UAE Team Emirates dominated to take the stage victory and secure the yellow, white jerseys.
On March 5th, the 2024 Paris-Nice Stage 3 (Oyonnax Team Time Trial) concluded with UAE Team Emirates topping the leaderboard, not only winning the stage but also grabbing the yellow and white jerseys. Let’s review the race.
The race route. The event was a team time trial of 26.9 kilometers starting in Oyonnax and heading south along the Yonne River. The first 14 kilometers featured two climbs (approximately 2 km long with an average gradient of 5%). The second ascent included a hairpin turn, testing the team’s ability to pull as a “train” and the less climber-friendly riders’ capacity to follow. Then, the teams headed north back to the finish line, with their times determined by the weakest link principle.
Starting order. The teams started in reverse order based on their overall classification after Stage 2, with each team beginning at four-minute intervals from 21:40 Beijing Time, culminating with the 22nd team, FDJ, starting at 23:04. The starting order was:
1. Israel-Premier Tech; 2. Uno-X; 3. Astana; 4. Lotto; 5. Ag2r; 6. DSM; 7. TotalEnergies; 8. Tudor; 9. Wanty; 10. UAE Team Emirates; 11. Jumbo-Visma; 12. Cofidis; 13. AG2R Citroën Team; 14. Ineos Grenadiers; 15. Bahrain Victorious; 16. EF Education-EasyPost; 17. Trek-Segafredo; 18. Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl; 19. Movistar; 20. Bora-Hansgrohe; 21. Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert; 22. FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
▲Starting order
Pre-race anecdotes
Sweet dreams. Pidcock, who wore the yellow jersey, posted on social media that he had a good night’s sleep with the maillot jaune. The race organizers responded, wishing him to keep it until the last day.
Pairing up. The Oyonnax government and the race officials sealed a partnership in front of French Olympic officials. Oyonnax not only hosted this official race but will also be a city for the Paris Olympics torch relay and football group matches.
At 21:40 Beijing Time, amidst the cheers of the Oyonnax crowd, the race began. Israel-Premier Tech started first, despite their preparations, they were limited by the two small hills en route and finished in 33 minutes and 3 seconds. Soon after, they were surpassed by Uno-X and Astana, with the latter setting a benchmark time of 32 minutes and 2 seconds at an average speed of 50.32 km/h, setting a challenging pace for weaker team time trial squads and serving as a dividing line for the teams’ performances.
▲Israel-Premier Tech
▲Uno-X
Astana’s riders watched the live broadcast from the “hot seat,” while DSM, Tudor, Lotto, Ag2r, EF Education-EasyPost, and Wanty teams, who started after them, failed to challenge their lead. Then, the eleventh team, UAE Team Emirates, featuring Tour de France regulars like Almeida, McNulty, Van Aert, Vine, Soler, Grossschartner, and Politt, took off and left the Astana squad on edge. When UAE Team Emirates crossed the more challenging second climb 14 seconds ahead, the Astana riders knew their time was up and left the hot seat. UAE Team Emirates claimed the top spot with a time of 31 minutes and 23 seconds.
▲Astana
▲UAE Team Emirates
