Cycling news Bonifazio catches Tratnik on the line in dramatic Stage 5 finish
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Updated 12/03/2020 at 15:46 GMT
Niccolo Bonifazio took Stage 5 in a dramatic finish to Thursday’s racing at Paris-Nice.
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As the weather started to brighten in ‘the race to the sun’ it was Jan Tratnik of Bahrain-Merida who lit it up with a brilliant solo run to the line, only to be caught with the finish very much in sight.
A lumpy run-in allowed a great opportunity for attacks off the front of the peloton, and so it proved, with a number of small groups pulling away over the course of an entertaining stage.
Tratnik looked like he might just cling on with a solo break inside the last 3km as the peloton struggled to pull him back.
But the Slovenian had his heart broken with less than 50m remaining as Bonifazio launched his sprint at the perfect time to deny the more traditional sprinters and take a stage that will live long in the memory.
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'That is something for the ages!' - Niccolo Bonifazio snatches incredible victory
Speaking after the stage, Italian winner Bonifazio said:
For the team this is a really good day. It was an objective to win a stage and I've really worked hard this winter. I've only had eight races so far and it's been difficult to get into the rhythm of racing, but my position was good today and in the last kilometre I had a go. I'm happy to win.
"I hope that I've managed to give any Italians watching a little present," he added. "In Italy at the moment it's very difficult, everybody is stuck and they can't leave home."
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Image credit: Getty Images
Paris-Nice is one of the only remaining major races in the March cycling calendar after a string of cancellations across Europe in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, head of the ASO Christian Prudhomme is confident that the race will reach its conclusion on Sunday.
"I can simply say that at this instant we have received assurances that Paris-Nice will 100 percent arrive in Nice," he said, as reported by Le Parisien.
That’s the reality right now, but the race will indeed reach Nice. I can’t say anything else, because that’s the reality. For the rest, we’ll respect the directives, if there are any.
And the head of the French organisation added further comments on the likelihood of the Tour de France and Paris-Roubaix going ahead:
"Paris-Roubaix will be the next dossier after this. As for the Tour de France, only two world wars have stopped the Tour de France."
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