2006 Paris–Nice


The 2006 edition of the Paris–Nice bicycle race was run from March 5 to March 12. The race was won by United States rider Floyd Landis, of Team Phonak.

Stages

05-03-2006: Issy-les-Moulineaux – Issy-les-Moulineaux, 4.8 km. (Prologue, ITT)

The prologue stage saw 2005 GC winner Bobby Julich retain the yellow/white GC leader's jersey after defeating Kazakh Andrey Kaschechkin, who held the best time through most of the stage's duration, by a narrow margin of 1 second.
As the winner of the first stage he also received the green/white points jersey.
The blue jersey for best young rider went to Alberto Contador.
CyclistTeamTime
1Bobby Julich6' 07"
2Andrey KaschechkinLSW+ 1"
3Bradley McGee+ 2"

06-03-2006: Villemandeur – Saint-Amand-Montrond, 193 km. (Stage 1)

By winning the peloton sprint in Saint-Amand-Montrond ahead of Allan Davis, Tom Boonen took over the yellow/white jersey due to the time bonus awarded to stage winners.
He also took over first place in the points classification.
After a short solo breakaway effort by David Zabriskie, Frenchmen Cristophe Laurent and Stéphane Augé launched a long attack at the 60-km point but were caught by the chasing peloton only 2 km before the finish line. Augé was awarded the first red polka dotted jersey in the mountains classification.
CyclistTeamTime
1Tom BoonenQSI4h 56' 01"
2Allan DavisLSWs.t.
3Francisco VentosoSDVs.t.

07-03-2006: Cerilly – Belleville, 200 km. (Stage 2)

Stage 2 saw a repeat of Tom Boonen's victory over Allan Davis in the first stage, the Belgian finishing first in another bunch sprint.
The polka-dotted mountains jersey changed hands due to a long breakaway by French rider Nicolas Crosbie, who established a maximum lead of 27'30" after 81 kilometers. Crosbie was caught by the peloton 10 km before the finish line.
The blue jersey for the best young rider was awarded to Benoît Vaugrenard who took over first place with former leader Alberto Contador finishing 1'13 behind the pack.
CyclistTeamTime
1Tom BoonenQST5h 20' 50"
2Allan DavisLSWs.t.
3Danilo Napolitanos.t.

08-03-2006: Julienas – Saint-Etienne, 168.5 km. (Stage 3)

In the third stage to Saint-Etienne, where Kazakh racer Andrei Kivilev died after a fall in the 2003 edition of Paris–Nice, there were some changes to the race classifications as American Floyd Landis took over first place in the GC, placing second in the stage after Patxi Xabier Vila Errandonea.
Nicolas Crosbie and Tom Boonen retained their respective climber and sprinter jerseys, whereas the blue jersey for the best young rider was awarded to Stefan Schumacher who finished 1'25 behind the winner.
As expected of a hilly stage Stage 3 saw breakaway attempts on the different climbs, the defining break happening on the last climb of the day, the Col de la Croix de Chaubouret.
CyclistTeamTime
1Patxi Vila4h 23'28"
2Floyd LandisPHOs.t.
3Samuel SánchezEUS+ 1' 16"

09-03-2006: Saint-Etienne – Rasteau, 193 km. (Stage 4)

CyclistTeamTime
1Tom BoonenQST4h 40' 29"
2Allan DavisLSWs.t.
3Stefan SchumacherGSTs.t.

10-03-2006: Avignon – Digne-les-Bains, 201.5 km. (Stage 5)

CyclistTeamTime
1Joaquim RodríguezCEI4h 43' 34"
2Joost PosthumaRAB+ 19"
3Jérôme PineauBTL+ 33"

11-03-2006: Digne-les-Bains – Cannes, 179 km. (Stage 6)

CyclistTeamTime
1Andrey KaschechkinLSW4h 12' 08"
2Sylvain Chavanel+ 1' 06"
3Sandy Casar+ 1' 11"

12-03-2005: Nice – Nice, 135 km. (Stage 7)

CyclistTeamTime
1Markus ZbergGER3h 29' 38"
2Evgeni Petrovs.t.
3Alberto ContadorLSWs.t.

General Standings

CyclistTeamTime
1Floyd LandisPHO31h 54' 41"
2Patxi Vila+ 9"
3Antonio ColómCDE+ 1' 05"

KOM Classification

CyclistTeamPoints
1David Moncoutié51
2Christophe LaurentAGR42
3Joaquim RodríguezCEI39

Points Classification

CyclistTeamPoints
1Samuel SánchezEUS66
2Sandy Casar63
3Jérôme PineauBTL52

Best Young Rider

CyclistTeamTime
1Luis León SánchezLSW31h 58' 11"
2Joost PosthumaRAB+ 21"
3Thomas Lövkvist+ 52"

Best Team

TeamCountryTotal time
1Italy95h 51' 43"
2United States+ 3"
3LSW: Liberty Seguros – Würth TeamSpain+ 34"