With the Paris-Nice kicking off this weekend, a jolly review of the 2011 race is in order. Maybe one of the most exciting stages of the entire season, Stage 7 of the “Race to the Sun” was rain-soaked, crash-filled thrashing. Riders were going down left, right and center on the slick roads that twisted and cut back sharply on very fast descents. Astana’s Remy DiGregorio went off on a brave attack 10km from the finish, but Les Carrottes of Euskatel and the heavy-hitters from Movistar wound up giving a furious chase. DiGregorio, with a 16″ lead, made one of the greatest saves ever when his rear-wheel fish tailed after sliding over the white line. With no time to settle down, he hammered to regain the time he lost with the near-crash. A teammate would not be so lucky….