UAE took top honors in the team time trial at Paris-Nice today, finishing 15″ ahead of Team Jayco AlUla and 20″ ahead of EF Education-EasyPost on the 26.9km circuit.
UAE’s performance was helped by hail and rain that fell on the other teams still out on the course. Soudal-Quick Step was affected the most, finishing 22″ down on UAE even though they had a 17″ lead on UAE at the intermediate checkpoint.
Remco Evenepoel was visibly unhappy and had this to say afterwards. “We had a twenty second lead over UAE at the intermediate point. But it’s simple: the rain has fallen and the wind has shifted. There are some technical bends in the last kilometers. If you can take it at full speed, that saves 4 to 5 seconds per corner.”
However, the big drama of the day was over equipment. Several teams were using new helmet designs that appeared to push the boundaries of fair play to such an extent that the UCI took notice and issued a statement. “Although it is not directly contrary to our regulations, we see a trend that the helmet is also used for things other than what it is mainly intended for, namely safety. The UCI will take another look at the rules [concerning helmets].“
Visma-Lease a Bike responded to the UCI statement, saying, “If the UCI has a problem with the design, they should have indicated this when the helmet was submitted for approval. The [UCI] rules regarding dimensions and safety were drawn up a year ago.”
Stage 3 Results
https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/paris-nice/2024/stage-3
GC Standings
https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/paris-nice/2024/stage-3-gc
