New top-ten finish for Zingle in hectic second stage Paris-Nice
Stage two of Paris-Nice featured a flat route between Montesson and Bellegarde. The race began calmly with three riders breaking away from the peloton, where Team Visma | Lease a Bike remained attentive at the front. Two of the escapees were reeled in well before the finish, while the last remaining breakaway rider, Jonas Abrahamsen, was caught in the closing kilometres. In the peloton, Matteo Jorgenson once again picked up two bonus seconds at the intermediate sprint, having already collected four seconds in the opening stage.
Several crashes occured in the peloton, but the Team Visma | Lease a Bike riders stayed out of trouble thanks to good positioning. Just as in the opening stage, Zingle took his chance in the sprint. The Frenchman launched his sprint first, but in the uphill finishing metres, six riders managed to pass him. The stage win once again went to Tim Merlier.
“I really enjoyed how well the team rode today”
Axel Zingle
“The slightly uphill finish didn’t seem too challenging, but after such a long sprint, it felt like Alpe d’Huez to me”, Zingle said with a smile. “With 500 metres to go, the pace dropped a little, so I decided to launch my sprint early. When I hit the front, I realised it was still a long way to the finish. In the end, I couldn’t hold on, but it was a good attempt. I really enjoyed how well the team rode today. Tomorrow, we have an important challenge with the team time trial. There’s some pressure, but I’m looking forward to ride with this strong squad.”
Sports director Grischa Niermann is pleased that his riders came through unscathed. “We knew it was going to be a nervous stage. Our goal was to keep Jonas Vingegaard and Matteo Jorgenson out of trouble, and we managed that once again. The key was to get through these first two stages safely. Now, we can fully focus on tomorrow’s team time trial.”
“It promises to be an exciting battle tomorrow”
DS Grischa Niermann
The 28-kilometre team time trial, set on rolling terrain, features a short but steep climb towards the end. “Ideally, we will be in contention for the stage win,” Niermann looks ahead. “Since the individual times of each rider count, we hope to bring Jonas and Matteo to the finish together. We are confident in our strong lineup, but the competition is fierce. It promises to be an exciting battle.”
Paris-Nice
Stage 2
Result
Rankings
Result
1
Tim Merlier
Soudal Quick-Step
04:11:29
2
Emilien Jeannière
Team TotalEnergies
+00:00:00
3
Hugo Page
Intermarché – Wanty
+00:00:00
3
Mads Pedersen
Lidl – Trek
+00:00:00
6
Axel Zingle
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:00
62
Jonas Vingegaard
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:00
67
Edoardo Affini
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:00
72
Matteo Jorgenson
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:00
122
Bart Lemmen
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:00
134
Victor Campenaerts
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:00
146
Per Strand Hagenes
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:03:24
Rankings
1
Tim Merlier
Soudal Quick-Step
07:43:12
2
Arnaud Démare
Arkéa – B&B Hotels
+00:00:14
3
Emilien Jeannière
Team TotalEnergies
+00:00:14
4
Matteo Jorgenson
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:14
11
Axel Zingle
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:20
39
Jonas Vingegaard
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:20
122
Bart Lemmen
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:20
131
Edoardo Affini
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:01:31
132
Victor Campenaerts
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:02:01
149
Per Strand Hagenes
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:10:39
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Subjects
Cycling – World Tour men
Axel Zingle
Grischa Niermann
1
Paris-Nice
