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The 2014 Paris–Nice was the 72nd running of the Paris–Nice cycling stage race, often known as the Race to the Sun, and the first European World Tour event of the season. It started on 9 March in Mantes-la-Jolie and ended on 16 March in Nice and consisted of eight stages. It was the second race of the 2014 UCI World Tour season. The race took on an unusual profile in 2014 in that it did not feature a time trial of any description and did not have any stages with a summit finish. The intention was to make the race more open and encourage attacking racing rather than a defensive race ruled by time trial experts or the climbing specialists.

The race was won by pre-race favourite, Norway's Edvald Boasson Hagen of, who took the race leader's yellow jersey after winning stage five to Rive-de-Gier, and held the jersey until the finish in Nice, where he also won, to become the first Norwegian rider to win the race. Boasson Hagen won the general classification by 16 seconds over runner-up José Joaquin Rojas of the, having won stage two to Saint-Georges-sur-Baulche and holding the yellow jersey after stage four, while 's Peter Velits completed the podium – 1 second behind Rojas and 17 seconds down on Boasson Hagen– after he was victorious on stage four to Belleville.

In the race's other classifications, Boasson Hagen also picked up the green jersey for the points classification, amassing the highest number of points during stages at intermediate sprints and stage finishes, and Yuri Trofimov was the winner of the polka-dot jersey for the mountains classification for. 's Carlos Betancur was the winner of the white jersey for the young rider classification, as he was the highest placed rider born in 1989 or later, after placing fifth overall and winning stage seven to Biot Sophia Antipolis, while the Movistar Team won the team classification.

The race's other remaining stages were taken by sprinters John Degenkolb of, on stage one, and Nacer Bouhanni of , on stage three, and 's Vincenzo Nibali, on the queen stage – the sixth stage to Fayence.

Teams
As Paris–Nice was a UCI World Tour event, all 18 UCI ProTeams were invited automatically and obligated to send a squad. Three other squads,, and , were given wildcard places, and as such, formed the event's 21-team peloton.

The 21 teams that competed in the race were:

Pre-race favourites
Due to the race's parcours, with no summit finishes or time trials, it was expected that puncheurs, riders with a powerful kick over a steep climb, will win the race. Though, it was the sprinter-puncheurs, who are able to sprint with ease and keep up with the best puncheurs on climbs, who were more likely to do so. These were Edvald Boasson Hagen, Greg Van Avermaet and José Joaquín Rojas. The puncheurs, and for some, climber-puncheurs, who were expected to do well were Carlos Betancur, Vincenzo Nibali, Peter Velits, Thomas Voeckler, Tom-Jelte Slagter, Simon Špilak, Rui Costa, Tony Gallopin, Simon Gerrans and Fränk Schleck.

There were also a few sprinters among the startlist, with the likes Francesco Gavazzi, Moreno Hofland, Romain Feillu, Bryan Coquard, Nacer Bouhanni, John Degenkolb, Tyler Farrar, Alexander Kristoff, Matthew Goss and Tom Boonen all after the green jersey of the points classification.

Classification leadership table
In the 2014 Paris-Nice, four different jerseys were awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, the leader received a yellow jersey. This classification was considered the most important of the 2014 Paris-Nice, and the winner of the classification was considered the winner of the race.

Additionally, there was a points classification, which awarded a green jersey. In the points classification, cyclists received points for finishing in the top 10 in a stage. For winning a stage, a rider earned 15 points, 12 points for second, 9 for third, 7 for fourth and one point fewer until tenth. Points towards the classification could also be accrued at intermediate sprint points during each stage, where bonus seconds were also offered. There was also a mountains classification, the leadership of which was marked by a polka-dot jersey. In the mountains classification, points were won by reaching the top of a climb before other cyclists, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs. The fourth jersey represented the young rider classification, marked by a white jersey. This was decided in the same way as the general classification, but only riders born after 1 January 1989 were eligible to be ranked in the classification. There was also a classification for teams, in which the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added together; the leading team at the end of the race was the team with the lowest total time.


 * Notes:


 * In stage 2, Edvald Boasson Hagen, who was second in the points classification, wore the green jersey because John Degenkolb, in first place, wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification during that stage. Similarly, Nacer Bouhanni, who was second in the young rider classification, wore the white jersey, as Degenkolb also led that classification.


 * In stage 3, José Joaquín Rojas, who was second in the points classification, wore the green jersey because John Degenkolb, in first place, wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification during that stage. Similarly, Nacer Bouhanni, who was second in the young rider classification, wore the white jersey, as Degenkolb also led that classification.


 * In stage 4, Edvald Boasson Hagen, who was second in the points classification, wore the green jersey because Nacer Bouhanni, in first place, wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification during that stage. Similarly, John Degenkolb, who was second in the young rider classification, wore the white jersey, as Bouhanni also led the classification.


 * In stage 5, Nacer Bouhanni, who was second in the points classification, wore the green jersey because José Joaquín Rojas, in first place, wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification during that stage.


 * In stages 6 to 8, José Joaquín Rojas, who was second in the points classification, wore the green jersey because Edvald Boasson Hagen, in first place, wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification during those stages.