2016 Paris–Nice

September 2020 2016 Paris–Nice 2016 UCI World Tour 2 28 Parcours Paris-Nice 2016.svg Route of the 2016 Paris–Nice 270 6–13 March 2016 8 1293.6 km 27h 26' 40" Geraint Thomas SKY 2016 GBR yellow Alberto Contador TNK 2016 ESP Richie Porte BMC 2016 AUS Antoine Duchesne CAN DEN 2016 polkadot Michael Matthews AUS OBE 2016a green MOV 2016 2015 2017 The 2016 Paris–Nice was a road cycling stage race that took place in France between 6 and 13 March 2016. It was the 74th edition of the Paris–Nice and was the second event of the 2016 UCI World Tour.Wynn Nigel UCI WorldTour calendar 2016 http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/uci-worldtour-calendar-2016-193076 Cycling Weekly 18 December 2015 The race took place over eight stages, travelling south from Conflans-Sainte-Honorine to finish on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, although one stage was cancelled due to weather conditions. After a prologue individual time trial, the first few stages were suited to sprinters. The decisive stages came on the final two days, with routes taking the riders through the Alps. The favourites for victory were therefore the climbers, including the defending champion Richie Porte (BMC 2016), Alberto Contador (TNK 2016) and Geraint Thomas (SKY 2016). Michael Matthews (OBE 2016a) won the prologue and took the leader's yellow jersey. He kept the jersey through the next five days, winning one more of the stages in a sprint. He lost the jersey on the summit finish on Stage 6 to Thomas, who in turn came close to losing it on the final day. After he was dropped by Contador on the final climb of the race, the Col d'Èze, he had to chase back on. At the end of the race, Thomas beat Contador by four seconds, with Richie Porte third a further eight seconds back. Matthews won the points classification and Antoine Duchesne (DEN 2016) the mountains classification; Movistar won the team classification. Teams The race organisers invited 22 teams to participate. The 18 UCI WorldTeams were automatically invited and obliged to send a squad.http://www.uci.ch/mm/Document/News/Rulesandregulation/16/82/39/2-ROA-20150619-E_English.pdf UCI Cycling Regulations: Part 2: Road Races page 110 article 2.15.127 Union Cycliste Internationale 20 August 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150702030045/http://www.uci.ch/mm/Document/News/Rulesandregulation/16/82/39/2-ROA-20150619-E_English.pdf 2 July 2015 The race organisers also invited four UCI Professional Continental teams as wildcards. These were all French teams: COF 2016, DEN 2016, DMP 2016 and FVC 2016.Clarke Stuart Wildcard teams announced for 2016 Critérium du Dauphiné and Paris-Nice http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/wildcard-teams-announced-for-2016-criterium-du-dauphine-and-paris-nice-207561 15 April 2016 Cycling Weekly 19 January 2016 Each team could include up to eight riders.Roadbook 2016 56 All the teams except LTS 2016 filled all eight slots; Lotto–Soudal's team of seven meant that the peloton at the start of the race included 167 riders.Paris – Nice – General Classification (start list) http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Paris_Nice_2016_Startlist ProCyclingStats 15 April 2016 Lotto–Soudal also chose to compete under a different name from the rest of the season: they became Lotto Fix ALL, taking the name of one of a product made by Soudal, their normal sponsor. They also wore grey and white jerseys in place of their normal red and white.Lotto Soudal to become Lotto Fix ALL for Paris–Nice http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/lotto-soudal-to-become-lotto-fix-all-for-paris-nice/ 15 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 1 March 2016 ALM AST BMC OPQ FDJ IAM LAM Lotto Fix ALL MOV OBE 2016a CPT 2016a GIA KAT BEL MTN SKY TTS TFR UCI WorldTeams 2016 2016 UCI Professional Continental teams COF DEN DMP FVC Route The route of the 2016 Paris–Nice was announced on 17 December 2015. The race began with a 6.1 km on prologue individual time trial in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, near Paris, on Sunday 6 March and continued for the following seven days. The remaining stages were all road stages, with no other time trials. Stage 1 included two dirt tracks in the final part of the stage, with exposed roads made a possibility. Stage 3 was scheduled to finish on Mont Brouilly, a 3 km on climb at a 7.7% gradient.Farrand Stephen 2016 Paris-Nice to visit the Ventoux and includes dirt roads http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/2016-paris-nice-to-visit-the-ventoux-and-includes-dirt-roads/ Cycling News 19 December 2015 17 December 2015 Stage 5 included part of the climb of Mont Ventoux, but this came towards the beginning of the stage and was followed by more than 120 km of roads to the finish. The crucial stages were expected to be the final two: Stage 6 finished on the Madone d'Utelle, a 15.3 km climb at 5.7%. The final stage included six categorised climbs, with the Col d'Èze the final climb before the descent into Nice for the finish on the Promenade des Anglais.Wynn Nigel Windsor Richard Tough Paris-Nice 2016 route revealed, including visit to Mont Ventoux http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/paris-nice-2016-route-revealed-161104 15 April 2016 Cycling Weekly 17 December 2016 While Stage 3 was underway, the weather conditions became very poor, with snow on the final climb. After attempting to restart the race, the race organisers cancelled the stage, with Amaury Sport Organisation's Christian Prudhomme saying "The road was very slippery and safe conditions could not be assured."Hood Andrew Paris–Nice stage 3 cancelled mid-race http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/03/news/paris-nice-stage-3-cancelled_397914 15 April 2016 VeloNews Competitor Group, Inc. 9 March 2016 10 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160310111024/http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/03/news/paris-nice-stage-3-cancelled_397914 dead +Stage schedule2016 Route http://www.letour.fr/paris-nice/2016/us/overall-route.html letour.fr ASO 19 December 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151222102309/http://www.letour.fr/paris-nice/2016/us/overall-route.html 22 December 2015 dead dmy-all Stage Date Route Distance Type Winner Prologue 6 March Conflans-Sainte-Honorine 6.1 km 0 on 22px|alt=|link= Individual time trial Michael Matthews AUS 1 7 March Condé-sur-Vesgre to Vendôme 198 km 0 