A stellar field will be on the startline to contest 'the Race to the Sun', Paris-Nice, with the race broadcast nightly on SBS and SBS On Demand, with race replays and highlights available the next day.
Winner of the last two editions, Max Schachmann returns at the helm of a strong and ambitious Bora-Hansgrohe to chase a third consecutive overall win, potentially joining cycling great Laurent Jalabert, Eddy Merckx and Sean Kelly with the feat.
Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) and Adam Yates (Ineos-Grenadiers) will try to overthrow the German defending champion, and French climbers such as Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) and David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) also expressed their ambitions on the eve of a tricky stage 1 around Mantes-La-Ville.
The race also marks the opening test for Australia's top performers in Grand Tours last year in Ben O'Connor (AG2R-Citroen), Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious), Michael Storer (Groupama-FDJ) and newly-crowned UCI E-sports world champion Jay Vine (Alpecin-Fenix).
Rohan Dennis (Jumbo-Visma) will be one of the favourites for the Stage 4 time trial, while last year's fourth-placed overall finisher Lucas Hamilton (BikeExchange-Jayco) is slated to ride in support of Simon Yates.
March 7 - Stage 1 - 160 km - Mantes-la-Ville to Mantes-la-Ville
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The early stages heading south from the north of France often see the riders battling the condition as much as the rest of the peloton. Four climbs in the final 30 kilometres mean that there are potential points where the punchers can attempt to drop the sprinters.
Stage 1 profile Paris Nice 2022 Source: ASO
The final climb comes with five kilometres to go, with a sharp descent before a false flat rising finish. Narrow roads, cold weather with a bit of wind about, means that this won't be a straightforward sprint, even if the attackers are caught.
March 8 - Stage 2 - 159.5 km - Auffargis to Orleans
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A potential day for the crosswinds as the peloton traverses north to south, beginning the long trek to the Provence coastline. The wind at this stage is forecast at a breezy 20 km/hr from the east, which will be a crosswind most of the day, with a turn in the final 15 kilometres making it a tailwind, another turn making it a crosswind in the final run to the line.
Stage 2 Profile Paris-Nice 2022 Source: ASO
The finish is very slightly uphill on a straightforward run into the final kilometres and appears to be one for the sprinters.
March 9 - Stage 3 - 191 km - Lierzon to Dun-le-Palestel
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An easy first half of the stage is swapped for a deceptively difficult second half in what should prove an intriguing stage. It's either up or down for the majority of 90 kilometres, and the sprinter's teams will be hard pressed to keep the race together.
Stage 3 Profile Paris-Nice 2022 Source: ASO
Without climbs for the big general classification contenders, it's likely that the race will stay together, but it will be a tricky finish for the pure sprinters, with the final 2.2 kilometres averaging 3.1 per cent.
March 10 - Stage 4 - 13.4 km TT - Domerat to Montlucon
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It will be hard for the pure time-triallists to build a great rhythm on what is a varied course for the Stage 4 time trial, complete with a hard, punchy 700-metre climb to finish. In addition to the mix of gradients, there are a few sharp turns and bends throughout.
Stage 4 Profile Paris-Nice 2022 Source: ASO
March 11 - Stage 5 - 189 km - Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert to Saint-Sauveur-de-Montagut
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Definitely too hard for a sprinter and their team to consider keeping the race together, but is it tough enough for the general classification candidates to consider some moves on the Col de La Mure, when there's still 33 kilometres to race from the summit?
Stage 5 Profile Paris-Nice 2022 Source: ASO
Looks like one for the breakaway, particularly if there are some quality riders that have conceded time early in the race.
March 12 (Saturday early morning) - Stage 6 - 214 km - Courthézon to Aubagne
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The longest stage in the race, this could well be another day for the breakaway, with the Col de l'Espigoulier coming with 28 kilometres left to race. It's not the toughest climb in the world, and the better climbing sprinters in the peloton like Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Victorious) could fancy their chances.
Stage 6 Profile Paris-Nice 2022 Source: ASO
March 12 (Saturday late evening) - Stage 7 - 155.5 km - Nice to Col de Turini
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The queen stage of the race, and the main reason that the climbers are considered the main contenders for this edition of Paris-Nice. The Col de Turini is a very tough climb, nearly 15 kilometres with three separate kilometres averaging over 10 per cent.
Stage 7 Profile Paris-Nice 2022 Source: ASO
The final kilometre is a bit easier, meaning that it may be important to have a decent kick to win the race, if the difference hasn't already been made on the early slopes.
