'He was in tears' - XDS Astana celebrate Max Kanter's maiden WorldTour triumph at Paris-Nice

Max Kanter (XDS Astana) sprinted to what his teammate Mike Teunissen (XDS Astana) described as "the biggest win of his career" on the second stage of Paris-Nice in Montargis ahead of Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step).

The German was full of praise for his teammates, and particularly Teunissen, who delivered him in the prime position before leading-out Kanter to victory.

“He did an unbelievable pull towards the last roundabout, and then he did the perfect lead-out, and I had to finish it off in the last 200 metres,” Kanter told CyclingProNet at the finish in Montargis.

Teunissen was also asked at the finish what his role was in the finale, and he revealed how the duo overcame the chaotic nature of a sprint finish.

“To bring him as good as possible to the final 200 metres, and I mean, it was so messy,” said Teunissen. “We lose each other a lot, but I know a bit how Max reacts in the bunch, and he knows how I react, so it was not really a surprise, and we found each other in the end.”

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Normally, I can position quite well, and now I could even do the lead out, and then it was a bit too early, slightly uphill, so I thought it was too early, but he was so strong,” said Teunissen.

Kanter cut an emotional figure at the finish, with the occasion of the victory being something that meant a great deal to the German. It’s the German’s first win at the WorldTour level and third career victory on the road, and to do it in a race of Paris-Nice’s prestige is even sweeter for Kanter.

“Paris-Nice is a really well-known race in the calendar and one of the biggest races in the world, and it's great to win a stage here,” said Kanter.

Adding to the emotional factor were elements of doubt that had crept into the German rider's psyche ahead of the race. 

“As I already said this morning on the bus, I didn't even know if I would finish the stage because the last couple of days I have felt really not good on the bike, and now I’ve won today,” said Kanter. 

“The last couple of weeks were not the best, but I know that I have a really good sprint, and today everything went perfectly into the last 200 metres, and I could show off my sprint to the world.”

Teunissen also highlighted the importance of this victory for his teammate and how he hopes the winning feeling can help him kick on in the races to follow.

“It's funny, he was in tears, like I think it’s the biggest win of his career maybe, and yeah, like I say, hopefully a huge confidence boost for everything that's coming,” said Teunissen. 

Kanter isn’t expected to get any more opportunities to sprint for victory at this edition of Paris-Nice as none of the remaining stages on paper suits the sprinters, starting with stage 3’s team time trial on Tuesday.