on 22px|alt=|link= Flat stageArnaud Démare FRA 2 8 March Contres to Commentry 214 km 0 on 22px|alt=|link= Flat stage Michael Matthews AUS 3 9 March Cusset to Mont Brouilly fr 166.5 km 0 on 22px|alt=|link= Medium-mountain stage cancelled due to snow 4 10 March Julienas to Romans-sur-Isère 193.5 km 0 on 22px|alt=|link= Flat stage Nacer Bouhanni FRA 5 11 March Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Salon-de-Provence 198 km 0 on 22px|alt=|link= Medium-mountain stage Alexey Lutsenko KAZ 6 12 March Nice to Madone d'Utelle 177 km 0 on22px|alt=|link= Mountain stage Ilnur Zakarin RUS 7 13 March Nice to Nice 141 km 0 on 22px|alt=|link= Medium-mountain stage Tim Wellens BEL Pre-race favourites Stages 1, 2 and 4 were expected to favour the sprinters, with the other stages likely to be decisive for the general classification. There were a large number of climbers present for Paris–Nice, but the overwhelming favourite was Alberto Contador (TNK 2016), racing in what was possibly his final season in the peloton. Contador had won the race on two previous occasions, but this was his first participation since 2010.Hood Andrew Mountainous Paris–Nice favors Contador http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/03/news/mountainous-paris-nice-favors-contador-in-race-to-the-sun_397266 15 April 2016 VeloNews Competitor Group, Inc. 3 March 2016 Contador had shown some form with a stage win in the Volta ao Algarve.10 riders to watch at Paris–Nice – Video http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/10-riders-to-watch-at-paris-nice-video/ 15 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 2 March 2016 Contador was the only one of the top four Grand Tour contenders to start Paris–Nice: Vincenzo Nibali (AST 2016) was riding Tirreno–Adriatico, while Chris Froome (SKY 2016) and Nairo Quintana (MOV 2016) opted to wait until the Volta a Catalunya to begin their European seasons. The defending champion was Richie Porte (BMC 2016) who had won the 2015 Paris–Nice after winning the individual time trial on the final day; he had also won the 2013 edition. Since his 2015 victory, Porte had moved from Team Sky to BMC. In the absence of the traditional Col d'Èze time trial, the route was expected to favour him less than previous editions, but his strength in the mountains meant that he was still one of the major favourites. After a strong beginning to the season at the Tour Down Under, Porte had struggled in the Tour of Oman. Porte was replaced as Team Sky's leader for the race by Geraint Thomas, who had finished fifth the previous year. Thomas had won the Volta ao Algarve and was expected to perform strongly in the prologue time trial.Clarke Stuart 11 riders to watch at Paris–Nice http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/11-riders-to-watch-at-paris-nice-214026 15 April 2016 Cycling Weekly 5 March 2016 The other major general classification riders included Tom Dumoulin (TGA 2016), Jon Izagirre (MOV 2016), Andrew Talansky and Pierre Rolland (both CPT 2016a) and Romain Bardet (ALM 2016). Among the sprinters, the biggest name was Marcel Kittel (EQS 2016), who had won four stages so far in the season as well as the overall title in the Dubai Tour. Other prominent sprinters included André Greipel (Lotto–Soudal), Alexander Kristoff (KAT 2016), Arnaud Démare (FDJ 2016) and Nacer Bouhanni (COF 2016). Stages Prologue 6 March 2016 — Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, 6.1 km 1 on individual time trial (ITT) The prologue was a 6.1 km on individual time trial in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. It began on the bank of the Seine with a 2 km on straight road. There was then a sharp left-hand turn as the road turned away from the river; there were then several more corners and two roundabouts before the end of the stage.Roadbook 2016 9–12 The riders set off at one-minute intervals with Porte, the defending champion, the last to set off.Clarke Stuart Paris–Nice prologue start times http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/paris-nice-prologue-start-times-215202 15 April 2016 Cycling Weekly 6 March 2016 The riders who started earlier in the day were affected by rain. As the final riders set off, Cannondale's Patrick Bevin was in the lead, with a time of 7' 41". Tom Dumoulin beat this by one second, but was in turn beaten by one second by Michael Matthews, the seventh-last rider to take to the course. The final riders, including Porte and Geraint Thomas, were unable to beat Matthews's time. Thomas finished seventh, losing seven seconds to Matthews, with Porte eleventh, a further three seconds back.Clarke Stuart Michael Matthews takes surprise win in Paris–Nice prologue; Geraint Thomas seventh http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/michael-matthews-takes-surprise-win-in-paris-nice-prologue-geraint-thomas-seventh-215210 15 April 2016 Cycling Weekly 6 March 2016 Contador finished 27th, sixteen seconds behind Matthews, with Talansky and Bardet finishing even further behind. Matthews described it as "very special" to beat Dumoulin, one of the best time-triallists in the world, and said that he hoped to stay in the yellow jersey of the race leader "as long as possible".Fletcher Patrick Paris–Nice prologue: Matthews beats Dumoulin to claim yellow jersey http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/paris-nice-2016/prologue/results/ 15 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 6 March 2016 Prologue result and general classification 1 Michael Matthews AUS OBE 2016a 7' 39" yellow General classificationgreen Points classification 2 Tom Dumoulin NED GIA 2016 + 1" 3 Patrick Bevin NZL CPT 2016a + 2" 4 Jesús Herrada ESP MOV 2016 + 6" 5 Jon Izagirre ESP MOV 2016 + 6" 6 Lieuwe Westra NED AST 2016 + 7" 7 Geraint Thomas GBR SKY 2016 + 7" 8 Dries Devenyns BEL IAM 2016 + 8" 9 Sylvain Chavanel FRA DEN 2016 + 9" 10 Jérôme Coppel FRA IAM 2016 + 9" Stage 1 7 March 2016 — Condé-sur-Vesgre to Vendôme, 198 km 1 on thumb|Arnaud Démare (FDJ 2016), winner of Stage 1 (photographed in 2015) Stage 1 was a broadly flat stage that covered a 198 km on route from Condé-sur-Vesgre to Vendôme. There were no classified climbs in the first 173 km. The final 25 km, however, followed a circuit around Vendôme that included both climbs and gravel roads. The riders entered the circuit half-way round. They crossed the first gravel sector, the Chemin de Tourteline, then the Chemin du Tertre de la Motte. The second sector included a third-category