The

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the Col d'Èze overlook ...

, the 66th running of the

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

, took place from March 9 to March 16, 2008 and was won by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Davide Rebellin Davide Rebellin (9 August 1971 – 30 November 2022) was an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who last rode for UCI Continental team . He was considered one of the finest classics specialists of his generation with more than fifty top t ...

from , who finished second last year. The race started in Amilly and ended in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

. The 2008 edition returned to the fabled climb of

Mont Ventoux Mont Ventoux (; oc, Ventor, label=Provençal ) is a mountain in the Provence region of southern France, located some northeast of Carpentras, Vaucluse. On the north side, the mountain borders the department of Drôme. At , it is the highest ...

, with stage four finishing at the mountain's ski facility,

Mont Serein Mont Ventoux (; oc, Ventor, label= Provençal ) is a mountain in the Provence region of southern France, located some northeast of Carpentras, Vaucluse. On the north side, the mountain borders the department of Drôme. At , it is the highest m ...

. The Mont Ventoux stage saw a winning break by

Cadel Evans Cadel Lee Evans (; born 14 February 1977) is an Australian former professional racing cyclist, who competed professionally in both mountain biking and road bicycle racing. A four-time Olympian, Evans is one of three non-Europeans – along with ...

and

Robert Gesink Robert Gesink (born 31 May 1986) is a Dutch professional cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . His major victories include the 2012 Tour of California, the 2011 Tour of Oman and the 2010 Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal. Gesink also ...

. Evans took the stage victory as Gesink moved into the overall lead. However, Gesink could not hold on to the lead in stage six when Rebellin attacked on the final descent and took enough time to move into the overall lead. The event was marked by controversy before the race regarding the ongoing power struggle between ASO and

UCI UCI most commonly refers to: * University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States * Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling UCI may also refer to: * Uganda Cancer I ...

, excluding the race from the

UCI ProTour The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI (International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, e ...

calendar. The race organisers also decided to exclude , the team of the 2007 edition winner

Alberto Contador Alberto Contador Velasco (; born 6 December 1982) is a Spanish former Road bicycle racing, professional cyclist. He is one of the most successful riders of his era, winning the Tour de France twice (2007 Tour de France, 2007, 2009 Tour de France ...

, due to ''"damage caused by the team during the

2007 Tour de France The 2007 Tour de France the 94th running of the race, took place from 7 to 29 July. The Tour began with a prologue in London, and ended with the traditional finish in Paris. Along the way, the route also passed through Belgium and Spain. It was ...

".''

Stages

Prologue - March 9, 2008: Amilly, 4,6 km (ITT)

Stage 1 - March 10, 2008: La Chapelotte >
Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in central France. It was the principal city of the former province of Nivernais. It is ...
, 93.5 km

This stage was originally supposed to start in Amilly, but because of a storm with

gale force The Beaufort scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort wind force scale. History The scale was devised in 1805 by the Irish hydrographer Francis Beaufo ...

winds and rain, the route was shortened by 91 km and started in La Chapelotte instead.

Stage 2 - March 11, 2008:
Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in central France. It was the principal city of the former province of Nivernais. It is ...
>
Belleville Belleville (French, literally "beautiful town") may refer to: Places Canada * Belleville, New Brunswick, an unincorporated community in Wakefield Parish * Belleville, Nova Scotia * Belleville, Ontario France * Belleville, Deux-Sèvres, in the ...
, 201 km

Stage 3 - March 12, 2008:
Fleurie Fleurie () is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France. Medieval charters record Fleurie as ''Floriacum''. Fleurie AOC is a division of the Beaujolais wine region. In the 1970s the British Conservative politician and tax fugitive ...
>
Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the ...
, 165.5 km

Stage 4 - March 13, 2008:
Montélimar Montélimar (; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Montelaimar'' ; la, Acumum) is a town in the Drôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in north Provence, Southeastern France. It is the second-largest city in the department after Valence. In 2018 ...
> Mont-Serein, 176 km

Stage 5 - March 14, 2008:
Althen-des-Paluds Althen-des-Paluds (; Provençal: ''Lei Palús'' or ''Alten'') is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. The commune is crossed by the river Sorgue. Name of the city The name of ...
>
Sisteron Sisteron (; , oc, label= Mistralian norm, Sisteroun; from oc, label=Old Occitan, Sestaron) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, southeastern France. Sisteron is situated on the banks of the r ...
, 172,5 km

Stage 6 - March 15, 2008:
Sisteron Sisteron (; , oc, label= Mistralian norm, Sisteroun; from oc, label=Old Occitan, Sestaron) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, southeastern France. Sisteron is situated on the banks of the r ...
>
Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ci ...
, 206 km

Stage 7 - March 16, 2008:
Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
>
Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
, 119 km

Final standings

General classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi- stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumula ...

Jersey progress

;Jersey wearers when one rider is leading two or more competitions: * On stage 1,

Markel Irizar Markel Irizar Aranburu (born 5 February 1980) is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2004 and 2019 for the , and teams. Born in Oñati, Basque Country, Irizar currently resides in Arrasate, Bas ...

wore the green jersey * On stage 2,

Karsten Kroon Karsten Kroon (born 29 January 1976) is a Dutch former professional road bicycle racer who most recently rode for , a UCI ProTeam. He retired at the end of the 2014 season. Career Born in Dalen, Kroon showed his talent as an amateur by winnin ...

wore the green jersey * On stage 3,

Gert Steegmans Gert Steegmans (born 30 September 1980 in Hasselt) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer who last rode for UCI ProTeam . He was noted for a strong finishing sprint and could compete in the sprint with fellow Belgian cyclist, and ...

wore the green jersey * On stages 5 & 6,

Luis León Sánchez Luis León Sánchez Gil (born 24 November 1983) is a Spanish road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Sánchez's major achievements include winning the overall classifications of the 2009 Paris–Nice and the 2005 Tour Down ...

wore the white jersey

Withdrawals

Only 86 riders finished the race of the 160 that started. Almost 40 riders abandoned during the last stage.

Teams and cyclists

The following 20 UCI ProTour and UCI Professional Continental teams were selected to the 2008 Paris–Nice: The is the only

ProTour The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI (International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, eac ...

team not to be invited to this event because of the ''"damage caused by the team during the