Paris-Nice (France) - Press Release: Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) made it clear who held the reins of Paris-Nice on Friday when he outclasseed the peloton in an uphill sprint in Biot to snatch stage 6 and increase his lead ahead of the queen stage at the top of La Colmiane. The Slovenian surged in the last stretch to overpower specialists of such finishes as Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) and Australian Michael Matthews (Bike Exchange). In the overall standings, the two-times Vuelta winner leads title-holder Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) by 41 seconds and Ion Izagirre (Astan-Premier Tech) by 50 seconds.

Elissonde goes solo:

Roglic’s Jumbo-Visma maintained the gap under three minutes as Elissonde was 2:24 behind their leader at the start and could be a threat. Lutsenko punctured with 32 km to go as the bunch increased the pace behind the three remaining escapees. With 25 km left, Elissonde decided to go on his own in the Cote de Roquefort-les-Pins where the second bonus sprint was held. But the chase, led by Cofidis and Deceuninck-Quick Step, gained momentum as the Frenchman was joined by Germany’s Jonas Rutsch (EF Education-Nippo) in the finale. The two maintained a 20-second lead for 10 km and the German kept going on his own until the red flame. The sprint was launched from afar by Frenchman Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), who led out team-mate Laporte into the final stretch. But the stronger man was Roglic, who raised on his pedals to power his way to the line, which he crossed with a scream of jubilation.