Paris-Nice Preview

You know that the major events have arrived when the Race to the Sun kicks off. Here's what to watch for in this year's race.

Astana Tag Team

Astana will be bringing both Kreuzinger and Vinokourov to this year's race which should provide for some healthy competition but more importantly teamwork on the mountains. I guess it will all come down to which of the two is feeling better, but the other will be an incredibly valuable ally in the middle stages. And that also leaves the option of stage hunting open if neither is in position to win the overall.

Peter Sagan's Momentum

The young Slovakian supertalent from Liquigas has gotten off to a great start this year, and has been targeting this race the entire time. I'd expect him to bring his A game in the early sprint stages. He will have Capecchi available for leadout.

Schleck Time

Not Andy, but this time it is Frank that will be doing the heavy lifting for Leopard-Trek as they try to win their first stage race as a team. Frank has a rediculously strong supporting cast (Feillu, Fuglsang, Monfort, and Voigt to name a few) around him this week and if his form is good then he is surely one of the guys to beat.

Van Den Broeck Opener

Ok, so it's not really his season debut but this is the first race he plans to seriously contend in. I'm not sure if his form is good enough to support a GC run, but I'm sure that he has one or two stages circled in his planner.

Stage 6

Quite a long time trial this year, and it seems to suit the TT specialists very well. Cancellara is not in the field, but Tony Martin is. It's really hard to imagine anyone beating him in this stage.

Moving On

Now that Lance Armstrong is out of the picture, it looks like Leipheimer, Brajkovic, and Kloden will be sharing the leadership of Team Radioshack. All 3 are in this race, so it should be interesting to see who gets the nod.

Sky Storm

Team Sky is bringing another powerhouse lineup, lead by the duo of Bradley Wiggins and Mick Rogers for the climbs along with sprinters Greg Henderson, Jeremy Hunt, and Geraint Thomas. I'm not really sure either Wiggo or Mick has the form to compete yet, but they are certainly worth noting.

Sagan's Competition

With the way he has been sprinting I'm not sure he has any but the closest sprinters on his tail will probably be Haussler (Garmin-Cervelo), Goss (HTC-Highroad), or Grega Bole (Lampre-ISD).

Richie Porte

He will be leading Saxo Bank this week, and maybe they should get to know him even better. With the Contador situation still not final, there is a chance Richie Porte will move to Saxo Bank team leader, so they should get him as much experience possible.

Other Names to Watch:
-Nicolas Roche
-Ryder Hesjedal
-Sylvain Chavanel
-Tejay Van Garderen
-Luis Leon Sanchez
-Samuel Sanchez

Stage 1
Flat as a pancake. Can you say Peter Sagan?