Paris-Nice: Luis Leon Sanchez improves GC standings at spectacular finish

Finishing on a 20thplace at Stage 2, he climbed 10 places in the GC. After an easy day with a spectacular final, all the riders of the Astana Pro Team finished in the group behind the sprinters.

- The stage was quite easy today, while during the last two hours the speed was really fast. In the final, my teammates helped me really much to stay in front and to finish the stage safely. Tomorrow is a faster day, we will see how it will be. After that one we will have a time trial and the most decisive stages at the final of this week, - told Luis Leon Sanchez.

In a sunny Orsonville, the peloton took off for a 187.5km-long flat stage to Vierzon. That the peloton was expecting a bunch sprint was already clear in the first hour, taking it easy with an average of 31 k/ph. In the first part of the race there was no breakaway, finally after almost a 100 km of racing the first breakaway was a fact (6 riders). With 65 kilometers to go 4 riders in the breakaway dropped back to the peloton leaving Tiago Machado and Manuele Boaro on their own. These two former national TT champions gained a gap of maximum 3 minutes before the peloton started chasing again.

Going into the final 5 kilometers the two riders were caught by the sprint teams who were getting ready for the final. In this final, the group of the strongest sprinters rushed to the finish, with Dylan Groenewegen finishing 1st before Elia Viviani and Andre Greipel. All the riders of Astana Pro Team finished behind this group in the same time, resulting in minor changes in the General Classification.

Tomorrow a harder stage is expected, riding 210 kilometers from Bourges to Chatel-Guyon, with three 3rd category climbs.