American Sprint Success at Paris-Nice as Luke Lamperti Seizes First Win of Season

American sprinter Luke Lamperti outfoxed and overpowered more experienced rivals on stage 1 of Paris-Nice on Sunday, seizing the biggest win of his career with a perfectly judged sprint.

The 23 year old received a fine leadout from Marijn Van Den Berg and held off former Tour de France green jersey winner Biniam Girmay, who found himself trapped against the barriers and unable to get by.

He took fifth, with Vito Braet (Lotto Intermarché) and Orluis Aular (Movistar Team) placing second and third.

“I know I have been going well and to actually get a win and get the momentum rolling, especially as a sprinter, is really important,” he said. “For me it is the biggest win I have had in my career. It will be great for the rest of the season and before the Classics.”

Lamperti takes the first WorldTour win of his career and also his first victory since moving across from the Soudal Quick-Step team this winter. It is also his first opportunity to wear the leader’s jersey at this level, giving him a serious confidence boost.

GC favorite Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) was prominent on the final climb of the day and appears to be in good form. He was caught behind a crash in the finale and rolled in nearly a minute back but, as per UCI rules, those delayed by the incident were given the same time as the group they had been with.

With time bonuses factored in, that sees Vingegaard ten seconds behind Lamperti, with other GC riders such as Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek), Oscar Onley (Ineos Grenadiers) and Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) all at the same time.

A brave bid for breakaway success

A bunch sprint was predicated but not guaranteed for stage one of Paris-Nice, with 1779 meters of climbing on the cards and giving a breakaway an outside chance.

The day’s big move was established very soon after the drop of the flag in Achères and featured six riders.

Patrick Gamper and Luke Durbridge were there for Jayco-AlUla, while Casper Pedersen (Soudal-QuickStep), Max Walker (EF Education-EasyPost), Sébastien Grignard (Lotto Intermarché) and Mathis Le Berre (TotalEnergies) had also signed up for a day of discomfort.

The lead hovered around a minute and a half but did touch 1:40 with 30km to go. Jonas Vingegaard’s Visma-Lease a Bike team was amongst those chasing at the front, as was Biniam Girmay’s NSN Pro Cycling, and they gradually hauled back the breakaway as the finish approached.

The gap had ebbed to 55 seconds as they headed onto the final 16km finishing loop, with the steep climb of the Côte de Chanteloup les Vignes topping out 11km from home and giving a chance to punchy attackers.

Ewan Coutou (Groupama) and Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) took the bait from the peloton, but Vingegaard and the other GC riders stayed close to the front and didn’t let them go far.

Grignard and Pedersen jumped clear of the break in a last-gasp effort but were both reeled in before the kite.

Two crashes inside the final 1000 meters took down several riders, amongst them GC contender Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious), while at the front EF Education led out Luke Lamperti, who went early and held off the rest to land his biggest win thus far.

Results: Paris-Nice Stage 1