| Race details | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | 9–16 March 2003 | ||||||||||||
| Stages | 7 + Prologue | ||||||||||||
| Distance | 901.8[1] km (560.4 mi) | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 23h 30' 04" | ||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
← 2002 2004 → | |||||||||||||
The2003 Paris–Nice was the 61st edition of theParis–Nice cycle race and was held from 9 March to 16 March 2003. The race started inIssy-les-Moulineaux and finished inNice.[2] The race was won byAlexander Vinokourov of theTelekom team.
Andrey Kivilev (Cofidis), fourth in the2001 Tour de France, crashed heavily during stage 2. He was taken to hospital with severe head injuries and placed in a coma. An emergency surgery was conducted the same night, but Kivilev died in the early morning of 12 March 2003. Following his death, calls to make the wearing of crash helmets compulsory in professional cycling increased.[3] Less than a month later, the sport's governing body, theUnion Cycliste Internationale, declared helmets mandatory for all UCI-sanctioned events.[4]
Twenty teams, containing a total of 158 riders, participated in the race:[2][5]
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 9 March | Issy-les-Moulineaux | 4.8 km (3.0 mi) |  | Individual time trial |  Nico Mattan (BEL) |
| 1 | 10 March | Auxerre toParay-le-Monial | 191 km (119 mi) |  Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) | ||
| 2 | 11 March | La Clayette toSaint-Étienne | 182.5 km (113.4 mi) | Davide Rebellin (ITA) | ||
| 3 | 12 March | Le Puy-en-Velay toPont du Gard | 192.5 km (119.6 mi) | Stage neutralised | ||
| 4 | 13 March | Vergèze to Vergèze | 16.5 km (10.3 mi) | | Individual time trial | Dario Frigo (ITA) |
| 5 | 14 March | Aix-en-Provence toMont Faron | 152.5 km (94.8 mi) |  Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) | ||
| 6 | 15 March | Toulon toCannes | 194.5 km (120.9 mi) |  Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) | ||
| 7 | 16 March | Nice to Nice | 160 km (99 mi) | David Bernabeu (ESP) | ||
Final general classification[2][6]
|
