World Champion Michal Kwiatkowski finished on the final podium of the 73rd edition of Paris-Nice. The Etixx-Quick Step rider led the Race to Sun for five stages, but he was knocked down to second place overall. Some people already say that he undergoes the "curse of the rainbow jersey".

"I'm satisfied with the final result. Victory at the prologue, leader's jersey for a couple of stages, it's a really good start of the season," Kwiatkowski told rowery.org. "Skipping Strade Bianche and choosing Paris-Nice instead of Tirreno-Adriatico was a good move, however, I missed the white roads watching Zdenek's beautiful ride in Italy. I see progress in my climbing, time-trialling, sprinting and, I hope, in classics in general. I'm getting stronger with every year because I work hard for it. I am not afraid of challenging the climbs, but you cannot achieve everything in just one year."

Now, Kwiatkowski focused on his next goals. This weekend, he will race Milano-Sanremo, but he won’t be the leader. His team will bet on Mark Cavendish. "A podium in Paris-Nice boosts the morale ahead of my main goals of the season. This is a great race with a rich history and to finish it on the podium is something special. It is all going as planned, and I am right there where I wanted to be at this time of the year. Our team is strong. Cavendish is a guy who won this race in his very first participation. He is a guy who has a great feeling for this race and the experience that is useful for all of us. On a personal level, I want to discover this finale, considering I didn't finish my first two attempts. I want to honour the race by finishing it, first and foremost," he concluded.