Godon wins Paris-Nice sprint in style

Dorian Godon claimed his first victory for the INEOS Grenadiers with a strong man's sprint in tough wintery conditions at Paris-Nice.

The race's penultimate stage had to be amended not once but twice due to snow and heavy, persistent rain. A GC day of climbing was ultimately replaced by a 47-kilometre uphill drag, with the team working hard to set up a bunch sprint into Isola.

Committing fully to the new plan, the Grenadiers executed perfectly, with Kevin Vauquelin and then Josh Tarling driving into the final kilometre. Sam Watson then continued the leadout before Godon jumped clear, rebounding from a number of recent near-misses to claim a popular victory.

Positioning had been key on the uphill drag, with the likes of Carlos Rodriguez and Michal Kwiatkowski getting through a lot of work to ensure the team remained to the fore in a fast and furious stage. 

The sprint ensured that the GC positions went unchanged, with Vauquelin retaining fourth place overall with one stage to go.

Saturday also saw the penultimate stage of Tirreno-Adriatico, with Magnus Sheffield taking eighth place on another selective GC test.

Present with teammate Thymen Arensman in an elite GC group late on, the American was able to dig deep and retain ninth place overall with one stage remaining. Arensman moved up to 15th on the day.

Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) won the stage to extend his overall lead to 42 seconds, with one final sprint stage remaining.