When it comes to World Tour racing, the final stage from Paris to Nice is one of the most dramatic days on the race calendar. Each year, the race in and around the Côte d'Azur provides tension, drama, upsets, and heartache.

In recent years, Richie Porte (2015), Marc Soler (2018), and Max Schachmann (2021) have taken control of the race on the final day, while Alberto Contador came within seconds in 2016 and 2017.

In 2019 and 2020, Nairo Quintana and Taige Benoot attacked on the final stage, but also missed the yellow jersey. This time, Simon Yates could tell the same "close but no cigar" story, repeating his second place in 2018 behind Soler, albeit under different circumstances.

The BikeExchange-Jayco leader, who handed the race to Primosz Roglic on Saturday, went on the offensive on the final climb of the race, the Col d'Eze. At one point he was nearly 30 seconds down and a yellow was a real possibility, but Roglic's teammate Wout Van Aert came to his rescue and pulled him back to within 9 seconds.

After the stage, Yates said all he could think about was focusing on winning the stage today.

"I just wanted to win the stage today," he said. It was a real challenge to make up time on today's stage," Yates said. So I'm happy with the stage win."

"At the beginning of the climb, it was (Nairo) Quintana who was setting the pace, he was setting a really strong tempo. You can't win in a sprint like Van Aert or Roglic, so I had to try something.

"I didn't have the confidence to create an advantage, but I had to try, because you never know unless you try.

The day's racing began with Ineos Grenadier, led by Omar Freire, pushing the pace up the front of the Côte de Peille and exploding on the previous day's climb. This climb had been attacked by Contador, Soler, and Quintana for the overall win from 2016 to 2019, but this year the first category test was an appetizer for Eze.

Only Yates, Roglic, Van Aert, Quintana, and Dani Martinez of Ineos Grenadier, who unfortunately punctured on the descent, were left in front until the summit. Yates tried his luck in the early stages of Eze, but not so in Nice. He later said he was aware of the yellow, even if he wasn't aiming for the top GC spot.

"It was always in the back of my mind," he said. But I knew I would lose time in the downhill."

"It was very difficult, but I had been rained on here in the past, so I was prepared for that. I crossed the line with my gloves on, so I was ready.

"Now I have two second places overall. 'Maybe one day I'll come back and try to win again. But I'm happy with what I did this week."