Paris-Nice: Politt outmanoeuvred by Cousin in Sisteron
09 March 2018 04:20
Sensing stage 5 of Paris-Nice was a day for the breakaway, Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin) missed the initial move but persevered to ensure his place in front of the peloton. Politt's thinking proved true as the break contested the finish. The German though was done over in the sprint for the line by Jerome Cousin (Direct Energie) but held on for his best road result since joining the WorldTour in 2016. "It is a big tour with a lot of good riders here and I think with the shape is coming for the classics. Now I am a little bit disappointed but I can be happy," Politt said after finishing the race. On the 165km stage from Salon-de-Provence to Sisteron, Politt joined the French trio of Cousin, Nicolas Edet (Cofidis) and Julien El Fares (Delko Marseille Provence KTM) to form the breakaway. Given a leash by the peloton for most of the day, the racing went up a tempo on the circuit around Sisteron. Politt gambled and launched a solo attack which only Cousin could follow as he explained.ADVERTISEMENT "We know that the break can come to the finish. At first, there were three guys and I really wanted to go in the break today and I was the last guy to jump in the break," Politt explained. "I felt really good for the whole stage and we was lucky we had a tailwind in the end. I tried to attack before the last climb and already had a gap but the Direct Energie guy was coming." Cresting the Côte de la Marquise climb, Cousin made contact with Politt and the duo then took the descent together with the German taking on the majority of the work. Knowing that Cousin would have the faster legs should it come down to a two-up sprint for the stage win, Politt unsuccessfully tried to go solo again. "He didn't want to work with me and stayed always on the wheel. So, in the end, I was thinking, 'Fuck, it is better to take the second place then nothing.' With one kay to go, I try to attack because I know he is fast and I tried to avoid the sprint. In the end, second place I can be happy with this," Politt said.
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