# 2006 Paris–Nice

The 2006 Paris–Nice was the 64th edition of the Paris–Nice cycle race and was held from 5 March to 12 March 2006. The race started in Chaville and finished in Nice. The race was won by Floyd Landis of Team Phonak.

## Teams

Twenty-one teams, containing a total of 168 riders, participated in the race:
* Team CSC
* Phonak
* Rabobank
* Davitamon–Lotto
* Liberty Seguros–Würth
* Gerolsteiner
* Saunier Duval–Prodir
* Discovery Channel
* Crédit Agricole
* Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears
* Cofidis
* Quick-Step–Innergetic
* T-Mobile Team
* Liquigas
* Lampre–Fondital
* Bouygues Télécom
* Team Milram
* Euskaltel–Euskadi
* Française des Jeux
* AG2R Prévoyance
* Agritubel

## Route

Stage characteristics and winners :
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner |
| P | 5 March | Issy-les-Moulineaux | 4.8 km (3.0 mi) | Individual time trial | Bobby Julich (USA) |
| 1 | 6 March | Villemandeur to Saint-Amand-Montrond | 193 km (120 mi) | Flat stage | Tom Boonen (BEL) |
| 2 | 7 March | Cérilly to Belleville | 200 km (120 mi) | Hilly stage | Tom Boonen (BEL) |
| 3 | 8 March | Juliénas to Saint-Étienne | 168.5 km (104.7 mi) | Medium mountain stage | Patxi Vila (ESP) |
| 4 | 9 March | Saint-Étienne to Rasteau | 193 km (120 mi) | Medium mountain stage | Tom Boonen (BEL) |
| 5 | 10 March | Avignon to Digne-les-Bains | 201.5 km (125.2 mi) | Mountain stage | Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) |
| 6 | 11 March | Digne-les-Bains to Cannes | 179 km (111 mi) | Medium mountain stage | Andrey Kashechkin (KAZ) |
| 7 | 12 March | Nice to Nice | 135 km (84 mi) | Mountain stage | Markus Zberg (SUI) |

## Stages
### Prologue
#### 5 March 2006 — Issy-les-Moulineaux to Issy-les-Moulineaux, 4.8 km (3.0 mi) (ITT)

The prologue stage saw 2005 GC winner Bobby Julich retain the yellow/white GC leader's jersey after defeating Kazakh Andrey Kaschechkin, who held the best time through most of the stage's duration, by a narrow margin of 1 second. As the winner of the first stage he also received the green/white points jersey. The blue jersey for best young rider went to Alberto Contador.
| | Cyclist | Team | Time |
| 1 | Bobby Julich (USA) | Team CSC | 6' 07" |
| 2 | Andrey Kaschechkin (KAZ) | Liberty Seguros–Würth | + 1" |
| 3 | Bradley McGee (AUS) | Française des Jeux | + 2" |

### Stage 1
#### 6 March 2006 — Villemandeur to Saint-Amand-Montrond, 193 km (120 mi)

By winning the peloton sprint in Saint-Amand-Montrond ahead of Allan Davis, Tom Boonen (who finished fifth in the prologue stage five seconds down on Bobby Julich) took over the yellow/white jersey due to the time bonus awarded to stage winners. He also took over first place in the points classification.
After a short solo breakaway effort by David Zabriskie, Frenchmen Cristophe Laurent and Stéphane Augé launched a long attack at the 60-km point but were caught by the chasing peloton only 2 km before the finish line. Augé was awarded the first red polka dotted jersey in the mountains classification.
| | Cyclist | Team | Time |
| 1 | Tom Boonen (BEL) | Quick-Step–Innergetic | 4h 56' 01" |
| 2 | Allan Davis (AUS) | Liberty Seguros–Würth | s.t. |
| 3 | Francisco Ventoso (ESP) | Saunier Duval–Prodir | s.t. |

### Stage 2
#### 7 March 2006 — Cérilly to Belleville, 200 km (120 mi)

Stage 2 saw a repeat of Tom Boonen's victory over Allan Davis in the first stage, the Belgian finishing first in another bunch sprint.
The polka-dotted mountains jersey changed hands due to a long breakaway by French rider Nicolas Crosbie, who established a maximum lead of 27'30" after 81 kilometers. Crosbie was caught by the peloton 10 km before the finish line.
The blue jersey for the best young rider was awarded to Benoît Vaugrenard who took over first place with former leader Alberto Contador finishing 1'13 behind the pack.
| | Cyclist | Team | Time |
| 1 | Tom Boonen (BEL) | Quick-Step–Innergetic | 5h 20' 50" |
| 2 | Allan Davis (AUS) | Liberty Seguros–Würth | s.t. |
| 3 | Danilo Napolitano (ITA) | Lampre–Fondital | s.t. |

