Paris-Nice is the traditional start of the European stage racing season.

This year, most of the big GC names are going mano a mano in Italy, leaving Paris-Nice a more open and perhaps more entertaining race. We have Van Garderen and Talansky, Kwiatowski, Porte, Geraint Thomas, Rui Costa, Wilco Kelderman, Fabio Aru, Rafel Majka, Romain Bardet, and other interesting GC riders, and a clutch of sprinters, both the pure and the climby sort, with Degenkolb, Bouhanni, Kristoff, Greipel, Demare, Coquard, Michael Matthews and more. Also guys training for the classics, like Boonen and Wiggins.

Kwiatowski won the short prologue today, barely ahead of Rohan Dennis. Stage 1 on Monday is a flat stage so cue the sprinters. I'm rooting for Bouhanni myself.

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