March 07, 2017 (Amilly, France) – Sonny Cobrelli handed his new Bahrain-Merida team their first World Tour victory when he surged early in the final stretch to snatch the 195km second stage of Paris-Nice ahead of John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) and race leader Arnaud Demare (FDJ), winner of the first stage on Sunday.
“It’s the greatest victory of my career. It’s incredible. I managed a perfect sprint and to beat riders like Degenkolb or even Kittel just shows that. Of course I have Milan- San Remo in mind. Everyone knows that Paris-Nice is the perfect preparation for that race. But it’s not over yet, I still want to manage things this week.” Cobrelli
Canadian Antoine Duchesne (Direct Energie) finished the day in 76th place, 14:16 behind Cobrelli. Duchesne now sits 102nd on the General Classification at 30:40 behind race leader Demare. Fellow Canuck Michael Woods (Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling) finished 147 at 21:07 back and is sitting 164th on GC at 40:04 behind.
Stage 3 sees riders racing from Chablis to Chalon-sur-Saone over a 190km route with a few climbs in the latter half of the stage. Most riders likely hope that as the race travels south towards Nice that the weather, which has less than ideal, will become more favorable.
Results (brief)
1. Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 4:20:59
2. John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo
3. Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ
4. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
5. Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
76. Antoine Duchesne (Can) Direct Energie 0:14:16
147. Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale-Drapac 0:21:07
GC after Stage 2
1. Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ 7:43:28
2. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors 0:06
3. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors 0:17
4. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha-Alpecin 0:19
5. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal
102. Antoine Duchesne (Can) Direct Energie 0:30:40
163. Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale-Drapac 0:40:04