Paris-Nice (World Tour)

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The race:

Created in 1933 by Albert Lejeune, Director of the Petit Journal, Paris-Nice used to be a tune-up or training race for the important spring races. No longer. The "Race to the Sun" is one of the first major objectives in the pro calender and is a highly coveted victory.

In the 2003 edition Kazakh rider Andrei Kivilev died after a fall. This caused the UCI, after many fits and starts over the years, to finally mandate the use of helmets in all races.

Sean Kelly remains the king of Paris-Nice, winning it seven times in a row from 1982 to 1988. Paris-Nice is now owned by ASO, the owners of the Tour de France. In 1951, '52 and '53, the race was known as the Paris-Côte d'Azure. In 1959, the longest edition of the race, Paris-Nice went all the way to Rome.

2010 second-place Alejandro Valverde was disqualified for his involvement in the Puerto affair.