Outsider Cees Bol on Monday won a crash-strewn stage two of the Paris-Nice as the industrious Australian Michael Matthews took the yellow jersey in his first major race for Team BikeExchange.
As a crash disrupted the finale Bol rocketed to the head of a reduced bunch sprint outpacing 2019 world champion Mads Pedersen, while Matthews came third.
Yet Matthews, in his first major race since leaving Team Sunweb in January, also took bonus seconds in the intermediary sprints on Sunday and Monday.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“I came here to try everything I could, and we saw a chance with the intermediary sprints to nick a few seconds and take the jersey” Matthews said. “Let’s see how long I can keep it now.”
In the general classification, those bonus seconds edged him four seconds ahead of Pedersen and overnight leader Sam Bennett, who was bamboozled by the late fall and came fifth in a tight finish.
“I was in just the right place going into the final corner and that did the trick,” said Team DSM rider Bol, who was fastest to react to the fall.
Bennett said his placing was a disappointment.
“That’s sprinting, I felt great and was hoping for another win,” the Irishman said.
Overall favourites Primoz Roglic and Tao Geoghegan Hart both finished with the main pack behind the crash, but were awarded the same time as the winners.
Monday’s stage embarked from the tiny village of Oinville-sur-Montcient with 160 riders for an almost pancake flat 188km run.
Wind rather than hills was the difficulty of the day as the race headed south of Paris into exposed fields where the wheat and corn have not yet grown to create any shelter for the cyclists.
However, the crosswinds that have so affected recent editions caused only a brief break in the pack as the peloton trudged along together most of the way to the finish line at Amily.
Kiwi George Bennett crashed into a post on a tricky village road and hit his head hard enough to break his helmet.
The Jumbo climber gathered his senses and was off on his way before the race doctor could examine him.
Faring worse was Alexis Vuillermoz of Total Direct Energie, who pulled out after another fall in which he appeared to suffer a shoulder injury.
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