climb. There were just over 3 km to the finish line at the end of the second sector. The riders then rode a complete lap of the circuit, crossing both gravel roads and the climb a second time, before reaching the stage finish.Roadbook 2016 15–18 The stage took place in difficult conditions, with snow, rain, wind and cold temperatures.Clarke Stuart The weather on stage one of Paris–Nice looks a little challenging http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/the-weather-on-stage-one-of-paris-nice-looks-a-little-challenging-215377 15 April 2016 Cycling Weekly 7 March 2016 The stage began with a four-man breakaway, formed by Thomas De Gendt (Lotto–Soudal), Steven Tronet (FVC 2016 y), Thierry Hupond (DMP 2016) and Perrig Quéméneur (DEN 2016). With the peloton not trying hard to chase them, they built a ten-minute lead by the middle of the stage. In the second half of the stage, there was some sunshine, but also strong crosswinds: with Sky, Tinkoff and Etixx–Quick-Step working hard at the front of the peloton, there were splits in the group.Ryan Barry Paris–Nice: Démare wins stage 1 in Vendôme http://www.cyclingnews.com/paris-nice/stage-1/results/ 15 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 7 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160415233645/http://www.cyclingnews.com/paris-nice/stage-1/results/ 15 April 2016 dead dmy-all Alexander Kristoff was in the second group on the road, but he was able to get back to the front as the groups came together.Clarke Stuart Arnaud Démare pips Ben Swift to the line to win stage one at Paris–Nice – Cycling Weekly http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/arnaud-demare-pips-ben-swift-to-the-line-to-win-stage-one-at-paris-nice-215429 15 April 2016 Cycling Weekly 7 March 2016 On the first gravel section, the breakaway's lead had been reduced to ten seconds and they were soon caught with Sky's Luke Rowe working at the front of the peloton. Pierre-Luc Périchon (Fortuneo–Vital Concept) attacked on the first time over the climb; he was caught by work from Orica–GreenEDGE as the riders rode through Vendôme. On the second lap, Marcel Kittel was dropped on the final climb and, despite an attack from Tony Gallopin (Lotto–Soudal) that was followed by Geraint Thomas, a large group crossed the final climb together. Around 2 km from the finish, Edward Theuns (TFR 2016) attacked and went under the fr flamme rouge alone. He was caught, however, by Sky.Arnaud Démare s'impose au sprint à Vendôme https://www.lequipe.fr/Cyclisme-sur-route/Actualites/Arnaud-demare-s-impose-au-sprint-a-vendome/641100 15 April 2016 L'Équipe 7 March 2016 fr-FR Arnaud Démare wins the sprint in Vendôme Sky's Ben Swift was the first to sprint and came close to taking the victory, but he was passed by Démare in the final metres, with Bouhanni finishing third. Michael Matthews increased his lead by winning two bonus seconds at an intermediate sprint. After finishing fifth at the end of the stage, he retained the yellow jersey; there were no significant changes to the general classification. Démare said that the stage victory was "an immense relief" after he had failed to win any races in 2015.Démare: Paris–Nice stage win is an immense relief http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/dmare-paris-nice-stage-win-is-an-immense-relief/ 15 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 8 March 2016 Result of Stage 1Paris – Nice – Stage 1 (result) http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Paris_Nice_2016_Stage_1 ProCyclingStats 15 April 2016 1 Arnaud Démare FRA FDJ 2016 4h 29' 53" 2 Ben Swift GBR SKY 2016 + 0" 3 Nacer Bouhanni FRA COF 2016 + 0" 4 Adrien Petit FRA DEN 2016 + 0" 5 Michael Matthews AUS OBE 2016a + 0" yellow General classificationgreen Points classification 6 Tom Boonen BEL EQS 2016 + 0" 7 Sep Vanmarcke BEL TLJ 2016 + 0" 8 Simon Geschke GER TGA 2016 + 0" 9 Jonas van Genechten BEL IAM 2016 + 0" 10 Geraint Thomas GBR SKY 2016 + 0"General classification after Stage 1Paris – Nice – Stage 1 (GC) http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Paris_Nice_2016_Stage_1_GC ProCyclingStats 15 April 2016 1 Michael Matthews AUS OBE 2016a 4h 37' 30" yellow General classificationgreen Points classification 2 Tom Dumoulin NED TGA 2016 + 3" 3 Patrick Bevin NZL GRS 2016a + 4" 4 Jon Izagirre ESP MOV 2016 + 8" polkadot Mountains classification 5 Geraint Thomas GBR SKY 2016 + 8" 6 Lieuwe Westra NED AST 2016 + 9" 7 Dries Devenyns BEL IAM 2016 + 10" 8 Richie Porte AUS BMC 2016 + 12" 9 Arnaud Démare FRA FDJ 2016 + 14" 10 Wilco Kelderman NED TLJ 2016 + 15" Stage 2 8 March 2016 — Contres to Commentry, 213.5 km 1 on The second road stage was held on a 213.5 km on route from Contres in Loir-et-Cher to Commentry in Allier. The route was flat for almost the entire stage, with only one third-category climb that came 50 km from the finish line. After the peloton reached Commentry, there was a lap of a 17 km on circuit with a small, uncategorised climb. The final kilometres were slightly uphill, with a 90-degree turn at a roundabout 500 m yd from the finish line.Roadbook 2016 21–25 There was again a four-main breakaway at the beginning of the stage, with Evaldas Šiškevičius (Delko–Marseille Provence KTM), Anthony Delaplace (Fortuneo–Vital Concept), Matthias Brändle (IAM Cycling) and Tsgabu Grmay (Lampre–Merida) earning a 10-minute lead by the time they had raced 20 km. This was quickly reduced to under four minutes, however, by Etixx–Quick-Step and Orica–GreenEDGE. On the climb, Delaplace won the maximum points. Grmay dropped out of the break with 30 km remaining and as the riders reached Commentry the breakaway had just a 40-second lead.Paris–Nice: Matthews awarded stage win after Bouhanni bash http://www.cyclingnews.com/paris-nice/stage-2/results/ 15 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 8 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160415234013/http://www.cyclingnews.com/paris-nice/stage-2/results/ 15 April 2016 dead dmy-all Šiškevičius and Brändle attacked at the start of the final lap, with Delaplace unable to follow, but with 10 km remaining they were caught by the peloton. In the final 2 km, Cofidis came to the front on behalf of Bouhanni and gave him a good lead-out. Bouhanni followed the wheel of Christophe Laporte and opened his sprint with 200 m yd remaining. He was on the right-hand side of the road, with Michael Matthews coming up on his left. In the final 100 m, Bouhanni drifted to the left and leaned into