Paris-Nice, the 'Race to the Sun', begins this weekend and Team Giant-Alpecin heads to the eight-day WorldTour race with a strong team. This year's edition offers a challenging course for the riders as the race gets underway with a 6.1km prologue on Sunday. Among the highlights will undoubtedly be the ascent of the Mont Ventoux on the fifth stage.

Tom Dumoulin will lead Giant-Alpecin in the race.

"My goal in Paris-Nice will be to go for a good general classification. We head to France with a strong team, both for the difficult flat stages and the mountains," he said.

"I want to start with a strong result from the prologue and have a good starting position. From that we will take it day by day for the general classification. In the first stages, the wind could play a role, with other challenges as well, so I hope to tackle the first days in the best way possible. 

"From past experiences, I've learned that March is always a challenging month for me to reach my top level, but we go for it."

Laurens ten Dam will make his debut with his new team in France.

"I’ve had a good training period in the US and I am in good shape. Paris-Nice will be my first race of the season and also the first for the team, which is special. I am very excited to race with my new teammates and I am looking forward to it," he said.

"My aim will be to help Tom [Dumoulin] in the mountains. Especially stages 3, 7 and 8 are the important ones and I expect to be there for the team on the decisive moments. I am comfortable with this role and I am going to France in a relaxed mindset."

"The main objective is to do a good general classification with Tom [Dumoulin]. This year, it is a very tricky course and we will have to ride an attentive race. Every day offers different challenges and it is important to stay focused on the flat stages as well as the mountain stages," sports director Aike Visbeek said.

"With the experience of Koen [de Kort] and Roy [Curvers] we will be able to deal with the different conditions of the race. In addition, Laurens [ten Dam] will bring that necessary experience for the mountains."