Dates March 9 – March 16 Distance 1,138.1 km (707.2 mi) Winner Davide Rebellin (ITA) | Stages 7 & Prologue Winning time 29h 02'48" | |
 | ||
Second Rinaldo Nocentini (ITA) | ||
The 2008 Paris–Nice, the 66th running of the race, took place from March 9 to March 16, 2008 and was won by Italian Davide Rebellin from Gerolsteiner, who finished second last year. The race started in Amilly and ended in Nice. The 2008 edition returned to the fabled climb of Mont Ventoux, with stage four finishing at the mountain's ski facility, Mont Serein. The Mont Ventoux stage saw a winning break by Cadel Evans and Robert Gesink. 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.
Contents
- Stage 1 March 10 2008 La Chapelotte Nevers 935 km
- Jersey progress
- Withdrawals
- Teams and cyclists
- References
The event was marked by controversy before the race regarding the ongoing power struggle between ASO and UCI, excluding the race from the UCI ProTour calendar. The race organisers also decided to exclude Astana, the team of the 2007 edition winner Alberto Contador, due to "damage caused by the team during the 2007 Tour de France".
Stage 1 - March 10, 2008: La Chapelotte > Nevers, 93.5 km
This stage was originally supposed to start in Amilly, but because of a storm with gale force winds and rain, the route was shortened by 91 km and started in La Chapelotte instead.
Jersey progress
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 Astana is the only ProTour team not to be invited to this event because of the "damage caused by the team during the 2007 Tour de France".