00:00Welcome to stage two of Paris-Nice, now with AI-free commentary.
00:05It's another one for the sprinters on a flatter course than yesterday.
00:08Luke Lamperty is the early race leader after seeing off some of the more fancied names
00:12on stage one and even if it's a very different final today, the young American is confident
00:17he can be up there once again.
00:21I think I have a realistic chance today and I back myself here, I'm going well and I think
00:25for sure I will go full gas for it, I think it's still a good sprint for me and we
00:30have
00:31a good team so I trust the guys and we'll be there.
00:34Binyam Gamay was one of the riders nursing regrets yesterday after getting boxed in behind Lamperty
00:39but the former Tour de France green jersey has another chance today.
00:45I just regret why I chose the right side because I have enough space on the left side, it is
00:52what it is, you know, I just, there is no losing, only learning so yeah, I hope to not do
00:57this
00:57mistake again.
00:58Well there aren't too many top sprinters on the start list of this Paris-Nice because,
01:03as Phil Bauhaus explains, the opportunities for the fastmen are few and far between.
01:09Yeah, it's super important to arrive in a good position last 3K. Today is all the pressure
01:16because it's the only chance for me and yeah, the rest of the week you won't see me in front.
01:24Well this is indeed the final opportunity for a bunch sprint this week, 187K between Epon
01:30and Montalgie. Today's three minor climbs come a long way from the finish line and with
01:35clement weather at the start of this Paris-Nice, the wind shouldn't be an issue. So, can Lamperty
01:40double up, or at least keep that yellow and white jersey for another day.
01:47By the time the live pictures began there were just two men in the breakaway, Caspar Pedersen
01:52and Matisse Lebert resuming their battle for King of the Mountains points. Jasha Suttelin
01:56of Jayco Alula and Lebert's team mate Matteo Versche had already dropped back to the peloton,
02:01which was being paced by the sprint teams. There was a distinct lack of urgency in the first
02:06few hours, with the average speed barely creeping above 40km an hour. Pedersen and Lebert, both
02:12in the breakaway yesterday, had a fairly modest lead of a minute and 20 seconds with around
02:1780K to go. And in this scenario, the KOM points were their only realistic objective.
02:25If we get a strong breakaway, perhaps we can keep going after the climbs, but there's no
02:29point in wasting energy. We're an attacking team, so if we have an opening, we might push
02:34on until the finish.
02:37Things didn't really unfold as Lebert might have hoped. It was fairly straightforward for
02:41the sprint teams like NSN and EF to control the two men out front.
02:47Like yesterday, Lebert was struggling to match Pedersen in the uphill sprints. The Dane took
02:52maximum points on the first two climbs. The Dane's final skirmish between the two would
02:57take place on the Côte du Présois.
03:02Immediate acceleration from Pedersen, off the wheel of Mathis Lebert. Another three points
03:07into his pocket. Picking up nine points in total, he puts him onto 18 points in the King
03:13Mountains competition.
03:18Kasper Pedersen taking a maximum haul on this second stage and ensuring that he'll stay in
03:23the polka dot jersey for the next two days. That was job done for the two breakaway riders,
03:28who were slowly reeled back in by the bunch.
03:32Brakeaway over, with the best part of 60km still to ride.
03:37Next up was the intermediate sprint in Fromont, 46km from the line. And with 6, 4 and 2 bonus
03:44seconds available, it wasn't just the sprinters who were getting involved.
03:50Look at Juan Ayuso, who's coming up fast on the left-hand side. Don't forget bonus seconds
03:54are available in the general classification. Wow, Vito Bright taking that one, but Ayuso even
04:00Romeo and Luke Lampertty all getting themselves involved there.
04:06Juan Ayuso pouncing to take four seconds behind Vito Bright because he knows that every second's
04:11going to count in the fight for overall victory.
04:14Bright, meanwhile, putting level on time with the race leader Lampertty.
04:18The pelotons starting to get game faces on as they swept towards the finishing town across
04:22these wide open plains. No echelons today, but there was a crash with 33km to go. Everybody
04:29luckily back on their feet, but a couple of the sprinters were held up. Phil Bauhaus and
04:34Case Boll, a stage winner at Paris-Nice in 2021.
04:38Well, Bauhaus just working his way back to the bunch. But Boll's crash apparently changed
04:43the plans over at Decathlon CMA CGM because Dan Holler launched a solo attack with just over
04:4820km to go. The big Dutch ruler, who joined from Lidl Trek over the winter, quickly opened
04:53a gap of 25 seconds. And given his time trialling prowess, he was no doubt setting off a few alarm
04:59bells. The sprint seems chasing furiously, but the Dutch time trial champion's not an easy man to
05:04catch, and it would come down to the final kilometre.
05:08A brave, bold effort from Dan Holler, the Dutchman Ford Decathlon CMA CGM. But this is going to come
05:13down to a bunch sprint into Montagy. 187 kilometres of racing, and now it's Matteo Trentin who starts to
05:21open up the tap. Here on the left-hand side, it's XTS Astana who start to move forward with Mike
05:26Turneson, and he's got his teammate on the wheel. And that is Max Cantor, the German rider who's looking
05:32to try and win the gallop here. Down the centre of the road, Laurence Pitti starts to move forward,
05:37as does Unuex Mobility. It's Cantor who's coming to the finish line here in Paris-Nice,
05:42in Montagy, and it's Max Cantor who wins the gallop.
05:48An emotional moment for Max Cantor, landing his first World Tour victory at the age of 28. The German
05:56didn't have the easiest month of February after coming second at the Trofeo Palma, but today he finally
06:01took the big win that he has been chasing for many years.
06:09Yeah, it's unbelievable. I mean, I've been waiting so long for this. Yeah, I have to say thanks to
06:16the team. The last couple of weeks were not my best. I had a few sad picks, but yeah, it's
06:24kind of a
06:25dream of winning this race. It's such a high prestige and I'm really happy.
06:33Cantor taking his third career win and a fifth of the season for XDS Astana,
06:37ahead of Laurence Pitti and Jasper Steuven. The French champion Dorian Godon was fourth,
06:42ahead of Lamperty.
06:46The American keeps hold of the race lead then by virtue of better finishing positions than Vito
06:50Bratt. The Belgian second on the same time with Pitti third at six seconds.
06:57Lamperty has increased his lead in the green jersey standings to 13 points over Bratt,
07:02with Cantor surging into third. Guillemai, 42nd today, is down in ninth.
07:07A perfect outing for Kasper Pedersen, who took a maximum haul on the climbs.
07:12The dam will stay in polka dots for at least the next two days.
07:20And Lamperty is also the best young rider by six seconds from Pitti and eight from Ayuso.
07:26Everything will be shaken up tomorrow though in the team time trial,
07:30a crucial day for the GC hopefuls. Join us for that on Tuesday and thanks for watching.
07:41I'm going for a while.
07:42I'm going for a minute.
07:42I'm going for a Hindi and this one.
07:44I'm going for a minute.
07:44Bye.
07:44Bye.
