The 73rd edition of Paris-Nice will set out from Maurepas in the Yvelines district on Sunday after a series of events dedicated to cycling on Saturday. The race will then begin its southbound journey towards its first ever date with the col de la Croix de Chaubouret near Saint Etienne. The action will be beamed to 170 countries across the globe.

Designing a Paris-Nice route is and has always been an exercise in fine art. The whims and caprices of the March weather, which can serve up four seasons in a single week week as the peloton descends almost the length of France, give course designer François Lemarchand headaches galore when he sits down to assess potential stage venues.

“The geography of France is very restrictive for us,” he says. “The Alps and the Pyrenees are out of bounds at this time of year, as is most of the Massif Central, whereas the Vosges are further north and therefore exposed to even more difficult conditions. In our favour, we know that the hills and mountains behind Nice give us a lot of very varied options on the last weekend. And, on the way there, over the last few years, we've been able to use climbs like the Montagne de Lure or the Mont Serein ski resort.”

Thorough planning and risk assessment, plus a bit of luck, have ensured that every stage has gone ahead in full since 2005. For the fourth stage of this year's race, the race director chose the col de la Croix de Chaubouret precisely because of the low likelihood of disruptions:

“There are certain other sites that I'd really like to try in the future, like the Causse Noir in the Aveyron region, or maybe even a return to Mont Faron above Toulon. But this year we've gone for the col de la Croix de Chaubouret, which is quite a selective climb. We're always a little bit apprehensive, but I'm not really worried that we'll have to cancel: I must have been over that climb 15 times as a rider or race organiser, and I've never once been blocked.“

The Yvelines, calling all cyclists
For the six straight year, Paris-Nice will start in the département of the Yvelines, which thereby confirms its status as a French cycling hotbed, having already done so by hosting the recent track world championships at the new Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome. In addition, the general council of the Yvelines will host the “Tous cyclistes en Yvelines” - “Everyone a cyclist in the Yvelines” festival, based around race HQ in Maurepas. Eight organised rides are scheduled over distances from 20km to 100km, on road and mountain bike trails. 

TV Broadcasts: 20% more hours live
The first major stage race of the year will again attract TV audiences as impressive in their size as their geographical reach. In total, 27 different broadcasters representing 46 channels will bring pictures of Paris-Nice to cycling fans all over the world. For the first time this year the Australian channel SBS will show the race live, to the delight of Richie Porte's fans and countrymen, as will the Welsh network S4C, no doubt in anticipation of heroics from Geraint Thomas. Over the eight days, an average of two hours of live coverage per day will be packaged and distributed. The total signal time allocated to Paris-Nice broadcasters has increased by 20% on 2014.