Matthews; the two riders nearly crashed. Bouhanni crossed the line first, with Matthews just beating Niccolò Bonifazio (Trek–Segafredo) for second place, but the result was changed shortly after the stage. Bouhanni was relegated to third place after the jury decided that he had driven the sprint dangerously, giving Matthews the stage victory and putting Bonifazio into second. Alexander Kristoff led the rest of the field home, one second behind. Marcel Kittel, one of the favourites for the stage victory, finished 65th.Windsor Richard Michael Matthews takes Paris–Nice stage two win in controversial finish http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/michael-matthews-takes-paris-nice-stage-two-win-in-controversial-finish-215655 15 April 2016 Cycling Weekly Immediate Media Company 8 March 2016Irregular sprinting costs Bouhanni a stage win at Paris–Nice http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/irregular-sprinting-costs-bouhanni-a-stage-win-at-paris-nice/ 15 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 8 March 2016 Result of Stage 2Paris – Nice – Stage 2 (result) http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Paris_Nice_2016_Stage_2 ProCyclingStats 15 April 2016 1 Michael Matthews AUS OBE 2016a 5h 04' 26" yellow General classificationgreen Points classification 2 Niccolò Bonifazio ITA TFR 2016 + 0" 3 Nacer Bouhanni FRA COF 2016 + 0" 4 Alexander Kristoff NOR KAT 2016 + 1" 5 Arnaud Démare FRA FDJ 2016 + 1" 6 Ben Swift GBR SKY 2016 + 1" 7 André Greipel GER LTS 2016 + 1" 8 Wouter Wippert NED CPT 2016a + 1" 9 Adrien Petit FRA DEN 2016 + 1" 10 Jonas van Genechten BEL IAM 2016 + 1"General classification after Stage 2Paris – Nice – Stage 2 (GC) http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Paris_Nice_2016_Stage_2_GC ProCyclingStats 15 April 2016 1 Michael Matthews AUS OBE 2016a 9h 41' 46" yellow General classificationgreen Points classification 2 Tom Dumoulin NED TGA 2016 + 14" 3 Patrick Bevin NZL CPT 2016a + 19" 4 Jon Izagirre ESP MOV 2016 + 19" polkadot Mountains classification 5 Geraint Thomas GBR SKY 2016 + 19" 6 Lieuwe Westra NED AST 2016 + 24" 7 Dries Devenyns BEL IAM 2016 + 25" 8 Arnaud Démare FRA FDJ 2016 + 25" 9 Rafał Majka POL TNK 2016 + 27" 10 Richie Porte AUS BMC 2016 + 27" Stage 3 9 March 2016 — Cusset to Mont Brouilly fr, 168 km 1 on The third stage was scheduled to follow a 168 km on route that took the riders east from Cusset in Allier to the climb of Mont Brouilly in Rhône. The route crossed five categorised climbs in the first 120 km, then entered a circuit that took the riders on two climbs of Mont Brouilly, a 3 km on climb at 7.7% with the final 1000 m yd at 9.3%.Roadbook 2016 27–30 A group of sixteen riders escaped early in the stage. Alexis Gougeard (ALM 2016 y) attacked along with Laurent Didier (Trek–Segafredo) and Alexey Lutsenko (Astana). They were joined by Jesús Herrada (MOV 2016) and Thomas De Gendt (Lotto–Soudal) as the rest of the group was caught by the peloton.Paris–Nice: Matthews remains in control after snow forces stage 3 cancellation http://www.cyclingnews.com/paris-nice/stage-3/results/ 15 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 9 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160415234329/http://www.cyclingnews.com/paris-nice/stage-3/results/ 15 April 2016 dead dmy-all The stage took place in cold, wintry conditions, with increasing quantities of snow falling and temperatures as low as -5 C recorded. At the top of the third climb of the day was the feedzone and the racing was suspended there. It was initially intended to restart some way down the road, but several minutes later the decision was taken to neutralise the stage. The results did not count for the general classification, but points were awarded for the intermediate sprints and mountains that had already been contested.Frattini Kirsten Paris–Nice stage 3 cancelled due to snow http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/paris-nice-stage-3-cancelled-due-to-snow/ 15 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 9 March 2016Clarke Stuart Paris–Nice stage three cancelled due to adverse weather conditions http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/paris-nice-stage-three-cancelled-due-to-adverse-weather-conditions-215902 15 April 2016 Cycling Weekly 9 March 2016 Stage 4 10 March 2016 — Juliénas to Romans-sur-Isère, 195.5 km 1 on Stage 4 took the peloton 195.5 km south from Juliénas in Rhône to Romans-sur-Isère in the Drôme department. There were three categorised climbs in the stage: two third-category and one second-category. The final climb came 22.5 km from the finish.Roadbook 2016 36 The early breakaway included four riders. These were Thomas Voeckler (Direct Énergie), Matthew Brammeier (Dimension Data), Florian Vachon (Fortuneo–Vital Concept) and Evaldas Šiškevičius (Delko–Marseille Provence KTM). They were not allowed to build a large advantage, with the peloton keeping them just a few minutes ahead. The main action of the day came on the second-category final climb. In the breakaway, now just a minute ahead, Voeckler attacked and dropped the other breakaway riders. Nathan Haas (Dimension Data) attacked the peloton at the top of the climb, but made a mistake on a corner and ended up in a field. On the climb, Marcel Kittel and Arnaud Démare were dropped, with Démare then pulling out of the race. Geraint Thomas was one of several riders to crash on the climb, but he was able to return to the peloton.Weislo Laura Paris–Nice: Bouhanni wins stage 4 in Romans-sur-Isère http://www.cyclingnews.com/paris-nice/stage-4/results/ 16 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 10 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160415234652/http://www.cyclingnews.com/paris-nice/stage-4/results/ 15 April 2016 dead dmy-all After the climb, with Voeckler being caught, Sylvain Chavanel (Direct Énergie), Sep Vanmarcke (TLJ 2016) and Delio Fernández (Delko–Marseille Provence KTM) attacked and built a lead; with 7 km remaining they had a 15-second lead. Katusha and Cofidis rode very hard in the peloton to bring them back, but the breakaway was finally caught with less than 1 km remaining. Cofidis again gave Bouhanni a strong lead-out and he comfortably won the sprint. Edward Theuns (Trek–Segafredo) finished second, with Greipel third. Matthews finished fifth to retain his lead of both the general and points classifications.Clarke Stuart Nacer Bouhanni wins stage four of Paris–Nice; Michael Matthews retains race lead – Cycling Weekly http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/nacer-bouhanni-wins-stage-four-of-paris-nice-michael-matthews-retains-race-lead-216113 16 April 2016 Cycling Weekly 10 March 2016 Bouhanni said after the stage that his victory made up for his disqualification on stage 3.Bouhanni: Now I can focus on my victory and move forward http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bouhanni-now-i-can-focus-on-my-victory-and-move-forward/ 16 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 10 March 2016 Result of Stage 4Paris – Nice – Stage 4 (result) http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Paris_Nice_2016_Stage_4 ProCyclingStats 15 April 2016 1 Nacer Bouhanni FRA COF 2016 4h 42' 29" 2 Edward Theuns BEL TFR 2016 + 0" 3 André Greipel GER LTS 2016 + 0" 4 Alexander Kristoff NOR KAT 2016 + 0" 5 Michael Matthews AUS OBE 2016a + 0" yellow General classificationgreen Points classification 6 Ben Swift GBR SKY 2016 + 0" 7 Nikolas Maes BEL EQS 2016 + 0" 8 Tony Gallopin FRA LTS 2016 + 0" 9 Youcef Reguigui ALG DDD 2016 + 0" 10 Roy Curvers NED TGA 2016 + 0"General classification after Stage 4Paris – Nice – Stage 4 (GC) http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Paris_Nice_2016_Stage_4_GC ProCyclingStats 15 April 2016 1 Michael Matthews AUS OBE 2016a 14h 24' 15" yellow General classificationgreen Points classification 2 Tom Dumoulin NED TGA 2016 + 14" 3 Patrick Bevin NZL CPT 2016a + 19" 4 Jon Izagirre ESP MOV 2016 + 19" 5 Geraint Thomas GBR SKY 2016 + 19" 6 Lieuwe Westra NED AST 2016 + 24" 7 Dries Devenyns BEL IAM 2016 + 25" 8 Rafał Majka POL TNK 2016 + 27" 9 Richie Porte AUS BMC 2016 + 27" 10 Tim Wellens BEL LTS 2016 + 28" Stage 5 11 March 2016 — Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Salon-de-Provence, 198 km 1 on thumb|On Stage 5, the climb of Mont Ventoux finished at Chalet Reynard, midway up the mountain The fifth road stage followed a 198 km on route from Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Salon-de-Provence in Bouches-du-Rhône. The stage included five climbs, the most significant of which was the partial climb of Mont Ventoux. This was a first-category climb, taking the riders 9.5 km at an average gradient of 9.3%. Rather than riding all the way to the summit, the riders descended after Chalet Reynard. This climb came with more than 125 km remaining in the stage. Before Mont Ventoux was a third-category climb; afterwards there were three second-category climbs. The last of these came with 38.5 km to the finish line; this last section was mostly flat, although there were two sharp left-hand turns in the final 1000 m yd.Roadbook 2016 42–43 The early breakaway included Stijn Vandenbergh (Etixx–Quick-Step), Arnaud Courteille (FDJ), Lars Boom (Astana), Wouter Wippert (Cannondale), Edward Theuns (Trek–Segafredo), Matthias Brändle (IAM), Antoine Duchesne (DEN 2016 y) and Jesús Herrada (Movistar). In the first 30 km, their lead extended to over eleven minutes. On the climb of Mont Ventoux, Brändle was dropped from the breakaway, while Bouhanni, Kittel and Greipel were among those dropped from the peloton. Greipel was among seven riders to drop out during the stage. Wippert and Theuns were next to be dropped from the breakaway; Boom and Vandenbergh were also temporarily dropped but were able to rejoin the front group, although the group's lead was reduced to just over three minutes by the third climb of the day. Herrada won the first two climbs of the day and came second on the following two to take the lead in the mountains classification, then dropped back to the peloton.Paris–Nice: Lutsenko wins on Ventoux stage http://www.cyclingnews.com/paris-nice/stage-5/results/ 16 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 11 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160413222800/http://www.cyclingnews.com/paris-nice/stage-5/results/ 13 April 2016 dead dmy-all Duchesne attacked on the penultimate climb, the Côte de la Roque-d'Anthéron, and had a 33-second lead over the peloton. On the descent from the final climb, Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) attacked from the peloton and came across to Duchesne. Lutsenko quickly dropped him and, with 15 km remaining, had built a 39-second lead, putting him into the virtual lead of the race. The chase only began in earnest in the final 3 km, with Katusha chasing on behalf of Alexander Kristoff, but the peloton were unable to catch Lutsenko and he crossed the line for a solo victory, 21 seconds ahead of the chasing group. Kristoff won the sprint for second, with Matthews finishing third. Lutsenko moved into second place overall, six seconds behind Matthews.Clarke Stuart Alexey Lutsenko wins Paris–Nice stage five after 20km solo attack http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/alexey-lutsenko-wins-paris-nice-stage-five-after-20km-solo-attack-216265 16 April 2016 Cycling Weekly 11 March 2016Lutsenko foils bunch sprint at Paris–Nice http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/03/news/road/lutsenko-spoils-sprinters-plans-at-paris-nice_398186 16 April 2016 VeloNews Competitor Group, Inc. 11 March 2016 14 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160414165558/http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/03/news/road/lutsenko-spoils-sprinters-plans-at-paris-nice_398186 dead After the stage, Matthews said that he felt he could win the overall general classification. He said, "I think if I can survive Saturday [Stage 5], I can win. With the way I’ve been climbing, I think it's possible." Contador, meanwhile, said that the final climb of Stage 6 was not very steep and that it might be difficult to put significant time into Matthews.Hood Andrew Don't be shocked if Matthews wins Paris–Nice http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/03/news/matthews-in-pole-position-for-paris-nice-finale_398264 16 April 2016 VeloNews Competitor Group, Inc. 11 March 2016 14 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160414063648/http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/03/news/matthews-in-pole-position-for-paris-nice-finale_398264 dead Result of Stage 5Paris – Nice – Stage 5 (result) http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Paris_Nice_2016_Stage_5 ProCyclingStats 15 April 2016 1 Alexey Lutsenko KAZ AST 2016 5h 00' 26" 2 Alexander Kristoff NOR KAT 2016 + 21" 3 Michael Matthews AUS OBE 2016a + 21" yellow General classificationgreen Points classification 4 Davide Cimolai ITA LAM 2016 + 21" 5 Sep Vanmarcke BEL TLJ 2016 + 21" 6 Pieter Serry BEL EQS 2016 + 21" 7 Vicente Reynés ESP IAM 2016 + 21" 8 Leonardo Duque COL DMP 2016 + 21" 9 Oliver Naesen BEL IAM 2016 + 21" 10 Arnold Jeannesson FRA COF 2016 + 21"General classification after Stage 5Paris – Nice – Stage 5 (GC) http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Paris_Nice_2016_Stage_5_GC ProCyclingStats 15 April 2016 1 Michael Matthews AUS OBE 2016a 19h 24' 58" yellow General classificationgreen Points classification 2 Alexey Lutsenko KAZ AST 2016 + 6" 3 Tom Dumoulin NED TGA 2016 + 18" 4 Patrick Bevin NZL CPT 2016a + 23" 5 Jon Izagirre ESP MOV 2016 + 23" 6 Geraint Thomas GBR SKY 2016 + 23" 7 Lieuwe Westra NED AST 2016 + 28" 8 Dries Devenyns BEL IAM 2016 + 29" 9 Rafał Majka POL TNK 2016 + 31" 10 Richie Porte AUS BMC 2016 + 31" Stage 6 12 March 2016 — Nice to Madone d'Utelle, 177 km 1 on thumb|The summit of the climb of the Madone d'Utelle. The riders approached the summit from the far side. The penultimate stage of the race took the riders 177 km through the Alpes-Maritimes. The route started on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, then left the city to the north for a course that included seven categorised climbs. The first 50 km of racing crossed two second-category climbs, which were followed by a 35 km on section of flat roads and descents. This was followed by another second-category climb and a first-category climb, the 8.5 km on Côte d'Ascros with its average gradient of 5.4%. After a long descent came two more second-category climbs, bringing the riders to Utelle. They had a summit finish at the shrine of the Madone d'Utelle above the city, with a 15.3 km on climb at an average gradient of 5.7%. The climb was fairly regular, but had two sections above 9%, including the final 300 m yd.Roadbook 2016 45–48 The day's breakaway included nine riders. These were Antoine Duchesne (Direct Énergie), Florian Vachon (Fortuneo–Vital Concept), Niki Terpstra (Etixx–Quick-Step), Cyril Gautier (AG2R La Mondiale), Grégory Rast (Trek–Segafredo), Evaldas Šiškevičius (Delko–Marseille Provence KTM), Tsgabu Grmay (Lampre–Merida), Andrew Talansky (Cannondale) and Thomas De Gendt (Lotto–Soudal). The gap never exceeded two and a half minutes, with Tinkoff chasing hard on behalf of Contador and, with 55 km remaining, was just one minute. De Gendt won the first four climbs to move into second in the mountains classification, while Rast and Šiškevičius were dropped. Talansky crashed on one of the descents and abandoned the race with a wrist injury. Vachon and Duchesne dropped the rest of the breakaway and continued alone, but with 35 km Duchesne was left alone, just over a minute ahead of the peloton. He won the fifth and sixth climbs of the day and moved into the lead of the mountains classification.Paris–Nice stage 6: Zakarin wins on La Madone d'Utelle http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/paris-nice-2016/stage-6/results/ 16 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 12 March 2016Elton-Walters Jack Geraint Thomas moves into yellow at Paris–Nice, but just misses out on stage win http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/geraint-thomas-moves-into-yellow-at-paris-nice-but-just-misses-out-on-stage-win-216308 16 April 2016 Cycling Weekly 12 March 2016 As the riders approached the final climb of the day, Sky came to the front of the peloton. With 15 km remaining, Duchesne was caught, and the peloton was reduced to 30 riders. Matthews, the race leader, was among those dropped from the leading group. With 10 km remaining, Rafał Majka (Tinkoff) attacked, with Contador following; this caused the group to halve in size and Sky were reduced to two riders, Thomas and Sergio Henao. Porte, Dumoulin, Izagirre, Bardet and Katusha's Ilnur Zakarin were among those left in the group. With 5.5 km remaining, Majka pulled off and a group of five leaders formed: Contador, Thomas, Henao, Porte and Zakarin. Contador and Porte attempted attacks but were unable to escape the group, with Henao supporting Thomas. In the final kilometre, Porte was dropped and Zakarin accelerated. Thomas and Contador followed, but Zakarin took the stage victory. Thomas finished second, on the same time as Zakarin, and Contador was a second back in third. Thomas therefore moved into the race lead, fifteen seconds ahead of Contador. Result of Stage 6https://dataride.uci.ch/Results/iframe/EventResults/68010?competitionId=3292&disciplineId=10 Paris - Nice (FRA/UWT): 12 Mar 2016 - Stage 6: Nice - La Madone d'Utelle UCI World Tour Infostrada Sports; Union Cycliste Internationale 12 March 2016 14 September 2018 1 Ilnur Zakarin RUS KAT 2016 4h 45' 11" 2 Geraint Thomas GBR SKY 2016 + 0" 3 Alberto Contador ESP TNK 2016 + 1" 4 Richie Porte AUS BMC 2016 + 7" 5 Sergio Henao COL SKY 2016 + 10" DSQ Simon Yates GBR OBE 2016a + 20" 7 Rui Costa POR LAM 2016 + 31" 8 Romain Bardet FRA ALM 2016 + 31" 9 Jon Izagirre ESP MOV 2016 + 31" 10 Tony Gallopin FRA LTS 2016 + 31"General classification after Stage 6https://dataride.uci.ch/Results/iframe/EventResults/68011?competitionId=3292&disciplineId=10 Paris - Nice (FRA/UWT): 12 Mar 2016 - Stage 6: Nice - La Madone d'Utelle (General) UCI World Tour Infostrada Sports; Union Cycliste Internationale 12 March 2016 14 September 2018 1 Geraint Thomas GBR SKY 2016 24h 10' 26" yellow General classification 2 Alberto Contador ESP TNK 2016 + 15" 3 Ilnur Zakarin RUS KAT 2016 + 20" 4 Richie Porte AUS BMC 2016 + 21" 5 Tom Dumoulin NED TGA 2016 + 32" 6 Jon Izagirre ESP MOV 2016 + 37" 7 Sergio Henao COL SKY 2016 + 39" DSQ Simon Yates GBR OBE 2016a + 44" 9 Tony Gallopin FRA LTS 2016 + 51" 10 Romain Bardet FRA ALM 2016 + 1' 00" Stage 7 13 March 2016 — Nice to Nice, 134 km 1 on thumb|Profile of Stage 7 thumb|upright|Geraint Thomas (Team Sky), wearing the yellow jersey of the race leader The final stage was a 134 km on loop that started and ended on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. The route took the riders out of Nice to the north. They crossed two third-category climbs, then came back south for two second-category climbs. The final 64 km included two first-category climbs. The first was the Côte de Peille, a 6.5 km on climb at 6.9%. The riders then descended into the outskirts of Nice. Here they turned back inland for a final climb, the 7.7 km of the Col d'Èze at an average gradient of 5.7%. They then descended back into Nice, where the final 2 km were fairly flat, before ended on the Promenade des