Five things you need to know about...Paris-Nice

Race preview: 8-15 March | France

-  Adam Becket

1 Jonas Vingegaard is back

The Dane delayed his season start after illness, but he will be back in action at Paris-Nice, where he will hope for a better time than last year, when he suffered a concussion. A lack of a GC title here feels like a gap in the Visma-Lease a Bike star's career that he will be keen to fill.

2 Avoiding crosswinds and chaos

Crosswinds always loom large at Paris-Nice. As the race traverses central France, the famed winds of the country will come into play - the Mistral, the Tramontane and others. GC riders will have to stay on alert or risk being left behind by splits in the peloton and ruining their chances before the big climbs even begin.

3 Race of the Sun?

The Race to the Sun might be its nickname, but given this is early March, weather can be changeable and previous editions have seen their fair share of rain. As things stand, though, the forecast is for good weather across France for the week ahead so perhaps this year the eight-stage race will be the Race of the Sun rather than to the sun.

4 No room for sprints

Traditionally, Paris-Nice has been a solid warm-up race for the Classics, offering the one-day contenders the chance to fine-tune their form ahead of the key cobbled races. This year is no different, but there is only one nailed-on sprint stage for the fastmen. Tirreno isn't much kinder, either.