Preview: Paris-Nice. Premium startlist looking for sprint wins, fireworks in the mountains and form for the classics

From the 6th to the 13th of March takes place one of the most important stage-races of the season as the peloton ride the race to the sun. Paris-Nice is the first World Tour stage-race of the year and is always a launching pad for the classics, aswell as a battle field for some of the world's best climbers and sprinters.

The eighth days of racing will start with a finale in Mantes-la-Ville, a stage suited to the sprinters but with a couple of launchpads near the end where the puncheurs and rouleurs may sneak in for the win. The third stage has a relatively similar description, whilst the second day features the only opportunity for the pure sprinters. Stages four and five will open up the GC fight with a 13.4 kilometer time-trial and then a mountainous stage in the Valence area with some tough climbs towards the finish. Stage six is a hilly day the most suited to a breakaway, or late attacks.

The final weekend sees the two decisive stages, the first being the queen stage with a summit finale at the Col de Turini, whilst the final classic Nice loop on the final day has been made tougher by the addition of a very hard ascent of the Col d'Èze before the descent to the finish in Nice for the grand finale.

As it stands, the preliminary startlist includes the likes of Primoz Roglic, Aleksandr Vlasov, Nairo Quintana, Ben O'Connor, Jack Haig, Wout Poels, Bauke Mollema, Simon Yates, Daniel Martínez, Adam Yates, Max Schachmann, Alexey Lutsenko, João Almeida, Brandon McNulty, David Gaudu, Guillaume Martin and Pierre Latour all coming in as realistic GC contender which will make for an absolutely stacked field.

As for the sprint stages, which won't come aplenty, we will see Wout van Aert, Mads Pedersen, Sam Bennett, Jasper Philipsen, Fabio Jakobsen, Sonny Colbrelli, and Bryan Coquard which should make for incredible battle at the end of the flatter days.

Time-trialists and classics riders also come aplenty, with good reason. Stefan Bissegger, Stefan Kung, Rohan Dennis and Ethan Hayter will have their opportunities to snatch a stage win, whilst the likes of Jasper Stuyven, Matteo Trentin, Dylan van Baarle, Florian Sénéchal, Yves Lampaert, Zdenek Stybar and Nils Politt will also be using the race to get the right form for the cobbled classics.

You will be able to keep up with the race here on CyclingUpToDate as we bring you race reports and interviews on a daily basis.