Anglais at the Albert I Garden fr Jardin Albert 1er.Roadbook 2016 51–54 The stage began with an 18-rider breakaway within the first five minutes of racing. This included Contador's teammate Robert Kišerlovski and this group was joined shortly afterwards by several more riders, including Yuri Trofimov, another Tinkoff rider, while others were dropped and returned to the peloton. Thomas De Gendt and Antoine Duchesne were again in the breakaway; Duchesne won the first four climbs of the day, with De Gendt second on each occasion. Duchesne won enough points to secure victory in the mountains classification.Thomas wins Paris–Nice despite Contador attack http://www.cyclingnews.com/paris-nice/stage-7/results/ 16 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 13 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160317111912/http://www.cyclingnews.com/paris-nice/stage-7/results/ 17 March 2016 dead dmy-allThomas survives thrilling finale to win Paris–Nice http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/03/news/road/398408_398408 16 April 2016 VeloNews Competitor Group, Inc. 13 March 2016 13 October 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20161013171603/http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/03/news/road/398408_398408 dead On the Côte de Peille, Contador attacked in the peloton. He quickly built an advantage, with Kiserlovski and Trofimov dropping back from the breakaway to assist him. They built a lead of around a minute, but Team Sky pulled the lead back and Contador's group was caught by the foot of the Col d'Èze, with only Tim Wellens (Lotto–Soudal) ahead. Romain Bardet attacked, but Contador chased him down. Contador himself attacked several times, with Sky's Sergio Henao and the Orica–GreenEDGE team chasing him down; Thomas appeared to be struggling. In the final part of the climb, Contador got away, initially with Majka and then with Richie Porte. At the top of the climb, they caught Wellens and had a 30-second advantage over the chasing group.Clarke Stuart Geraint Thomas stages remarkable comeback to hold off Alberto Contador and win Paris–Nice http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/geraint-thomas-stages-remarkable-comeback-to-hold-off-alberto-contador-and-win-paris-nice-216402 16 April 2016 Cycling Weekly 13 March 2016 Thomas had been dropped not only by Contador but also by the first chasing group, which included Ilnur Zakarin. Thomas was joined, however, by Sergio Henao. The two Sky riders then joined up with Tony Gallopin (Lotto–Soudal) and chased hard throughout the 15 km on descent. They caught the first chasing group on the descent, forming a ten-man group behind Contador, Porte and Wellens. The gap was gradually reduced and was just five seconds by the finish. Wellens won the three-man sprint, with Contador second and Porte third. Gallopin won the sprint for fourth place. Thomas therefore won the overall general classification, beating Contador by four seconds. Result of Stage 7https://dataride.uci.ch/Results/iframe/EventResults/67795?competitionId=3292&disciplineId=10 Paris - Nice (FRA/UWT): 13 Mar 2016 - Stage 7: Nice - Nice UCI World Tour Infostrada Sports; Union Cycliste Internationale 13 March 2016 14 September 2018 1 Tim Wellens BEL LTS 2016 3h 16' 09" 2 Alberto Contador ESP TNK 2016 + 0" 3 Richie Porte AUS BMC 2016 + 0" 4 Tony Gallopin FRA LTS 2016 + 5" DSQ Simon Yates GBR OBE 2016a + 5" 6 Arnold Jeannesson FRA COF 2016 + 5" 7 Rui Costa POR LAM 2016 + 5" 8 Jesús Herrada ESP MOV 2016 + 5" 9 Romain Bardet FRA ALM 2016 + 5" 10 Jon Izagirre ESP MOV 2016 + 5"Final general classificationhttps://dataride.uci.ch/Results/iframe/EventResults/67796?competitionId=3292&disciplineId=10 Paris - Nice (FRA/UWT): 06 Mar-13 Mar 2016 - General classification: Conflans-Saint-Honoré - Nice UCI World Tour Infostrada Sports; Union Cycliste Internationale 13 March 2016 14 September 2018 1 Geraint Thomas GBR SKY 2016 27h 26' 40" yellow General classification 2 Alberto Contador ESP TNK 2016 + 4" 3 Richie Porte AUS BMC 2016 + 12" 4 Ilnur Zakarin RUS KAT 2016 + 20" 5 Jon Izagirre ESP MOV 2016 + 37" 6 Sergio Henao COL SKY 2016 + 44" DSQ Simon Yates GBR OBE 2016a + 44" 8 Tony Gallopin FRA LTS 2016 + 51" 9 Romain Bardet FRA ALM 2016 + 1' 00" 10 Rui Costa POR LAM 2016 + 1' 07" Post-race analysis thumb|upright|Antoine Duchesne (DEN 2016), wearing the polka dot jersey of the winner of the mountains classification Thomas said after the race that his victory demonstrated that he could compete with the top stage racers in the world. He said that Henao's presence had been crucial to his victory and that, before the stage, he had chosen a 54-tooth chainring to help him chase back on if he was dropped on the final climb.Thomas: This confirms I can be up there with the best stage racers http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/thomas-this-confirms-i-can-be-up-there-with-the-best-stage-racers/ 16 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 13 March 2016 He also said that he owed Gallopin "a few beers" for his assistance in chasing back to the leading groups on the final stage. Gallopin, meanwhile said that he had been happy to contribute to the chase of the second group on the final stage in order to have both a man in the leading group and in the chasing group. He added that he was also glad to help Thomas as the two men were friends and exchanged text messages whenever Thomas's Wales played Gallopin's France at rugby.Gallopin happy to help Thomas in Paris–Nice finale http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gallopin-happy-to-help-thomas-in-paris-nice-finale/ 16 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 14 March 2016 Contador's approach to Stage 7 was described by Cycling Weekly as a "tactical masterpiece". Contador himself said that the team had executed their strategy perfectly. His directeur sportif, Sean Yates, said that the team were "nearly there" in their attempt to take the overall victory and suggested that the cancellation of Stage 3 may have prevented Contador from winning the race.Paris–Nice: We executed the plan perfectly, says Contador http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/paris-nice-we-executed-the-plan-perfectly-says-contador/ 16 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 13 March 2016 Richie Porte said that his performance, especially in the final stage, had given him confidence going into the rest of the season. He said that he had not been sure of his form going