With the presence this year of Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar, the first two of the last Tour de France, the organizers of Paris-Nice, which begins on Sunday, have struck a blow.

"It's huge, we have an exceptional field with the revenge of the last Tour but also David Gaudu, Romain Bardet and a host of sprinters", welcomes Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France and cycling at ASO, who also organizes Paris-Nice.

In recent years, however, the event has sometimes suffered from comparison with its Italian twin, which starts on Monday.

In 2022, Pogacar and Vingegaard were on Tirreno-Adriatico and the two most popular French riders, Julian Alaphilippe and Thibaut Pinot, will be in Italy again this year, as will Wout Van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic or Warren Barguil.

So which is the most beautiful between the "Race to the sun" and the "Race of the two seas", nicknames of these great tours in miniature with their mountain stages, their time trials and their sprint finishes?

Unsurprisingly, the number 1 spot is claimed by the two organizers, Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) and RCS.

By a disturbing mimicry, they manage a portfolio of similar races (Tour/Giro, two monuments and several classics each...), while belonging to the same group as the reference sports newspaper of their country, L'Equipe and The Gazzetta dello Sport.

UAE team leader Tadej Pogacar celebrates his victory over Tirreno-Adriatico, holding up the event's trophy on March 13, 2022 in San Benedetto del Tronto © Luca Bettini / AFP/Archives

"Paris-Nice is a brand"

"Our race has become the most important one-week event in the world," said Mauro Vegni, director of cycling at RCS, during the presentation of the course.

Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (g) and Dane Jonas Vingegaard, during the Alpe d'Huez stage, on the Tour de France, July 14, 2022 © Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP/Archives

"It's not my opinion," replied Christian Prudhomme to AFP.

"Paris-Nice is a brand. It rings true. It has the privilege of seniority and remains the first major spring stage meeting in Europe."

Created in 1933, Paris-Nice has in fact a historical advantage over its Italian cousin, which only had its first edition in 1966, almost by default.

"It was born because only two or three teams were generally invited to Paris-Nice and therefore the other Italian teams did not have the possibility of preparing Milan-Sanremo", the first monument of the season, reminds Mauro Vegni at the AFP.

Since then, the Italian race has grown to become an alternative to Paris-Nice.

"Over the past thirty years, I think that overall the history of Tirreno has lived up to that of our French cousins", develops Mauro Vegni, who assures that RCS does not offer a participation bonus to champions.

"It doesn't exist. It's a free choice that the teams make and I'm happy that this choice, six times out of ten, is for the Tirreno", he adds.

Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France and cycling at Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), during a press conference on December 23, 2022 in Turin © MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP/Archives

The Strade Bianche, X factor

Several factors can explain why the student today tickles the master.

First of all, the weather, often harsh in Paris-Nice and milder in central Italy.

The proximity to Milan-Sanremo.

And above all the rise of the Strade Bianche, a one-day classic organized on the Saturday preceding the two stage races, which has become very popular with the runners – "it's one of my favorite races, if not my favorite race", explains Julian Alaphilippe to AFP.

The director of cycling at RCS, Mauro Vegni, during the presentation of the Tour of Italy 2023, on October 17, 2022 in Milan © Marco BERTORELLO / AFP/Archives

With a start and finish in Siena, it pushes the riders to move on to Tirreno.

"If you do the Strade Bianche, you don't do Paris-Nice. For the Italians, it's relevant to have put that there", agrees François Lemarchand, the director of Paris-Nice.

In the end, what makes everyone agree is that the two races should not take place at the same time.

"It's as if we organized the same week a football World Cup in Italy and another in France. It seems stupid to me," laments Mauro Vegni.

An absurdity of the calendar which should soon belong to the past since the International Cycling Union (UCI) is working on a reform of the calendar by 2026 which provides that the biggest races no longer overlap.

© 2023 AFP