Haig previews an intriguing Paris-Nice route

Aussie climber Jack Haig (Bahrain-Victorious) spoke with SBS Sport about the potential challenges facing riders at the 2023 edition of the Paris-Nice starting on March 6 (AEDT).

MONTLUCON, FRANCE - MARCH 09: Jack Haig of Australia and Team Bahrain Victorious sprints during 80th Paris - Nice 2022, Stage 4 a 13,4km individual time trial from Domérat to Montluçon / #ParisNice / #WorldTour / on March 09, 2022 in Montlucon, France. (Photo by Bas Czerwinski/Getty Images) Credit: Bas Czerwinski/Getty Images

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The 81st edition of the Paris-Nice will open in the northern Yvelines department in France, as the riders prepare for the mouth-watering route of the 2023 race featuring a lengthy time-trial on stage three and summit finishes on stage four and seven.

Ahead of the opening stage on Monday (AEDT), Australian Vuelta a Espana podium finsher, Jack Haig, discussed how the opening stages ‘typical’ of previous editions could prove unpredictable amid the cold snap across Europe and the famed crosswinds of the second UCI event of the year.

“This [opening stage] can cause a lot of problems but generally won’t split the peloton too much, because you have all these high plateaus and generally when you drop down there’s forest areas,” Haig said in an interview with SBS Sport.

Paris-Nice 2023 Stage 1 profile.

“When you come up a small climb, you come into an open plateau and they’ll be full crosswind, but it will only last for a short period of time and you’ll descend back down into some protected areas.

“So, it makes for really nervous and hard racing but probably not too much can happen here – it could be a sprint [finish], unless that final plateau to the finish is crosswind or we have really strong winds and it can split in a short space of time. Then you need a team to really carry on with the split.”

Haig did not dismiss some of the potential obstacles facing riders on stage two from Bazainville to Fontainebleau, which will contain a change in direction that could catch some of the more unaware riders out.

“This stage is one of the worst. It is basically just pan-flat, probably quite open most of the way,” Haig said.

“[If] you get the wind in the wrong direction, and it can be a bit of a nightmare of a day. So I really hope this stage is sunny, maybe 12C, 5km/h a wind for most of the day and a bunch sprint. But I think people on the couch will want 5C, sideways wind and echelons.”

Paris-Nice 2023 Stage 2 profile.

Haig was also quick to point out the unusual quality of a 32.2km time-trial occurring within an eight-stage race.

“(It is) is quite far, to be honest,” he said.

“Hopefully because it’s flat and not technical, the time-gap won’t be too big but I’m kind of worried this team trialling [may] ruin a little bit of the GC by stacking a team that is particularly strong with three or four riders inside the top 10, but we’ll have to wait and see.”

Paris-Nice 2023 Stage 3 profile.

The first major climb of the race will arrive on stage four, which is tipped to be a selective one as the race finishes atop La Loges des Gardes, a ski station in the Massif Central. Discussing the first of two summit finishes of the race, Haig believes the tactics at play on the day will be dependent on how the opening three stages play out.

“I don’t think I’ve done either of the two climbs that we finish on, but obviously this one [stage four] is relatively hard - over 7km at just over 7 percent, so you can definitely see some time gaps here [but it depends] on how hard the first two stages are.

“I think the biggest thing will be to assess how the GC looks after the teams time-trial and that will come into play with a lot of tactics of riders maybe 30 or 40 seconds ahead of other people.”

Paris-Nice 2023 Stage 4 profile.

When asked if the 212.4km long fifth stage could be one for the break away, Haig hinted at the likeliness of Bahrain-Victorious teammate Jonathan Milan being among the sprinters who can climb in Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux.

“It will probably be quite hard to get to the break in this sort of stage, so depending on how Jonathan [Milan] is feeling, he could try and either get in the break, or maybe there’s a few other teams with sprinters there that want to work together to try and bring it back for a bunch sprint,” he said.

“It depends on how the race has gone up to this point – if we’ve had a really hard race, it’s more likely it’s going to be the breakaway stage, but if it hasn’t been too bad and there’s a few sprinters there, it can be controlled and brought back for a sprint.”

Paris-Nice 2023 Stage 5 profile.

While most of the GC contenders are expected to hold back on stage six, looking ahead to the Col de la Couillole finish of the following day, Haig stressed the need to be attentive over the six categorised climbs and 2665 metres of elevation throughout the 197.4km stage.

“I think these are the stages where maybe it’s not the people in the top five or ten GC who need to be aggressive, but more the ones who are tenth to 20th,” he said.

“If they get into a dangerous move especially late into the race, they can take time and maybe move up into that top ten of the GC, but generally, it will just be quite a hard day.”

Paris-Nice 2023 Stage 6 profile.

The penultimate stage could prove decisive in the context of the yellow jersey race as the riders ascend on the Col de la Couillole (15.7km at 7.1%).

“It’s a relatively short stage with not too much climbing before [the Col de la Couillole],” he said.

“You will probably see some pretty fast climbing times on this final climb and it will kind of depend on when the breakaway goes – normally if the breakaway goes really early, that first long climb not too steep and we’ll probably ride a steady tempo up it.”

Paris-Nice 2023 Stage 7 profile.

Before a race winner is crowned on the seafront in Nice, the riders will face the infamous final climb up the Col d’Eze. Haig admitted he was uncertain of the direction of the climb, which will differ from traditional route to the summit, taking the gradient up from 6.1% to 7.6%.

“This stage is basically ridden flat out from start to finish,” Haig said.

“You have this small highway drag into the first climb and then it’s four 20-minute efforts at almost max [speed].

Paris-Nice 2023 Stage 8 profile.

“I’m not too sure which direction we will go this year [up the Col d’Eze], but if it’s the same as last year, which caused the slip with Simon Yates in it, it can make it easier to ride alone or with a small group.”

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