into the stage and that it was a good sign for the future, as Paris–Nice had been very difficult.Porte rides onto podium at Paris–Nice with final-day attacks http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/porte-rides-onto-podium-at-paris-nice-with-final-day-attacks/ 16 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 13 March 2016 UCI World Tour standings Porte's third-place finish was his second consecutive podium place in the season-long UCI World Tour competition, following his second-place finish at the Tour Down Under. He moved up into first place overall, while Henao moved up from third to second, with the previous leader, Simon Gerrans (Orica–GreenEDGE) dropping to third. Thomas moved into fourth and Contador into fifth, with Zakarin and Izagirre also moving into the top ten. Australia remained top of the nations' ranking, while Sky moved to the top of the teams' ranking.UCI WorldTour Ranking - 2016 http://www.uci.html.infostradasports.com/cache/2/TheASP.asp@PageID%3D102007&SportID%3D102&CompetitionID%3D24055&SeasonID%3D490&EventID%3D12146&GenderID%3D1&ClassID%3D1&EventPhaseID%3D1444755&Phase1ID%3D1444784&TaalCode%3D2&StyleID%3D0&Cache%3D2.html?934719 uci.ch Union Cycliste Internationale 16 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160416161702/http://www.uci.html.infostradasports.com/cache/2/TheASP.asp%40PageID%3D102007%26SportID%3D102%26CompetitionID%3D24055%26SeasonID%3D490%26EventID%3D12146%26GenderID%3D1%26ClassID%3D1%26EventPhaseID%3D1444755%26Phase1ID%3D1444784%26TaalCode%3D2%26StyleID%3D0%26Cache%3D2.html?934719 16 April 2016 13 March 2016 dead UCI World Tour standings on 13 March 2016 yes 1 Richie Porte AUS BMC 2016 159 2 Sergio Henao COL SKY 2016 115 3 Simon Gerrans AUS OBE 2016a 112 4 Geraint Thomas GBR SKY 2016 104 5 Alberto Contador ESP TNK 2016 86 6 Jay McCarthy AUS TNK 2016 68 7 Ilnur Zakarin RUS KAT 2016 66 8 Michael Woods CAN CPT 2016a 54 9 Jon Izagirre ESP MOV 2016 51 10 Rubén Fernández ESP LAM 2016 40 Classification leadership table thumb|upright|Michael Matthews, wearing the green jersey as leader of the points classification after Stage 6 In the 2016 Paris–Nice, three jerseys were awarded. The general classification was calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage. Time bonuses were awarded to the first three finishers on road stages (Stages 1–7): the stage winner won a ten-second bonus, with six and four seconds for the second and third riders respectively. Bonus seconds were also awarded to the first three riders at intermediate sprints (three seconds for the winner of the sprint, two seconds for the rider in second and one second for the rider in third). The leader of the general classification received a yellow jersey.Roadbook 2016 56–57 + Points for stage victory Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points awarded 15 12 9 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The second classification was the points classification. Riders were awarded points for finishing in the top ten in a stage. Unlike in the points classification in the Tour de France, the winners of all stages were awarded the same number of points. Points were also won in intermediate sprints; three points for crossing the sprint line first, two points for second place, and one for third. The leader of the points classification was awarded a green jersey.Roadbook 2016 56 There was also a mountains classification, in which points were awarded for reaching the top of a climb before other riders. Each climb was categorised as either first, second, or third-category, with more points available for the more difficult, higher-categorised climbs. For first-category climbs, the top seven riders earned points; on second-category climbs, five riders won points; on third-category climbs, only the top three riders earned points. The leadership of the mountains classification was marked by a white jersey with red polka-dots.Roadbook 2016 56 There was also a classification for teams, in which the times of the best three cyclists in a team on each stage were added together; the leading team at the end of the race was the team with the lowest cumulative time.Roadbook 2016 56 Stage Winner General classificationyellow General classification Points classificationgreen Points classification Mountains classificationpolkadot Mountains classification Teams classification PMichael Matthews Michael Matthews Michael Matthewsnot awarded Movistar Team 1Arnaud Démare Jon Izagirre 2Michael Matthews 3Stage cancelled 4 Nacer BouhanniEvaldas Šiškevičius 5 Alexey LutsenkoJesús HerradaAstana Pro Team 6 Ilnur ZakarinGeraint ThomasAntoine DuchesneTeam Sky 7 Tim WellensMovistar Team Final Geraint Thomas Michael Matthews Antoine Duchesne Movistar Team In stage one, Tom Dumoulin, who was second in the points classification, wore the green jersey, because Michael Matthews wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification.Classifications prologue – Conflans-Sainte-Honorine > Conflans-Sainte-Honorine http://www.letour.fr/paris-nice/2016/us/prologue/classifications.html Paris–Nice 2016 Amaury Sport Organisation 16 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160409080215/http://www.letour.fr/paris-nice/2016/us/prologue/classifications.html 9 April 2016 dead dmy-all In stages two, three and four, Arnaud Démare, who was second in the points classification, wore the green jersey, because Matthews wore the yellow jersey.Stage 4 – Juliénas > Romans-sur-Isère http://www.letour.fr/paris-nice/2016/us/stage-4.html Paris–Nice Amaury Sport Organisation 9 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160313075228/http://www.letour.fr/paris-nice/2016/us/stage-4.html 13 March 2016 dead dmy-all In stages five and six, Nacer Bouhanni, who was second in the points classification, wore the green jersey, because Matthews wore the yellow jersey.Stage 5 – Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux > Salon-de-Provence http://www.letour.fr/paris-nice/2016/us/stage-5/classifications.html Paris–Nice Amaury Sport Organisation 9 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160311131830/http://www.letour.fr/paris-nice/2016/us/stage-5/classifications.html 11 March 2016 dead dmy-all References Sources Paris–Nice 74e édition: Livre de Route Paris–Nice 74th edition: Roadbook fr Amaury Sport Organisation 2016 Paris Roadbook 2016 Footnotes 30em External links http://www.letour.fr/paris-nice/2016/us/ Paris-Nice Category:March 2016 sports events in France Category:Paris–Nice