La Côte-Saint-André (France) (AFP)

A comfort for Italian cycling at a standstill in its country? One of his own, Niccolo Bonifazio, won Thursday at La Côte-Saint-André (Isère) the 5th stage of Paris-Nice which continues despite the pandemic of new coronavirus and its burst of cancellations.

In the chaos that upsets the sports world and also affects cycling, Paris-Nice appears to be a survivor. Even if it means keeping the public away, kept at a distance from departures and arrivals, limiting contacts and systematizing preventive measures, while remaining energized.

Riders, for the most part, keep their cool. Their concern is more related to the situation of their relatives, especially for the Italians. "We live day by day," sums up Vincenzo Nibali, who pleaded earlier this week for respecting the strict measures decided by his government.

"We obviously think about it, difficult to do otherwise," confirms Giacomo Nizzolo, the winner of the 2nd stage last Monday. "But, for now, it's good to be able to compete in a big race like Paris-Nice. For the rest, we'll see what we can do."

The peloton, which brings together runners from 26 countries, must take into account the decisions of the various national authorities. As of Thursday morning, the American Tejay Van Garderen left the race to find a flight and return to his country as long as it was time. (Editor's note: President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that travel from Europe to the United States will be suspended for 30 days to stem the outbreak of the new coronavirus.)

- Higuita loses its lieutenants -

For the Colombian climber Sergio Higuita, who aims for the final victory, it was the first bad news. A few hours later, he lost the Canadian Michael Woods, victim of a bad fall and hit in one leg. Then the American Lawson Craddock. Or possible support for the last two mountain stages, in the hinterland of Nice.

Other runners threw in the towel during the race, which immediately raised questions about their state of health and the hypothesis of contamination linked to Covid-19. In particular with regard to the abandonment of Oliver Naesen, a teammate of Romain Bardet, before the AG2R La Mondiale team disseminated the medical diagnosis for its Belgian runner: "gastroenteritis without fever".

Is it a symbol? In the longest stage of the event (227 km), the victory went to a native of the European country most affected by the pandemic so far. Bonifazio, who is playing his second season with the French team Total Direct Energie, managed to overcome his concerns during a victorious sprint ahead of the Spaniard Ivan Garcia Cortina and the Slovakian Peter Sagan.

"This is a small gift for my country," said the Italian, who lives on the Ligurian coast and dreams of the "classicissima" Milan-Sanremo (5th in 2015), canceled for the moment. "My family has to stay at home, they can't go out."

To win, Bonifazio dashed the hopes of Slovenian Jan Tratnik, who escaped from a breakaway of four runners launched from the 5th kilometer (with Gougeard, Mullen and Turgis). Tratnik was overwhelmed just ... 60 meters from the finish line.

The German Maximilian Schachmann kept his yellow jersey before the 6th stage scheduled for Friday in the Vaucluse between Sorgues and Apt, on a very rough course through the Luberon. No less than six ribs are displayed on the 161.5 km profile favorable to punchers.

© 2020 AFP