FROM PARIS TO NICE (And Back Again)
From Paris to Nice, Café du Cycliste is now residing in both cities, places with deep cultural and sporting history. And the idea that the pro peloton marks the beginning of the spring season with Paris-Nice, the Race to the Sun, seems even more poignant. Paris, where we now have a pop-up at the prestigious Galeries Lafayette Haussmann, needs no introduction in its significance to the world of cycling, and as one of Europe’s most influential cities.
Nice, of course, location of our headquarters and source of infinite inspiration, has cyclists around the globe weak at the knees (particularly those professionals who have raced for a week through France to get here). For many the Côte d’Azur is French-cycling’s Nirvana; to arrive here, ride here and even live here –whether pro or amateur – is to be welcomed by the gods of the sport.
Winning the overall race emphatically on the Promenade des Anglais, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea after three stage victories during the week-long race, Slovenia’s no.1 still has a way to race in order to emulate Irishman Sean Kelly, who won Paris-Nice seven years in a row.
It’s an indication of how much work has been put into the pre-season to ride into Nice with the yellow jersey caressing your torso, and a resounding way to announce yourself to the competition. It’s also very likely to be a taste of what may occur in July as Pogačar contests for GC at France’s grandest cycling stage race.
The connections between Paris and Nice capture any imagination, from painters to musicians, playboys to poets and super-humans like Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, the aforementioned Kelly, Laurent Jalabert (the last Frenchman to win it) and now Pogačar.
The transition from the cooler, and perhaps more hostile environment of Paris and the north to the sunnier and more relaxed destination of the Riviera marks the changing of the seasons, and as the traditional first stage race of the year, Paris-Nice is a special event. You could say it’s our race, when we officially welcome the return of road racing to the Côte d’Azur. Nice is the sun-kissed carrot at the end of the proverbial stick.
Ride of The Month: March 2021
Paris- Nice didn't end as it should this year but the roads not ridden are still there. A local classic that says spring has arrived.
Col d'Èze
Between Èze village and the fort runs the Route de la Grande Corniche, the highest of the three corniche roads that lead from Nice towards Monaco and Italy.
Col de Turini
The thick forests of the Col de Turini are testament to the unpredictable weather the highest of the coastal climbs near our home town of Nice.
Col de Braus
Find the point on Col de Braus where René Vietto, one of cycling’s greatest ever climbers, broke away to win his first professional race.
