From the gray Parisian skies to the sunny Côte d’Azur, our riders stood out in the seven stages they were able to contest on the roads of the Paris-Nice race. With two most combative rankings and a strong showing from Pierre Latour, the Team clearly wasn’t in the Race to the Sun to be part of the scenery.
Two Most Combative Rankings for TotalEnergies
Team TotalEnergies got off to a strong start with Paul Ourselin, who showed his combative nature from Stage 1. The Normandy native topped the most combative ranking for the stage, which began and ended in La Verrière. In all, he covered close to 120 kilometers in the breakaway before being caught in the last kilometers.
Sandy Dujardin followed suit, heading out on his own in Stage 5. On his home turf, the first-time participant was alone in front for more than 100 kilometers. He was also selected as most combative, in a unanimous vote.
Pierre Latour on the Rise
Pierre Latour was one of the Team’s top performers on the Race to the Sun. He fought like mad, capturing fifth place in the general ranking at the end of the first day. Resilient and combative like his teammates, Pierre finished 12th in Stage 4 after powering forward in the last meters. He spared no effort again in Stage 7, ending in 10th place both in the stage and general rankings. Pierre ended Paris-Nice 2023 in 14th position, an encouraging sign for the rest of the season.
Analysis of our Director of Sport
Benoit Genauzeau, our Director of Sport, had this to say about Paris-Nice 2023:
“I’d say it was a positive outcome in terms of the team’s commitment. Everyone held together during the eight-day race. Paris-Nice is long and difficult. We needed everyone to pull together to avoid each day’s traps, and that was a positive point. The final result was a bit more mixed, seeing as Pierre [Latour] was 10th at the start of the last stage and ended up 14th. It was a small disappointment, a little bit of time lost during that last stage. We have to accept that and focus on our next objectives.”
