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Racing

Paris-Nice 2014: stage two – five observations

Geraint Thomas masks poor day for Team Sky while young riders take centre stage

Team Sky are sat nicely overall, with Geraint Thomas up to fourth having once again finished in the leading group. However, the form of the Welshman – installed as team leader after Richie Porte’s late switch to Tirreno-Adriatico – masks a disappointing two days for the British team. While Thomas has proved himself capable of holding his own, on his own, the rest of his team-mates’ performances means Team Sky are bottom of the team classification, almost six minutes behind leaders Katusha.

Geraint Thomas had to go it alone on stage two after finding himself isolated from his team mates (pic: Sirotti)

Edvald Boasson Hagen has twice found himself out of contention due to crashes, while stage two saw much of the team held up behind the crash the Norwegian was involved in, inside the final ten kilometres. Behind Thomas, Xabier Zandio was the next best-placed Sky rider in 123rd. It is a problem which has reared its head before, albeit very infrequently, with Chris Froome isolated on occasions at the Tour de France last year. Thomas is well placed to make a good go for the yellow jersey at Paris-Nice, with many of his rivals already losing time, so the team need to have a rethink about how they are approaching these stages to boost the Welshman’s chances.

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