PREVIEW | Paris-Nice 2025 stage 2 - Unavoidable bunch sprint a nightmare for Tim Merlier's rivals

Paris-Nice is one of the most reputable and toughest stage-races in the World Tour calendar and every single year it hosts many of the world's best climbers, sprinters and classics riders. This year the race takes place from the 9th to 16th of March. We preview stage 2.

Stage 2 will be the second and clearest opportunity for the sprinters throughout the race, having a mostly flat 186-kilometer long day that has almost no climbing whatsoever and a finale in Bellegarde.

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Stage 2: Montesson - Bellegarde, 186.9 kilometers

There isn't really anything meaningful to analyse in the day. The organizers have made sure the sprinters would have at least one day where they wouldn't have to think about small climbs or anything, and they can just focus on the final kilometers.

And these will be... ideal? Well they should be safe, let's put it like that. The final kilometers are in a completely straightforward road, no roundabouts, no corners, no gradients. A pure bunch sprint.

The Weather

Map Paris-Nice 2025 stage 2

Small northern breeze but it will not affect the outcome of the day. A regular day.

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The Favourites

Tim Merlier - This will be the man to beat and there's little doubt about that. Yes it will be a bunch sprint, and Merlier doesn't have the best of leadouts, but he is just a very strong sprinter and it didn't seem like he had a match today despite the hard finale. I predict a second win because it will require him being severely out of position to miss out on it.

Without there being technical features in the final kilometers, it will make it harder to catch the Belgian out of position. Today there was no-one really to put on a leadout masterpiece and so we could potentially have another chaotic sprint. There were high expectations of Mads Pedersen but he was not in the Top10 in the end. But that doesn't mean he should be ruled out, even on a flat stage. Alberto Dainese, Arnaud Démare and Juan Sebastián Molano seem to be the riders who carried the most speed alongside him today.

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Danny van Poppel would be a good contender and a master at positioning, but he did not finish in the peloton today and that's just about the worst sign he could've given. Picnic had both men, but although the bet will likely be on Fabio Jakobsen, the Dutchman doesn't seem to have it, whilst Tobias Lund Andresen will likely not thrive in a stage that features no climbing whatsoever.

Alexander Kristoff, Vincenzo Albanese, Michael Matthews, Axel Zingle, Stanislaw Aniolkowski, Iuri Leitáo, Emilien Jeannière and Max Walscheid will also be riders to consider for a strong result in the end.

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Prediction Paris-Nice 2025 stage 2:

*** Tim Merlier
** Alberto Dainese, Juan Sebastián Molano, Mads Pedersen
* Arnaud Démare, Alexander Kristoff, Tobias Lund Andresen, Michael Matthews, Axel Zingle, Stanislaw Aniolkowski

Pick: Tim Merlier

How: Another win for Merlier. Although it is a flat sprint, there simply doesn't seem to be a sprinter here in regular conditions to beat him.

Original: Rúben Silva

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