Britain’s Geraint Thomas cracked in the final ascent of Paris-Nice but pulled himself together in the descent to hold off Alberto Contador by four seconds and claim his biggest road racing victory on Sunday.
Australia’s Richie Porte finished third 12 seconds behind his former Team Sky teammate Thomas, who replaced long-time race leader Michael Matthews at the top of the general classification on Saturday.
Orica Greenedge rider Matthews eventually finished way down in 53rd but did claim the green jersey awarded to the top points scorer.
Thomas, who was dropped in the ascent to the Col d’Eze, managed to reduce the gap during the nail-biting descent to the Promenade des Anglais at the end of the final stage, a 134-km hilly ride around Nice won by Belgian Tim Wellens.
Spaniard Contador took second place on the day ahead of BMC Racing’s Porte in third with Thomas finishing in the second group five seconds off the pace.
Porte admitted he was disappointed not to at least finish in the top two after Thomas’ looked to have lost his legs.
“To be honest it’s a little surprise,” Porte said.
“I really didn’t expect to finish third after such a finale with Contador. But congrats to Geraint, he deserved it.
“It was a different approach to Col d’Eze, we did it much faster this time. It was so fast in the descent, you didn’t really have time to think.
“We knew Tim Wellens was going for the stage win and for Alberto and I, it was a matter of making as much time as possible.”
Welshman Thomas had started the day with a 15-second advantage over Contador, who claimed a six-second bonus with his second place in Sunday’s stage.
“I felt good, I felt strong, in control (when Contador first attacked),” said Thomas.
“But when he went halfway of Col d’Eze, my legs went away. I thought it’s going to be all over, but Sergio (Henao) stayed with me. I had a 54 chain ring on in the descent and I needed that, I went just full gas to finally catch up in the last few kilometres.”
Thomas’ win means Sky have now won the prestigious Paris-Nice race for the fourth time in five years after Bradley Wiggins prevailed in 2012 and Porte triumphed in 2013 and last year.
“It’s incredible to beat Contador. Man, he is one of the best stage racers ever. Richie won last year, it’s hard to believe I beat those two. It’s the biggest win for sure of my whole career,” said Thomas.
Fancy a wager on your favourite sport? Head on over to PlayUp for great odds and friendly customer service and pick a winner. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Australia's Jai Hindley has said he is "lost for words" after a shock stage victory at the Tour de France earned him the leader's…
Australia's Jai Hindley has said he is "lost for words" after a shock stage victory at the Tour de France earned him the leader's…
Tadej Pogacar has won a drama-packed Tour of Flanders, winning in a breakaway with Matieu van der Poel second, Mads Pedersen third and Wout…
Women are not allowed to compete in the Tour de France. However you choose to re-read that sentence, the fact remains: the most famous…
The jam-packed month-by-month quiz full of 2022 sports trivia!
Australian Grace Brown has won silver in the women's time trial, the first event at the world road cycling championships.
