2003 Paris–Nice

The 2003 Paris–Nice was the 61st edition of the Paris–Nice cycle race and was held from 9 March to 16 March 2003. The race started in Issy-les-Moulineaux and finished in Nice. The race was won by Alexander Vinokourov of the Telekom team.

2003 Paris–Nice

Race details
Dates	9–16 March 2003
Stages	7 + Prologue
Distance	901.8 km (560.4 mi)
Winning time	23h 30' 04"
Results
Winner Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) (Team Telekom)   Second Mikel Zarrabeitia (ESP) (ONCE–Eroski)   Third Davide Rebellin (ITA) (Gerolsteiner)

Andrey Kivilev (Cofidis), fourth in the 2001 Tour de France, crashed heavily during stage 2. He was taken to hospital with severe head injuries and placed in a coma. An emergency surgery was conducted the same night, but Kivilev died in the early morning of 12 March 2003. Following his death, calls to make the wearing of crash helmets compulsory in professional cycling increased. Less than a month later, the sport's governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale, declared helmets mandatory for all UCI-sanctioned events.

Teams

Twenty teams, containing a total of 158 riders, participated in the race:

• Team Telekom
• FDJeux.com
• Quick-Step–Davitamon
• Kelme–Costa Blanca
• Saeco
• Cofidis
• Fassa Bortolo
• Brioches La Boulangère
• U.S. Postal Service
• Gerolsteiner
• ONCE–Eroski
• Phonak
• Crédit Agricole
• Lotto–Domo
• Team CSC
• AG2R Prévoyance
• Jean Delatour
• Euskaltel–Euskadi
• Team Fakta
• Milaneza–MSS

Route

Stage characteristics and winners

Stage	Date	Course	Distance	Type		Winner
P	9 March	Issy-les-Moulineaux	4.8 km (3.0 mi)		Individual time trial	Nico Mattan (BEL)
1	10 March	Auxerre to Paray-le-Monial	191 km (119 mi)			Alessandro Petacchi (ITA)
2	11 March	La Clayette to Saint-Étienne	182.5 km (113.4 mi)			Davide Rebellin (ITA)
3	12 March	Le Puy-en-Velay to Pont du Gard	192.5 km (119.6 mi)			Stage neutralised
4	13 March	Vergèze to Vergèze	16.5 km (10.3 mi)		Individual time trial	Dario Frigo (ITA)
5	14 March	Aix-en-Provence to Mont Faron	152.5 km (94.8 mi)			Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ)
6	15 March	Toulon to Cannes	194.5 km (120.9 mi)			Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP)
7	16 March	Nice to Nice	160 km (99 mi)			David Bernabeu (ESP)

General classification

Final general classification Rank Rider Team Time 1 Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Team Telekom 23h 30' 04" 2 Mikel Zarrabeitia (ESP) ONCE–Eroski + 43" 3 Davide Rebellin (ITA) Gerolsteiner + 54" 4 Jörg Jaksche (GER) ONCE–Eroski + 55" 5 Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) Brioches La Boulangère + 1' 24" 6 David Bernabeu (ESP) Milaneza–MSS + 1' 28" 7 Claus Michael Møller (DEN) Milaneza–MSS + 1' 30" 8 Volodymyr Gustov (UKR) Fassa Bortolo + 1' 41" 9 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel–Euskadi + 1' 48" 10 Óscar Pereiro (ESP) Phonak + 2' 04"

Further reading

• "Guide Historique 2014" [Historic Guide 2014] (PDF). L'Equipe (in French). p. 66. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2014.
• "61st Paris-Nice - 2.HC, France, March 9-16, 2003". Cycling News.
• "Prologue - March 9: Issy-les-Moulineaux, 4.8 km". Cycling News.
• "Stage 1 - March 10: Auxerre - Paray-le-Monial, 191 km". Cycling News.
• "Stage 2 - March 11: La Clayette - Saint-Etienne, 182.5 km". Cycling News.
• "Stage 3 - March 12: Le Puy-en-Velay - Pont du Gard, 192.5 km". Cycling News.
• "Stage 4 - March 13: Source Perrier (Vergèze), 16.5 km". Cycling News.
• "Stage 5 - March 14: Aix-en-Provence - Toulon (Mont Faron), 152.5 km". Cycling News.
• "Stage 6 - March 15: Toulon - Cannes, 194.5 km". Cycling News.
• "Stage 7 - March 16: Nice - Nice, 160 km". Cycling News.
• Jones, Jeff (12 March 2003). "Kivilev dies of injuries". Cycling News.
• Jones, Jeff (12 March 2003). "Paris-Nice stage 3 neutralised after Kivilev's death". Cycling News.
• "Mattan, en la Paris-Niza" [Mattan, in Paris-Nice] (PDF). El Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 10 March 2003. p. 55.
• "Petacchi se impone al sprint y O'Grady es el nuevo lider" [Petacchi wins the sprint and O'Grady is the new leader] (PDF). El Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 11 March 2003. p. 47.
• "Rebellin le aguanta a Frigo, gana la etapa y se pone lider" [Rebellin holds off Frigo, wins the stage and takes the lead] (PDF). El Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 12 March 2003. p. 44.
• "Caida Fatal" [Fatal Fall] (PDF). El Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 13 March 2003. p. 44.
• "Reacciones" [Reactions] (PDF). El Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 23 March 2003. p. 45.
• "Cipollini se estrena y Freire se entrena" [Cipollini makes his debut and Freire trains] (PDF). El Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 14 March 2003. p. 51.
• "Kivilev, enterrado el lunes" [Kivilev, buried on Monday] (PDF). El Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 15 March 2003. p. 51.
• "Vinokourov recuerda a Kivilev en Paris-Niza" [Vinokourov remembers Kivilev in Paris-Nice] (PDF). El Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 15 March 2003. p. 49.