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A bit over 60 days before the start of the 75th edition of Paris-Nice, the race route of the 2017 edition of the "Race to the sun" has been presented this Tuesday in Versailles.

With only one time trial, in the middle of the week, and with a finish on the highest point ever reached by this race, we can expect quite a battle for the yellow jersey at the end of the week when the race will exceptionally not finish on the Promenade des Anglais, out of respect for the victims of the terrorist attack on 14 July last year.

The Paris-Nice 2017 race route

Let's now have a look at the different stages of Paris-Nice 2017:

1/ Sunday 5 March 2017 - Bois-d'Arcy > Bois-d'Arcy - 148.5 km

As usual since 2010, the start of Paris-Nice 2017 will take place in the Yvelines department. This year was initially the last year which was covered by the agreement in place between the department and the organisor of the race, Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.) but the department has signed a new contract for an additional 4 years, until 2021!

Even though this stage will start and finish in the same city, this year it will not be an individual time trial which will fire off the race, but a stage in line of 148.5 kilometers with start and finish in Bois-d'Arcy (between Versailles and Plaisir). Not much further details available for this stage so far, except for the fact that it will take place south and west of this city in the Yvelines department, via the Chevreuse valley which is quite well known for Parisian cyclists, on a circuit which will be done twice, and that it will be relatively flat and thus a perfect opportunity for a sprinter to take the first yellow jersey of this race!

2/ Monday 6 March 2017 - Rochefort-en-Yvelines > Amilly - 192,5 km

The second stage will also start in the Yvelines department and more precisely in Rochefort-en-Yvelines, at about thirty kilometers south of Bois-d'Arcy.

The finish of this stage will be in Amilly, the city which already received the prologue of Paris-Nice in 2008, the initial time trial of the 2009 edition and the finish of the second stage in 2011. 6 years later it'll be after 192.5 kilometers that the stage victory will be decided, probably in a bunch sprint like in 2011 when the stage was won by Gregory Henderson, especially because the stage will this year end with a local circuit around this finish city.

3/ Tuesday 7 March 2017 - Chablis > Chalon-sur-Saône - 190 km

After a short transfer, the third stage between Chablis and Chalon-sur-Saône, which will thus be bound south-west, will most logically again finish in a bunch sprint!

4/ Wednesday 8 March 2017 - Beaujeu > Mont Brouilly - individual time trial - 14.5 km

While the Mont Brouilly should have been climbed twice in the final part of the 3rd stage of Paris-Nice 2016, the weather conditions and especially snowfall and slippery roads have come disturb the final part of this stage.

Immediately afterwards, Amaury Sport Organisation promised the local politics that the race would come back in 2017 and that will thus be the case this Wednesday 8 March 2017, this time not with a finish of a stage in line but with an individual time trial of 14.5 kilometers, starting in Beaujeu, and which thus contains the climb of the Mont Brouilly, a 3 kilometers long climb at 7.7% with a final kilometer which goes up to 9%. The climb will thus start close to the village of Saint-Lager where we'll find an intermediate timing point.

Hereunder you'll find the profile of this stage and the detailed profile of the final climb of the Mont Brouilly:

5/ Thursday 9 March 2017 - Quincié-en-Beaujolais > Bourg-de-Péage - 199.5 km

After this warm up for climbers, they'll again leave the chance to the sprinters the next day between Quincié-en-Beaujolais and Bourg-de-Péage, except if a breakaway manages to go on until the finish!

6/ Friday 10 March 2017 - Aubagne > Fayence - 192 km

Starting in Aubagne it'll be a real stage for climbers which will be on the programme this Friday and this will be the first out of three climbers stages which will end off Paris-Nice 2017.

Indeed, right after the start the riders will climb the Col de l'Espigoulier of the 1st category (8.9 km @ 5.6%) followed by about one hundred kilometers flat (with the feeding zone in Villecroze) before they climb the Côte des Tuilières of the 2nd category (2.2 km @ 7.8%). A few kilometers later several climbs will follow, starting with the Côte du Mont Méaulx of the 3rd category (1.7 km @ 4.3%), the Col de Bourigaille (1st category, 5.5 km @ 6.1%) a first time and, after a first crossing of the finish line, again (1st category, 8.2 km @ 5.9%) and the final climb of the Fayence (1.3 km @ 9.8%), which is well known of the Tour du Haut-Var, but also as the finish of the 6th stage of Paris-Nice in 2014 when Carlos Betancur won the stage and took the yellow jersey (my photo next to this text).

Hereunder you'll find the profile of this 6th stage of Paris-Nice 2017 between Aubagne and Fayence:

7/ Saturday 11 March 2017 - Nice > Col de la Couillole - 177 km

The next day a new mountain stage will be on the programme this Saturday 11 March 2017 and it now becomes really serious especially with the final part with two first category climbs of which the last one will be the highest point ever reached by Paris-Nice!!

After the start in Nice (the exact start location has not been provided but it would most logically not be on the Promenade des Anglais as it's usually the case) the riders will rapidly climb the Côte de Gattières of the 2nd category (4.5 km @ 4.8%) before they'll battle for the first intermediate sprint in Vence where they also climb the Col de Vence of the 1st category (9.7 km @ 6.6%).

After this first third part of the stage a less hilly part will follow, but after the feeding zone in Utelle and the intermediate sprint in Roquebillière the real difficulties will come up, with two 1st category climbs: first the Col de Saint Martin-La Colmiane (7.5 km @ 7.2%) and immediately after its descent it'll be followed by the final climb of the Col de la Couillole (15.7 km @ 7.1%). Never before the Race to the sun (the nickname of Paris-Nice) has reached this altitude and the 75th edition of this race will thus be celebrated at a 1,678 meter altitude!
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Hereunder you'll find the profile of this 7th stage of Paris-Nice 2017 between Nice and the Col de Couillole and the detailed profile of the final climb, the Col de Couillole:

8/ Sunday 12 March 2017 - Nice > Nice - 115.5 km

A short stage with start and finish in Nice will end off the 75th edition of Paris-Nice. 115.5 kilometers full of no less than 5 climbs with the Côte de Levens (2nd category, 6.2 km @ 5.5%) which will be followed by the intermediate sprint in Levens, the Côte de Châteauneuf (2nd category, 5.4 km @ 4.4%) followed a bit further by the Col de Calaïson (2nd category, 6.3 km @ 4.4%).

There will still be two 1st category climbs at the programme, first of all with the Côte de Peille (6.5 km @ 6.9%) and after a long descent the climb of the usual Col d'Eze (7.7 km @ 5.7%) (followed by the sprint in Eze) which has its summit at 15 kilometers from the finish line which will this time thus not be drawn on the Promenade des Anglais but on the Quai des Etats-Unis, still at the seaside.

Hereunder you'll find the profile of the 8th stage of Paris-Nice 2017 between Nice and Nice:

The full map with the Paris-Nice 2017 race route

Hereuncder you'll find the full map of Paris-Nice 2017 with its 8 stages:

door Thomas Vergouwen
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