PARIS (Reuters) - Pre-race favourite Romain Bardet has been disqualified from the Paris-Nice after being towed by his team car following a crash on the opening stage, organisers said on Sunday. The disqualification is a blow for the AG2R-La Mondiale rider as the week-long Paris-Nice race was an early goal ahead of July's Tour de France. In 2015, Italian Vincenzo Nibali was disqualified from the Tour of Spain (Vuelta) after he also held onto his team car to make up lost ground. The wind-hit stage was won by France's Arnaud Demare as Alberto Contador's chances of winning a third Paris-Nice title took a hit when he fell behind his main rivals. Among the favourites for the overall title, Ireland's Dan Martin (Quick Step Floors) and Colombian Sergio Henao (Team Sky) are 19 seconds off the pace.

Source: The Star March 05, 2017 16:59 UTC