Paris-Nice ended yesterday with a climb time trial of 9.6 km on the Col d’Eze.

Richie Porte (Sky) rode up the mountain the fastest and he can take the yellow jersey home. Bart De Clercq (Lotto Belisol) ended the “Race to the Sun” on seventeenth place at 3’28”. He lost his chances of a place in the top ten during the stage to Montagne de Lure on Friday, where he had bad legs.

However, 17th overall didn’t exactly correspond to De Clercq’s ambitions, “Before Paris-Nice had started,” he said “the team and I wanted to reach the top ten. That didn’t succeed and that is disappointing. In the stage on Friday to Montagne de Lure and today in the time trial on the Col d’Eze my legs didn’t feel good. The other days I felt fine. Seventeenth isn’t bad, but we had hoped for a better result.”