Tom Boonen (Etixx-QuickStep) and Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) were among 25 riders that were levied with a 100 CHF fine for failing to sign on ahead of stage 4 of Paris-Nice on Thursday. Riders must sign on ahead of every stage or risk some punishment.
It’s not the first time that a large group of riders have been stuck with a fine for not signing on. At the 2014 Tour de France, all off the Cannondale riders were handed a fine when they failed to sign on before a stage as the area around the stage was muddy and the riders didn’t want to clog up their cleats with mud.
It is unclear what the reason for such a large number not signing on, if it was a form of protest against the riding conditions in the previous day’s stage or if it was down to the freezing temperatures and riders wanting to stay in the buses as long as possible.
Nathan Haas out of Paris-Nice after overcooking corner in stage 4
Dimension Data's Nathan Haas did a disappearing act on stage 4 of Paris-Nice yesterday, miscalculating a corner with 30km to go and ending up in a ditch. The Australian had gone on the attack with the breakaway's advantage dropping to under one minute, having climbed and descended the Côte de Saint-Uze. Haas came into the right-hand corner and upon realising he was travelling too fast to successfully navigate it, tired to correct his line, pulling his right-leg out of the pedal to no avail and riding into a ditch.
Although he was forced to abandon the race, Haas later tweeted that he sustained no serious injuries.
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"All good! X-Ray's no break, just super sore. Thought I was back on the mountain bike. Thanks @TeamDiData Med team," he wrote.
Modolo aspired for better results
Lampre-Merdia's Sacha Modolo says that he aspired for better results as he takes on the sprinters at Tirreno-Adriatico this week. During stage 3 of the WorldTour race, the Italian placed eighth behind stage winner Fernando Gaviria (Etixx-QuickStep) and a series of other strong sprinters.
"I aspired to obtain a better result, I'm not happy with today's performance," Modolo said in a team press release. "The final of the stage was suitable for my skills, I thought to have an advantage on the pure sprinters, my teammates were great in driving me to the front positions.
"Maybe we had an hesitation when we were close to the fence on the left side of the road, however, I could start my sprint in the proper moment, but Gaviria had already a good advantage thanks to an impressive speed.
"I was aware he could have been the favourite, however, I could not imagine he could be so strong."
Cheung King-lok to gain experience with Orica-GreenEdge
Cheung King-lok, double Asian Championship gold medallist, has secured a spot with Orica-GreenEdge in order to gain valuable experience ahead of the Olympic Games this summer. The Hong Kong Cycling Association made the announcement.
Cheung won the road race and the time trial at the Asian Championships in January.
