Video: Dan Martin right in the thick of it, stage 7 Paris-Nice
Dan Martin on the road during stage 7 Paris-Nice. He put himself right into contention for the final yellow jersey with a brilliant ride.
Dan Martin (QuickStep) is now 2nd overall at Paris-Nice with just one stage remaining. The Irish rider trails leader Sergio Henao (Team Sky) by 30 seconds.
Martin finished 3rd on today's stage, won by Richie Porte (BMC Racing).
Henao rode away from Martin on the final climb to the summit of finish at Col de la Couillole with Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) in pursuit of Porte.
However, the Colombian was dropped by Contador in the last kilometre and was caught by Martin and passed on the line.
It meant Dan Martin took four bonus seconds and that put him 30 seconds behind Henao overall and one second ahead of Contador.
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Martin rode a really composed race despite being under extreme pressure for the last 5km of the cat 1 finishing ascent.
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And with Henao having faltered a little towards the top of the climb, Martin is certain to fancy his chances tomorrow.
However, the fact there is no summit finish tomorrow counts against him. Either way, it is bound to be a fantastic stage that will decided the final classification.
Henao will have a strong team around him, but Martin also has considerable assets to call upon. It all makes for a great showdown.
The final stage is a tough one with five climbs, though the last ascent is followed by a 15km into the finish at Nice - see stage profile below.
You can also have a look at the highlights and Eurosport summary from what was a great day's racing.
Eurosport highlights
Official highlights stage 7 Paris-Nice 2017
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