The line-up for this 81st edition is mouth-watering with the participation of Simon Yates, Daniel Felipe Martinez and the two Frenchmen David Gaudu and Romain Bardet.

But it is obviously the presence of the two superstars, Pogacar and Vingegaard, which attracts all eyes.

It is a rare pleasure.

A clash between the first two of the last Tour de France had not happened on the "Race to the Sun" since Miguel Indurain and Tony Rominger in 1994, almost 30 years ago.

Their duel on the eight stages bringing the riders from Yvelines to the Promenade des Anglais on Sunday March 12 is all the more awaited as the two men have managed a gargantuan start to the season.

Pogacar already has five victories in six days of racing.

And Vingegaard was downright full of success by winning the three stages plus the general of the Gran Camino in Spain.

"They seem to be flying", summarizes Romain Bardet who, for his return after three years of absence, hopes to interfere in the fight for the general classification, while the outgoing winner Primoz Roglic and the Colombian Egan Bernal have deadlock.

For Pogacar and Vingegaard, this will be the first participation in Paris-Nice.

Until then, they had favored the Italian race of Tirreno-Adriatico where they had finished in this order in the first two places in 2022, before the Dane supplanted the Slovenian on the Tour.

"Mini Tour of France"

Paris-Nice should give the first valuable indications of the balance of power between the two men who have made the Grande Boucle their main objective once again this year.

"Pogacar will want to show that he is the driver," said Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme.

"The strength of Paris-Nice is to plan immediately for July. It's really a mini Tour de France with finishes at the top, a time trial but also flat stages with wind", adds- he.

The race, which starts in the Chevreuse valley on Sunday, offers a bit of everything, especially for the sprinters, many of whom have made the trip (Arnaud Démare, Bryan Coquard, Tim Merlier, Arnaud De Lie, Sam Bennett, Mads Pedersen ...).

The novelty this year will be the team time trial on Tuesday in the Loiret which returns after thirty years of absence with a new format.

Rather than taking the time of each team on the fourth or fifth runner to cross the line, the clock will thus be stopped when the first to arrive passes, and the real time will prevail for the late runners.

"It allows us perhaps, explains race director François Lemarchand, to avoid seeing the team that wins the time placing several riders at the top of the general classification" in a race that is often played out in seconds like the last year when the Slovenian Primoz Roglic won the final victory with only 29 seconds ahead of the Briton Simon Yates.

The day after the time trial, the race will arrive at La Loge des Gardes, a family ski resort above Vichy, after a 6.7 km climb at an average speed of 7.1% where the favorites should to explain.

Before a final weekend around Nice, with the ascent of the highest peak in the history of the event, the Col de Couillole (1,678 m) on Saturday, and a last stage on Sunday taking the traditional Col d'Eze , where Roglic almost lost everything last year.

© 2023 AFP