The riders set off from Nice and ride on undulating terrain Saint-Jean La Rivière. This is entirely an overlap with the original route. The riders then turn left to leave the valley of the Vésubie River and enter La Madone d’Utelle. Which is overall a steady climb, but two sections do stand apart. Then tenth kilometres goes up at 9.3%, while the last 300 metres ramp up to almost 11%.
Although the run-up was much harder, the 2016 edition of Paris-Nice also saw a stage finish at La Madone d’Utelle. Ilnur Zakarin, Geraint Thomas, Alberto Contador, Richie Porte, Sergio Henao and Simon Yates battled it out for the win that day. Thomas countered a Contador attacked in the final kilometre and only Zakarin was able to follow his move. The Russian pipped the Welshman for the win.
The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the intermediate sprint – halfway up the finish climb – comes with 6, 4 and 2 seconds.
Another interesting read: results 7th stage 2024 Paris-Nice.
Paris-Nice 2024 stage 7: route, profiles, videos
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[original route]
Originally, the riders were to take on the Col Saint-Martin as an intermediate climb before the ascent to the line would be the 7.3 kilometres long drag to ski resort Auron. Parts of that route are incorporated in the stages 19 and 20 of the coming Tour de France.
There is a ski station at the top of the Col Saint-Martin and it is called La Colmiane. Rings a bell? Paris-Nice finished there in 2018, 2020 and 2021, resulting in mountain top victories for Simon Yates, Nairo Quintana and Primoz Roglic. On all three occasions the mountain was ascended on the western side. This time the riders come from the east and this way the Col Saint-Martin is 7.5 kilometres long and averaging 7.1%
The run-up to Lantosque, at the base of the Col Saint-Martin, is nothing special. A 100 kilometres long loop takes the riders on rolling roads to where action really begins. Officially the climb does not commence in Lantosque, but in Saint-Martin-Vésubie. Yet, if you start to count in Lantosque the sheer distance of the Col Saint-Martin sounds more intimidating, 23 kilometres, while the average gradient of 4.5% tells a much more friendly story. Either way, the higher you climb the better the views. While zigzagging through the hairpins you’ll see the high peaks of Monte Argentera and Cime du Gélas in Italy.
The riders fly down the Col Saint-Martin to the valley of the Tinée River. There are still over 30 kilometres to go at this point, most of it runs upstream, so false flat uphill. The first part goes to Isola – location of the sprint for time bonuses – and the route continues in the same fashion to the foot of the finish climb. A lefthander takes the riders out of the valley and onto the last 7.3 kilometres. The average gradient of the climb to Auron sits at 7.2%, but the first 5 kilometres are the hardest part, as it levels out considerably in the last kilometres.
The big showdown of the coming Tour de France takes place in this very region. Stage 19 will finish in Isola 2000 after a climb out of the Tinée Valley (starting from Isola) and stage 20 includes the Col Saint-Martin (although it’s listed as Col de La Colmiane in the roadbook). The riders will turn left to tackle the Col de la Couilole right after the descent, while they continue 26 kilometres further upstream in Paris-Nice’s Queen Stage.
Ride the route yourself? Download GPX stage 7 (original route) Paris-Nice 2024.
Paris-Nice 2024 stage 7: route, profiles, videos
Click on the images to zoom