### Stage 3
#### 8 March 2006 — Juliénas to Saint-Étienne, 168.5 km (104.7 mi)

In the third stage to Saint-Étienne, where Kazakh racer Andrei Kivilev died after a fall in the 2003 edition of Paris–Nice (prompting the UCI to make the wearing of helmets mandatory during all UCI-sanctioned races), there were some changes to the race classifications as American Floyd Landis took over first place in the GC, placing second in the stage after Patxi Xabier Vila Errandonea.
Nicolas Crosbie and Tom Boonen retained their respective climber and sprinter jerseys, whereas the blue jersey for the best young rider was awarded to Stefan Schumacher who finished 1'25 behind the winner.
As expected of a hilly stage Stage 3 saw breakaway attempts on the different climbs, the defining break happening on the last climb of the day, the Col de la Croix de Chaubouret.
| | Cyclist | Team | Time |
| 1 | Patxi Vila (ESP) | Lampre–Fondital | 4h 23'28" |
| 2 | Floyd Landis (USA) | Phonak | s.t. |
| 3 | Samuel Sánchez (ESP) | Euskaltel–Euskadi | + 1' 16" |

### Stage 4
#### 9 March 2006 — Saint-Étienne to Rasteau, 193 km (120 mi)

| | Cyclist | Team | Time |
| 1 | Tom Boonen (BEL) | Quick-Step–Innergetic | 4h 40' 29" |
| 2 | Allan Davis (AUS) | Liberty Seguros–Würth | s.t. |
| 3 | Stefan Schumacher (GER) | Gerolsteiner | s.t. |

### Stage 5
#### 10 March 2006 — Avignon to Digne-les-Bains, 201.5 km (125.2 mi)

| | Cyclist | Team | Time |
| 1 | Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) | Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears | 4h 43' 34" |
| 2 | Joost Posthuma (NED) | Rabobank | + 19" |
| 3 | Jérôme Pineau (FRA) | Bouygues Télécom | + 33" |

### Stage 6
#### 11 March 2006 — Digne-les-Bains to Cannes, 179 km (111 mi)

| | Cyclist | Team | Time |
| 1 | Andrey Kaschechkin (KAZ) | Liberty Seguros–Würth | 4h 12' 08" |
| 2 | Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) | Cofidis | + 1' 06" |
| 3 | Sandy Casar (FRA) | Française des Jeux | + 1' 11" |

### Stage 7
#### 12 March 2006 — Nice to Nice, 135 km (84 mi)

| | Cyclist | Team | Time |
| 1 | Markus Zberg (SUI) | Gerolsteiner | 3h 29' 38" |
| 2 | Evgeni Petrov (RUS) | Lampre–Fondital | s.t. |
| 3 | Alberto Contador (ESP) | Liberty Seguros–Würth | s.t. |

## General Standings

| | Cyclist | Team | Time |
| 1 | Floyd Landis (USA) | Phonak | 31h 54' 41" |
| 2 | Patxi Vila (ESP) | Lampre–Fondital | + 9" |
| 3 | Antonio Colóm (ESP) | Liberty Seguros–Würth | + 1' 05" |

## Mountains Classification

| | Cyclist | Team | Points |
| 1 | David Moncoutié (FRA) | Cofidis | 51 |
| 2 | Christophe Laurent (FRA) | Agritubel | 42 |
| 3 | Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) | Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears | 39 |

## Points Classification

| | Cyclist | Team | Points |
| 1 | Samuel Sánchez (ESP) | Euskaltel–Euskadi | 66 |
| 2 | Sandy Casar (FRA) | Française des Jeux | 63 |
| 3 | Jérôme Pineau (FRA) | Bouygues Télécom | 52 |

## Best Young Rider

| | Cyclist | Team | Time |
| 1 | Luis León Sánchez (ESP) | Liberty Seguros–Würth | 31h 58' 11" |
| 2 | Joost Posthuma (NED) | Rabobank | + 21" |
| 3 | Thomas Löfkvist (SWE) | Française des Jeux | + 52" |

## Best Team

| | Team | Country | Total time |
| 1 | Lampre–Fondital | Italy | 95h 51' 43" |
| 2 | Discovery Channel | United States | + 3" |
| 3 | Liberty Seguros–Würth | Spain | + 34" |