American Rider Matteo Jorgenson Wins Paris-Nice Stage Race for 1st Time

Matteo Jorgenson of the US wearing the overall leaders jersey celebrates on the podium after winning the general clasification of the Paris-Nice cycling race in Nice, Sunday, March 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
Matteo Jorgenson of the US wearing the overall leaders jersey celebrates on the podium after winning the general clasification of the Paris-Nice cycling race in Nice, Sunday, March 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
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American Rider Matteo Jorgenson Wins Paris-Nice Stage Race for 1st Time

Matteo Jorgenson of the US wearing the overall leaders jersey celebrates on the podium after winning the general clasification of the Paris-Nice cycling race in Nice, Sunday, March 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
Matteo Jorgenson of the US wearing the overall leaders jersey celebrates on the podium after winning the general clasification of the Paris-Nice cycling race in Nice, Sunday, March 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

American rider Matteo Jorgenson won the Paris-Nice stage race for the first time on Sunday, with Belgian Remco Evenepoel clinching the final stage to finish second overall.
The 24-year-old Jorgenson, who races for the Visma–Lease team and lives in Nice, secured the biggest victory of his career after winning the Tour of Oman last year.
“To be honest, I never expected to win Paris-Nice. Until this year, I never thought it was possible. But here we are,” Jorgenson said. “I could barely sleep last night. I was so nervous. I felt pressure for the first time in my life. To ride with such a champion as Remco was a very special moment.”
Evenepoel beat him in a sprint to the line to win Sunday's eighth stage, a hilly 109-kilometer (68-mile) trek with two big climbs starting and finishing in Nice on France's Côte d’Azur.
Evenepoel and Jorgenson were both giving the same winning time of 2 hours, 50 minutes, 3 seconds, with Russian cyclist Aleksandr Vlasov crossing the line 50 seconds behind in third spot.
“I’m not going to get ahead of myself. It’s already a great achievement in my life,” the jubilant Jorgenson said, according to The Associated Press. “I will now try to enjoy it and keep my feet on the ground.”
In the overall standings, Jorgenson finished 30 seconds ahead of Evenepoel (Soudal–Quick-Step) and 1 minute, 47 seconds clear of countryman and childhood friend Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates), the overnight leader.
Evenepoel praised Jorgenson for staying with him when he surged ahead in the climbs.
“If you’ve seen my attacks today, only one guy could follow, it was Matteo,” he said. “Matteo is the deserved winner of this race.”



AC Milan Provides Drama at the San Siro with 2 Late Goals in 3-2 Comeback Win over Parma

Milan's head coach Sergio Conceicao celebrates winning the Italian Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Parma Calcio, in Milan, Italy, 26 January 2025. EPA/MATTEO BAZZI
Milan's head coach Sergio Conceicao celebrates winning the Italian Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Parma Calcio, in Milan, Italy, 26 January 2025. EPA/MATTEO BAZZI
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AC Milan Provides Drama at the San Siro with 2 Late Goals in 3-2 Comeback Win over Parma

Milan's head coach Sergio Conceicao celebrates winning the Italian Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Parma Calcio, in Milan, Italy, 26 January 2025. EPA/MATTEO BAZZI
Milan's head coach Sergio Conceicao celebrates winning the Italian Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Parma Calcio, in Milan, Italy, 26 January 2025. EPA/MATTEO BAZZI

New AC Milan coach Sergio Conceição dropped down to his knees on the San Siro sideline, unleashed a loud scream and then wrapped his arms around an assistant in an emotional embrace when Samuel Chukwueze bundled in the winner five minutes into stoppage time.
Conceição has struggled at times to transmit his desire and grit to a team that has been inconsistent in Serie A.
He was clearly moved by Milan’s ability to stay focused this time, though, as the Rossoneri scored two late goals to secure a 3-2 victory against promoted Parma on Sunday, The Associated Press reported.
Conceição’s grit was also evident after the final whistle when he had to be restrained during a heated exchange with Milan captain Davide Calabria.
“It’s like with your kids when you go to a restaurant and they misbehave and you yell at them. That’s how I am,” Conceição said. “Maybe we said a bit too much. But we’re creating a strong bond with the players.”
Conceição also guided Milan to comeback wins over Juventus and Inter Milan en route to the Italian Super Cup trophy to start the month. And a midweek win over Girona left Milan in the top eight of the Champions League standings.
“Really we need to show some of this hunger earlier in the game because it seems like we always have this energy at the end, and we’re turning the games around," said United States international Christian Pulisic, who converted a first-half penalty. "But I think we can also make things easier for ourselves.”
Milan also beat Inter in a Serie A derby in September and won 3-1 at Real Madrid in November. But in between the successes have been a series of forgettable performances in the Italian league.
Like a 1-1 draw at home with Cagliari two weeks ago, and a 2-0 loss at Juventus last weekend.
But after beating Parma, seventh-placed Milan moved back into contention for the Champions League places.
Parma remained just above the drop zone.
Chukwueze’s winner came as Milan poured forward desperately in the final moments and Strahinja Pavlovic knocked down a ball for him to push in from close range.
Three minutes earlier, Tijjani Reijnders had equalized for Milan after beating the offside trap.
It was a tough start for Milan, though, as Matteo Cancellieri put Parma ahead midway through the first half — bringing back memories of Cancellieri’s winner in a 2-1 victory for Parma against Milan in August.
Pulisic equalized before the break and then Enrico Delprato restored Parma’s advantage in the 80th by knocking in a rebound.
Up next for Conceição and Milan? The third derby this season with Inter next Sunday. First, though, there’s a visit to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Inter Milan overwhelmed relegation-threatened Lecce 4-0 with goals from Davide Frattesi, Lautaro Martinez, Denzel Dumfries and Mehdi Taremi.
Inter moved back within three points of Serie A leader Napoli, which beat Juventus 2-1 on Saturday. The Nerazzurri also still have a game in hand.
Also, Roma won 2-1 at Udinese for its first away victory of the season. Lorenzo Pellegrini and Artem Dovbyk converted second-half penalties for Roma after Lorenzo Lucca had put Udinese ahead in the first half.
In the late game, Fiorentina won 2-1 at Lazio with first-half goals from Yacine Adli and Lucas Beltran. Lazio's Pedro hit the post with the last kick of the match.