Sergio Iguita (EF Pro Cycling) missed out on the overall win he had hoped for in Paris-Nice, but a third place finish, the youngster's white jersey, and an impressive ride in the crosswind made for another good week for the 22-year-old Iguita.

Assisted by teammates Sepp Vanmarcke and Tom Scully, Higuchi made the right splits in the wind on the first and second stages and rode impressively for a sub-60kg rider as others struggled.

In the summit finish of the final stage, Valdebreure-la-Cormiane, Higuchi was unable to put in a time on his rivals for the podium in his favorite terrain, but the week was still only a positive experience for him in so many ways.

"It was a beautiful race and I think it went really well," Higuchi said in an EF press release.

"I rode the first few stages with Sepp, Tom, and Alberto Betiol from the Classics, and they gave me great support. I am not a big racer so it was great to be around them and learn from them. It was a stage where I could have lost a lot of time, but I didn't."

The Colombian added that the time trial on stage 4, Saint-Montron, was also a learning experience. This stage was his second time trial with the team since last year's Vuelta. He finished 24th and 5th overall, but a strong ride on the punchy 6th stage to Apt

put him on the podium. He finished 24th and 5th overall. Especially stage 6 was hard. Like stage 7, it was a day of big battles between us,"

. [But] I'm happy to be on the podium. But I'm happy to be on the podium."

Higuchi's French podium can be added to his victory in the national championship road race in Tunja, where he finished 1:15 behind Tour de France winner Egan Bernal, and his overall win in the Tour Colombia 2.1, where EF dominated the podium. All in all, a great start to the second year.

Unlike most other riders, Higuita's future plans have not yet been derailed by the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, but the outlook for his next races, the Ituria-Basque and Ardennes Classics, does not seem positive. Nevertheless, now is the time for him to rest after his rapid progress.

"Right now I'm planning to rest, and after this race I was planning to rest for a while. Because I've been out of gas since January and I'm starting to feel the hard work of the last few months.

"I've been training hard, especially since Tour Colombia 2.1, because I knew this race would be a great opportunity for me. So now it's about getting some rest before getting back to training. And hopefully everything will be sorted out and a solution to the virus will be found soon and everyone can get back to racing again soon."