“It’s a race that has always been pretty good for me” - Aurélien Paret-Peintre on his ambitions for Paris-Nice ahead of the Giro d’Italia later this season

Having won a stage at last year’s race, the Giro d’Italia will once again be the main objective for Aurélien Paret-Peintre this season. As part of his build up to the Corsa Rosa, the Frenchman is currently racing Paris-Nice in order to hone his form for later in the season.

Paret-Peintre began his season well, finishing sixth overall at Étoile de Bessèges and third overall at the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes, before taking a top-10 result at the Faun-Ardèche Classic. Although his Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team are riding for Felix Gall at Paris-Nice, the French rider still hopes to continue his early season form with a strong result at the race.

In an interview with Cyclism'Actu after stage 1 of Paris-Nice, Paret-Peintre said “it’s a race that has always been pretty good for me, so I’m happy to be here. I’m going to try to put myself in a position to win a stage, that’s always important, to get a good general classification and obviously to serve as support for Felix if we really play something high”.

Looking ahead to the rest of the Spring, Paret-Peintre is currently scheduled to be riding the Tour of the Alps ahead of the Giro d’Italia in May. On his plans after Paris-Nice, he said “I’m going to relax a little bit, then set off on a preparation for the Giro d’Italia like last year, with a long training block and the Tour of the Alps before the Giro”.