In short
| Stage winner | Alexandr KOLOBNEV |
 (yellow jersey) |
Franco PELLIZOTTI |
 (green jersey) |
Daniele BENNATI |
 (red polka dot jersey) |
Heinrich HAUSSLER |
 (white jersey) |
Roman KREUZINGER |
Starters' list | Time schedules
All classifications
| Stage |
|---|
 |
• Individual time• Individual points • Best young • Best climber • Best team |
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| Overall |
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• Individual time• Individual points • Best young • Best climber • Best team |
Stage by stage
| P | Sunday 11 March | 4.7 km |
| Issy-les-Moulineaux > Issy-les-Moulineaux | ||
| 1 | Monday 12 March | 186 km |
| Cloyes-sur-le-Loir > Buzançais | ||
| 2 | Tuesday 13 March | 177 km |
| Vatan > Limoges | ||
| 3 | Wednesday 14 March | 215.5 km |
| Limoges > Maurs la Jolie | ||
| 4 | Thursday 15 March | 169.5 km |
| Maurs la Jolie > Mende | ||
| 5 | Friday 16 March | 178 km |
| Sorgues > Manosque | ||
| 6 | Saturday 17 March | 200 km |
| Brignoles > Cannes | ||
| 7 | Sunday 18 March | 129.5 km |
| Nice > Nice | ||
| Total Length | 1260.2 km | |
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The race
Wednesday 14 March 2007| stage 3 | Limoges > Maurs la Jolie - 215.5 km |
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Kolobnev holds Boonen at bay
Russia’s Alexandr Kolobnev (Team CSC) staged the first successful break in this year’s Paris-Nice to win the 3rd stage between Limoges and Maurs-la-Jolie, robbing Tom Boonen of his annual stage win in the race. Boonen had to be content with second place, 12 seconds behind, winning the peloton’s sprint ahead of Daniele Bennati (Lampre). The Quick Step leader raised his arm as though he had won but it was Kolobnev’s day. The former Russian champion had gone since kilometre 2.5. Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) retained the overall lead.
The film of the stage
Paris-Nice, Stage 3
Limoges – Maurs la Jolie (215.5 kms)
159 riders at the start
Weather : sunny
Intermediate sprints:
Km 54.5 - Lubersac
Km 178 – Sousceyrac.
Climbs:
Kilometre 14.5 - Cote de St Hilaire-Bonneval
Km 48.5 - Cote de la Grande Renaudie
Km 59 - Cote de la Pouege
Km 173.5 - Cote du Fangas.
Four in the lead
The real start was given at 10:55 to 159 riders. Three riders shook the peloton after two kilometres: Fabio Baldato (Lampre), Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner) and Alexandr Kolobnev (CSC). They were rapidly joined by Agritubel leader Nicolas Vogondy. The four worked perfectly together and their lead was 4:25 at the top of the first climb of the day, the Cote de St Hilaire-Bonneval (km 14.5). First at the top of the hill was Haussler, followed by Badato and Vogondy.
Haussler obviously went for Stephane Auge’s polka-dot jersey, finishing first at the top of the two following climbs, La Grande Renaudie (km 48.5) and the Cote de la Pouege (km 59), both times ahead of Vogondy.
The first intermediate sprint in Lubersac (km 54.5) saw Kolobnev beat Haussler and Vogondy. The lead of the four escapees at that stage reached 8:45.
Haussler king of the hill
With an average speed for the first two hours slightly under 44 kph, the gap widened to 10:20 at kilometre 84 but then declined regularly (8:30 at kilometre 112, 8:05 at km 140, 6:40 at km 155). Six Liquigas riders were seen leading the peloton in the middle part of the stage to defend Franco Pellizotti’s yellow jersey.
The lead was under five minutes when the four climbed the last hill of the day, the Cote du Fangas (km 173.5). Haussler was first up the hill, ahead of Kolobnev and Vogondy. The Australian-born German, winner on all four climbs today, took the best climber’s polka-dot jersey away from France’s Stephane Auge.
Dutchman Reinbert Wielinga (Liquigas) moved to chase behind the break (km 170) but was reined in in the descent.
Kolobnev wins stage
The last intermediate sprint of the day in Sousceyrac (km 178) was won by Kolobnev ahead of Vogondy and Haussler. The gap quickly diminished in the final hour and was down to three minutes at kilometre 184 and under two minutes 20 kms from the line.
The Quick Step worked hard in the last 40 kilometres for Tom Boonen and the steady return of the peloton spurred Kolobnev into action. The Russian parted company with his former breakaway mates to try his luck. Baldato, Haussler and Vogondy were caught with seven kilometres left.
The former Russian champion kept a 24-second lead two kilometres before the line and managed to hold the peloton at bay and win the stage ahead of Tom Boonen and Daniele Bennati.
Franco Pellizotti retained the overall lead.
The winner interview
Kolobnev: "I couldn’t believe it"
"It was a great day for me, first with the four-man break and of course because of the outcome. I really did not think we could make it to the finish. In the final 15 kilometres, I decided to go on my own and to take advantage of the long final descent. It’s an incredible day for me and I wish to thank Team-CSC for trusting me."
The newsflashes
Top five placings
1. Alexandr Kolobnev (Russia, CSC)
2. Tom Boonen (Belgium, Quick Step)
3. Daniele Bennati (Italy, Lampre)
4. Matthew Hayman (Australia, Rabobank)
5. Jean-Patrick Nazon (France, AG2R) all 12 secs behind.