In a dizzying finish, Olav Kooij won the first stage of Paris-Nice 2024 after a sprint duel with Mads Pedersen. The young Team Visma | Lease a Bike sprinter withstood the hilly phase in which Colombian Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) was very active with Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Primož Roglič (Bora-hansgrohe).
The Dutch rider just edged out Denmark’s Mads Pedersen (Lidl – Trek) and New Zealand’s Laurence Pithie (Groupama – FDJ) to become the first leader in the World Tour race. The four Colombians arrived in the bunch without setbacks.
The first day was led by German Jonas Rutsch (EF Education-EasyPost), Swiss Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-EasyPost) and Frenchman Mathieu Burgeaudeau (TotalEnergies). The three leaders quickly took a three-minute lead, but Lidl-Trek, Soudal Quick-Step and Lotto Dstny neutralized the breakaway.
For much of the ride the peloton remained calm for a long time, but as soon as the steep climbs arrived the pace was blistering. On the Montainville hill the time bonus was played out with Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike) gaining six seconds, ahead of Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) who took four seconds and Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) who gained two seconds. For a moment it looked like they were still in the lead, but the peloton.
On the final climb to Côte d’Herbeville (2.6 km at 5.1%) it was Bernal who attacked. Evenepoel went to his wheel and then saw the opportunity to go long, forcing Primoz Roglic to chase him down. At the top, however, the gaps were too small, so that with 10 kilometers to go about fifty riders joined in, with some sprinters among them.
In the closing stages, Frenchman Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) tried to surprise the strong sprinters, but his attack was neutralized with two kilometers to go. In the last meters there was a battle between Olav Kooij and Mads Pedersen, in which the Dutchman came out on top.
The ‘race of the sun’ will continue this Monday with the second stage between Thiory and Montargis, a flat 177.6 kilometers, which includes two mountain passes of third category.
Results Stage 1 | Les Mureaux – Les Mureaux (157,7 km)
| 1 | Olav Kooij | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 3:36:28 |
| 2 | Mads Pedersen | Lidl – Trek | ,, |
| 3 | Laurence Pithie | Groupama – FDJ | ,, |
| 4 | Nils Eekhoff | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | ,, |
| 5 | Madis Mihkels | Intermarché – Wanty | ,, |
| 6 | Michael Matthews | Team Jayco AlUla | ,, |
| 7 | Matteo Trentin | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | ,, |
| 8 | Mattias Skjelmose | Lidl – Trek | ,, |
| 9 | Sandy Dujardin | TotalEnergies | ,, |
| 10 | Kaden Groves | Alpecin – Deceuninck | ,, |
Ranking General
| 1 | Olav Kooij | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 3:36:18 |
| 2 | Mads Pedersen | Lidl – Trek | 0:04 |
| 3 | Matteo Jorgenson | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | ,, |
| 4 | Laurence Pithie | Groupama – FDJ | 0:06 |
| 5 | Remco Evenepoel | Soudal – Quick Step | ,, |
| 6 | Egan Bernal | INEOS Grenadiers | 0:08 |
| 7 | Nils Eekhoff | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | 0:10 |
| 8 | Madis Mihkels | Intermarché – Wanty | ,, |
| 9 | Michael Matthews | Team Jayco AlUla | ,, |
| 10 | Matteo Trentin | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | ,, |
Source: Revista Mundo Ciclístico