Lars Boom (Team Rabobank) had an excellent start in Paris-Nice by winning yesterdays’ prologue. The current Dutch time trial champion needed only 10.56 min. for the tough 8 km course in Montfort – L’Amaury, 3 seconds faster than Jens Voigt (Team Saxo Bank) and 6 seconds before Levi Leipheimer (Team Radioshack) and Alberto Contador (Astana). Boom was using the SHIMANO DURA-ACE Di2 electronic shifting system, adding another impressive victory for this new technology.

The riders had to shift a lot at the difficult course, which included a category 3 climb, a cobble stones section and a strong headwind at the final kilometers. A course that suited Boom (who is also a former Cyclo-Cross world champion) really well, as he is used to give maximum power right after the start. Congratulations Lars and good luck in protecting the leaders’ jersey!