Michael Storer claimed victory on Stage 7 of Paris-Nice, attacking from the breakaway to take the win. Meanwhile, Mads Pedersen impressed by finishing in the GC group alongside top climbers, showcasing his strength on a cold day in the mountains.
It was another wet and cold day in the “Race to the Sun,” but not a pleasant one for the peloton. In this dreadful edition of Paris-Nice, Danish GC contenders Jonas Vingegaard and Mattias Skjelmose did not survive the race. Vingegaard crashed on Stage 5, crossed the finish line, but did not continue after a health check, while Skjelmose crashed hard on a traffic island and did not finish today’s stage. With major changes to the GC due to crosswinds on Stage 6, the overall standings were not decided solely by time trials or climbs.
Poor weather conditions also led to the removal of two climbs, shortening the stage. Despite this, the intensity remained high, with Luca Vergallito expending 2,669 kilojoules over 2:26 hours at a rate of 15.79 kJ/kg/h. The road up to Auron had only a 2% gradient, but the high pace made it anything but easy.
Little happened in the GC group due to a lack of mountain domestiques for the big teams, while Michael Storer won from the breakaway and jumped to fourth in the overall standings, beating Mauro Schmid, Georg Steinhauser, Iván Romeo, and Jordan Jegat. In the end, this stage did not bring major GC changes, with the queen stage looming tomorrow. Matteo Jorgenson will defend his yellow jersey, likely without much help from teammates, as only Florian Lipowitz and Thymen Arensman remain within two minutes of the American in the overall standings.
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Mads Pedersen, who had already done a big pull on La Loge des Gardes earlier in the week, decided to hold on in the GC group alongside climbers like Jorgenson, Arensman, and Almeida after Skjelmose crashed out of the race. Pedersen produced 6.12 ᵉW/Kg for 19 minutes. As this was a mid-altitude climb, his performance adjusted to 6.43 ᵉW/Kg at sea level, an impressive effort in horrific conditions on a tough day. Felix Gall, who had already lost significant time in previous stages, was the fastest climber, producing 6.27 ᵉW/Kg.