SALON-DE-PROVENCE, France — Kazakh rider Alexei Lutsenko came home alone to win the fifth stage of the Paris-Nice cycling race Friday as Australian Michael Matthews held onto the lead with two days to go.
Astana's Lutsenko broke away from the peloton 28km from the line to cross 21 seconds ahead of the pursuing pack led by Norway's Alexander Kristoff ahead of Matthews.
The mythical Mont Ventoux, with a climb two-thirds of the way up to Chalet Reynard in the first part of the race, did not decide the 198km stage.
Canadian Antoine Duchesne, among an early breakaway group, shook off his rivals 41km from the line but was caught and overtaken by former world junior champion Lutsenko, 23, in the final 20km.
Orica-GreenEdge rider Matthews remains in the leader's yellow jersey after finishing in third place, with Lutsenko 6sec behind in the overall standings.
Saturday's penultimate stage, the toughest of the week, will cover 177km between Nice and Madonne d'Utelle, taking in seven climbs, with a summit finish after a final 15.3km climb.
Contador says dropping Giro will boost his Tour hopes
Alberto Contador believes his absence from this year's Giro d'Italia could prove to be a game-changer when he challenges for a third Tour de France title in July.
The 33-year-old Spaniard won a punishing Giro last year but fizzled out in the Tour that followed and finished a distant fifth without ever being in contention.
"Having decided not to ride the Giro, I know I can give my all in all the events I enter, it's a real deal-changer," Contador told Reuters at the Paris-Nice stage race which he is riding for the first time since 2010.
"The legs are good, I'm satisfied with my form at this stage of the season."
The seven-times grand tour winner last won the Tour de France in 2010 but was stripped of that title after testing positive for the banned anabolic agent clenbuterol.
The Spaniard, who had blamed the failed test on contaminated meat and denied wrongdoing, previously won the Tour in 2007 and 2009.
Contador will compete in the Olympic road race in Rio in August, but he saw that as a natural follow-up to the Tour whereas targeting two three-week events in a single season was another matter.
An unpredictable rider, Contador has no rival when it comes to catching his opponents off guard, attacking where and when they are not expecting him to.
Those instincts could make the difference in July against the likes of Briton Chris Froome, Colombian Nairo Quintana or France's Thibaut Pinot.
