Cycling highlights: Marc Soler caused a change in the lead on the final day of Paris – Nice 2018. The eighth stage of the "Race to the Sun" is one of the most exciting of the past decades.
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Soler goes into the final stage in sixth place overall
Crime in seconds in Nice! The eighth and final stage of the Paris – Nice long-distance journey in 2018 is one of the most exciting races of recent decades. The overall victory of this tour is hard fought almost every season, but on that March 11th it should actually come to a second poker. The starting situation was clear: Simon Yates was able to capture the yellow jersey with an impressive performance the day before and was now 11 and 12 seconds ahead of the brothers Ion and Gorka Izagirre. The Belgians Tim Wellens with 13 seconds and Dylan Teuns with 27 seconds were still within striking distance. Spaniard Marc Soler was sixth overall, 37 seconds back. But even if the standings in the overall standings before the start of the final stage were extremely tight, hardly anyone expected to be able to take the yellow jersey from Simon Yates. The Briton's performance the day before was far too strong.
Yates shows weaknesses
With start and finish in Nice was the last stage The tour is only 110 kilometers long, but with six mountain classifications it is extremely demanding. Because he was more than half a minute behind in the overall standings, Marco Soler had to go on the offensive early on. Together with David De La Cruz and Omar Fraile he formed a dangerous top trio. The Mitchelton - Scott team was not impressed by this at first. For leader Simon Yates, the pace was controlled in the group of favorites, even if Marc Soler was already wearing the yellow jersey. The fact that the British overall leader wasn't feeling too well today became clear at the foot of the final climb. Ion and Gorka Izagirre were able to break away from him, as were Belgium's Tim Wellens and Dylan Teuns. A few kilometers before the finish line, six different overall winners were still possible due to the narrow gaps!
Bad luck for the Izagirre brothers
The group around the Izagirre brothers had a clear advantage. The Spaniards made the strongest impression, gaining time on compatriot Marc Soler while edging ahead of Simon Yates. But in a curve then the mishap: After one of them fell, the brother got caught in his bike and also fell to the ground. The dream of overall victory was over for the Izagirre family. Meanwhile, Marc Soler gave up the stage win. For him it was all about overall victory, which is why he drove the last few kilometers from the front and had to settle for third place at the finish. But thanks to the time bonus it should be enough for the overall victory. In the end, Simon Yates is only four seconds short. Even fifth-placed Tim Wellens was only 16 seconds behind the overall winner at the end of the tour.