the intermediate point beating EF-Education-EasyPost by over one second.

The search for a successor to Tadej Pogacar, who is likely to ride the Tirreno-Adriatico next year, will take place here. Paris-Nice is scheduled to be held from March 3 to March 10 next season.

Photo: 2024 Paris - Nice Stage Map. Credit A.S.O

Photo: 2024 Paris - Nice Stage Map. Credit A.S.O