Sunday 15 March 2015 - 14:58

Paris-Nice Stage 7 ITT: Kwiatkowski Takes 2nd Overall, Martin & Kwiato Top 5 Stage

Paris-Nice Stage 7 ITT: Kwiatkowski Takes 2nd Overall, Martin & Kwiato Top 5 Stage

Michal Kwiatkowski finalized a 2nd place in the general classification after a top five finish at the final, 9.6km ITT from Nice to Col d'Èze on Sunday. Tony Martin and Kwiatkowski finished 4th and 5th in the time trial that proved to be decisive for the overall. Richie Porte (Team Sky) won the stage and the overall with a 20'23" time.

Simon Spilak (Katusha) was 2nd, and Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) 3rd.

Martin and Kwiatkowski both finished 29" down (27.604km/h) to Porte on the uphill time trial, which was also affected by some wet, rainy weather conditions.

Kwiatkowski took home the Best Young Rider award to complement his 2nd place overall placing.

Kwiatkowsi won the opening prologue, and wore the Yellow jersey for several stages thanks to his victory, as well as a 3rd place finish on Croix de Chaubouret in the 4th stage.

"I had the yellow jersey for a while in this race, and I'm happy about what we did overall," Kwiatkowski. "We did what we could with this final uphill time trial. It didn't work out for the victory, but I'm happy with my 2nd place. Richie Porte was the strongest guy in the peloton. He deserved this win and I'm happy to be on the next step below him on the podium. We tried our best yesterday, Etixx - Quick-Step was aiming for the win and we were aggressive, but I didn't have the legs to go with Gallopin. So today I did a good TT, especially considering the hard stage of yesterday. I'm satisfied with my result at the end. This race gave me a lot of motivation for the next races, and great experience for the one-week stage races. Everything is going in the right direction. Competing on the climbs with the best climbers is something really nice that I discovered about myself and my skills. Every year I'm making little progressions and I hope I can continue in this way. I am also happy with my condition. We will see what I can show in the future. I am looking forward to Milano-Sanremo and then of course the Ardennes Classics."






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