Col de Turini, the summit finish of Stage 7 of Paris-Nice 2022 Source: ASO
March 14 - Stage 8 - 116 km - Nice to Nice
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A fast, fun, short final stage of Paris has become part of the race's attraction in recent years, with several attacking races in recent years seeing fireworks as the general classification candidates have to get aggressive early to try and make up time on their rivals.
Stage 8 Profile Paris-Nice 2022 Source: ASO
Primož Roglič lost the Paris-Nice overall here last year and the succession of climbs should make for great viewing yet again, with the famous Col d'Eze again featuring before the riders finish in Nice.
Contenders
Defending champion Max Schachmann will be joined by Alexander Vlasov as the two-time winner will attempt to create history with a third win in a row. Schachmann hasn't raced yet in 2022, but he always arrives at Paris-Nice in very good form.
His past wins have been built on daring breakaways on the more intermediate stages, combined with hanging tough on the climbs as the mountain goats attack. He races aggressively and is fun to watch, but it's hard to see him besting the climbers on Col de Turini. Vlasov is perhaps a better option, given his recent form in Spain, and riding to fourth at the UAE Tour.
Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) was only denied last year by a final stage crash, he’s back to get revenge. His early season form has been indifferent thus far, but he's backed by a super strong team, the time trial looks right up his alley and the long climb to Col de Turini looks hard enough for the Slovenian star to creat enough time difference for an incidental time loss incurred along the way.
Wout van Aert might be an outside chance for Jumbo-Visma if the race gets attacked by crosswinds at some stage, his climbing performances in the past, and recent scintillating form mean you can't count him out.
Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic) destroyed some decent quality fields at the Tour de La Provence and the Tour de Haut Var to start off 2022. The Colombian is flying at present and there are plenty of reasons to believe he'll right up there battling for the win for his French squad. Quintana even handles himself very well in the crosswinds and battle for echelons, and despite the TT, he shouldn't be far from the top of the podium.
INEOS Grenadiers bring Adam Yates and Dani Martínez, which sees them with two good options for this race. Adam Yates was almost the equal of Pogačar at the UAE Tour, and the recent Strade Bianche has franked that form impressively.
The time trial used to be a significant hurdle for Adam Yates, but he's significantly better now against the clock, and Martínez has proved to be an excellent foil/Plan-B in the past.
Simon Yates (BikeExchange-Jayco) will ride against his brother in a Yates-off. He tuned up for this race in the Ruta del Sol, where he was fifth overall. He has history at the race, having the race overall win stolen from him on the final day in 2018 by Marc Soler, and also taking three stage wins over the years.
Ben O’Connor (AG2R-Citroen) was also warming up for the 2022 season in Spain, but this will be a big early target for the Tour de France fourth-place getter from last year. The race is an early season target for his French team and O'Connor is rightly a leader for the squad after his superb 2021.
Time trials have been inconsistent for O'Connor, even when in good form, so it will be interesting to see where the West Australian slots in among the general classification contenders against the clock.
Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious) is the other Australian that many will be watching after his move at the start of the 2021 season paid big dividends for all involved. Haig crashed out of the Tour de France, but backed up improbably at the Vuelta with a stellar showing to make the podium.
He'll be looking to show what he can accomplish with an uninterrupted season of racing, and Paris-Nice is the perfect place to start. Teammate Wout Poels is in sparkling form with his Ruta del Sol win and young star Gino Mäder give Bahrain three strong options for the yellow jersey.
It wouldn't be a surprise to see them trying to exploit the fact that they have three of the stronger riders in the race at some stage.
Michael Storer (Groupama-FDJ) will see more responsibility after his barn-storming Vuelta a Espana last year caught everyone's attention. He looked in good touch during racing in Spain, he'll be one to follow closely to see if he can produce a general classification performance the equal of his stage-winning efforts last year.
Brandon McNulty and Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) will look to continue their team's winning start to the season. McNulty has started with a few wins to kick off the season, while Almeida looked in good form racing in the Middle East. Both are good time triallists, but haven't quite shown in their young careers that they can match it with the likes of Roglič on the hardest climbs... Paris-Nice might be a chance to show that potential.
A stellar field will be on the startline to contest 'the Race to the Sun', Paris-Nice, with the race broadcast nightly on SBS and SBS On Demand, with race replays and highlights available the next day.
