Remco Evenepoel hunting for his first Paris-Nice

The race towards the sun kicks off the spring reference week between March 3 and 10. A Paris-Nice 2024 where Remco Evenepoel makes his debut looking to continue his excellent form shown in Volta ao Algarve to add one of the most prestigious one-week races on the calendar.

Paris-Nice 2024, first serious test for Remco Evenepoel on his way to the Tour

The third month of the 2024 season begins and if last weekend we enjoyed the start of the spring classics season, the Paris-Nice 2024 race marks the start of the most prestigious one-week races on the calendar, usually a regular event for those who will face the Giro d'Italia or Tour de France.

Known as the Race to the Sun, starting near Paris in a usually wintry atmosphere to reach the beautiful Cote d'Azur and its sunny beaches, although sometimes we have experienced truly dramatic endings in Nice, it is one of the most coveted prizes on the calendar for the climbers, undoubtedly one of the races with the most tradition and prestige in this early phase of the season.

A Paris-Nice 2024 that, after the magnificent spectacle provided by Tadej Pogacar last year winning his first battle against Jonas Vingegaard, will see in this edition what Remco Evenepoel, who has started the season in great form, can offer.

Favorites for victory in Paris-Nice 2024

Considering the lineup of participants, it is impossible for anyone to doubt that Remco Evenepoel is the top favorite to win the final victory when Paris-Nice 2024 reaches its traditional finish on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice in a week, especially after his convincing victory in Volta ao Algarve a couple of weeks ago. However, in the Race to the Sun, he won't be able to take advantage of his best weapon, his superiority in time trials, as it will be a team time trial instead of the traditional individual one.

Debut this season for Primoz Roglic, who knows what it takes to win this race and will have strong support from Bora-Hansgrohe with Alexandr Vlasov.

We are eager to see what level Carlos Rodriguez can offer, who will have a strong INEOS Grenadiers team to support him, including two strong time trialists like Joshua Tarling and Jonathan Castroviejo.

We must also consider among the favorites to challenge these two giants, Pello Bilbao, who showed a great level in the recently concluded UAE Tour, finishing third just seconds behind the winner and being in the fight for victory until the very end of the race. In any case, Bahrain-Victorious also has cards to play with Santiago Buitrago and Fred Wright to try their guerrilla tactics and take advantage of any opportunities.

An interesting team is also presented by Lidl-Trek, with Mattias Skejmose ready to repeat the great spring he provided last year and Mads Pedersen who surely has his eye on the first two stages to confirm his excellent start to the season where he won, unusually for a rider of his characteristics, two small races like Estrella de Bessegues and Tour de la Provence.

UAE Team Emirates is carefully managing Tadej Pogacar, absent after his victory last year and who has chosen to start his season at Strade Bianche; and Juan Ayuso, who is already demonstrating his class in smaller races these days; the Portuguese Joao Almeida will lead the team in this Paris-Nice 2024, with a squad of tremendous level including riders like Jay Vine or Marc Soler.

Lastly, mention a Visma-Lease a Bike team that, contrary to usual, does not have a clear candidate for the general classification, although it will be interesting to see what a versatile rider like Matteo Jorgenson is capable of, who, after what was seen in the Opening Weekend of the classics, has made a significant leap in quality with his arrival at the Dutch team.

Paris-Nice 2024 Route

A completely traditional scheme in Paris-Nice 2024 with a race that will start with a couple of flat stages for the sprinters, a time trial, perhaps the main novelty compared to the usual format as it will be a team time trial instead of an individual one, and increasing difficulty towards the end with always nervous and open stages that make this race enjoyable for the viewer in each edition.

The surroundings of Paris will be the setting for the first two days, completely flat and with no major difficulties other than what the weather may bring, usually adverse at the start of this race. A small appetizer, at least in terms of the general classification, before the arrival of the third stage where cyclists will face a 26.9 km team time trial with a profile without difficulties that will undoubtedly reward the teams that work the most on this specialty.

With the classification more defined, the race begins its crescendo towards its conclusion, starting with a 4th stage of medium mountain with no less than 7 climbs, the last of them, Mont Brouilly a 3-kilometer wall near the finish line.

It will be followed by another medium mountain stage heading to Sisteron, with a more gentle profile and possibly a day for a quality breakaway to succeed. A similar proposal for the 6th stage but with a tough wall, the Cote de Colle sur Loup just 20 kilometers from the finish.

Already in the surroundings of the Cote d'Azur, the penultimate stage presents a new mountain finish with the arrival in Auron preceded by the Colmiane, two ascents different from what they have been facing during the week as they are longer but more gradual.

As a dessert, the traditional festival of small climbs around Nice, a stage that always offers spectacular cycling although it rarely has an impact on the general classification. Once again, climbs like the Col d'Eze or Quatre Chemins will put the finishing touch to one of the stage races that never disappoints and always leaves us with several exciting days.

How to watch Paris-Nice 2024

Many options to watch Paris-Nice 2024. On one hand, the usual coverage by Eurosport which will broadcast the different stages of this race on both Eurosport 2 channel and their digital platform. In the latter, the broadcast will start around 3:00 PM, not switching to the main channel until the end of the Tirreno-Adriatico stage, which shares the calendar each year.