The rain and cold weather continued for the final stage in Paris-Nice, but with only an uphill road to contest it poised little hindrance to the riders’ final effort of the 8-day race.

Richie Porte stamped his name to the yellow jersey by the intermediate split, and by the finish he cemented the overall win, besting the 9.6-kilometer uphill test in a time of 20:23 (28.258km/h).

Riccardo Zoidl stopped the clock in 21:32; he came across the line in the fourth best time provisionally and would hold onto a top ten until the last of the GC contenders battling for the overall finished, officially claiming 15th place (+1’09”).  

It was a respectable ride from the Austrian National Road Champion, but in analyzing his race with trainer Josu Larrazabal afterward, it was determined he went too quick at the start - where the gradient was steepest - and paid the price later.

“The feeling was good,” Zoidl explained to TFR.com. “But the problem was I started too fast, so the last 2.5k I lost 20 seconds to the best times. And the last 2k was so much headwind that when you have a bad moment there you pay for it. In the end it was a solid ride, but not super.”

Teammate Bob Jungels finished with a time of 22:28, not his top effort but the best he could muster after yesterday’s epic stage where he spent the bulk of the race off the front.  Justifiably, after his exertion Saturday in the freezing cold, his legs did not respond the way he wanted today.

He was the highest finisher in the overall for Trek Factory Racing in 23rd place. 

Director Kim Andersen summed up the week for the team: 

“I think at the start of the week we had a goal to win a stage and have one finish in the top 10, and we did not reach that goal. But I think also we saw some positive things this week: Giacomo [Nizzolo] is definitely on the way back in the sprints, and the team worked very well together in the finales.

“For the rest it was not what we expected, but yesterday was a special day – certainly it was hard for everyone, but some can take the rain and cold better than others. In the end, it was not a super week for us - onward and upward.”