With less than a week to go until the start of the Paris-Nice season, Nairo Quintana stands out as one of the favorites to win the "Race to the Sun" thanks to his stunning start to the 2020 season, dressed in Arkea Samsic colors.

Since his debut with Movistar in March 2012, winning the Vuelta a Murcia, Quintana has often proved his mettle. He is also a double winner of the Tirreno-Adriatico, Volta a Catalunya, and Vuelta al País Vasco.

Last year in Paris-Nice, he was chased down on the final stage by fellow Colombian and overall winner Egan Bernal (Team Ineos), who finished in second place. But Quintana has never had as much success in February as he has this year.

Leaving Movistar for Arkea-Samsic put Quintana under even tighter scrutiny, but the Colombian has responded admirably. Two stage race victories and two summit finish victories at the Tour de la Provence and the Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var have turned pundits' predictions that Quintana would fade away after moving from a World Tour-level team to Arkea-Samsic reversed.

With Nacer Bouhanni and Warren Barguil also riding well, his new French pro team could be a major contender in the Paris-Nice and other big races, at least for the first half of the year. [Arcair Samsic director Emmanuel Hubert told Cycling News, "I couldn't be more pleased with the way Nairo is racing right now.

"Everyone on the team believes in him and he has a strong team around him. It keeps him calm and he has everything he needs to have a good race. I also think it's beneficial for him to race with a French team in a French race like this, because he's competing with his home side of the team."

"After his debut, it is clear that Nairo is capable of a podium finish or even a win in Paris-Nice this year.

Asked if he was surprised by Quintana's performance, Hubert replied: "If you look at how well he did at the Colombian Championships, winning silver by a few seconds over Egan Bernal, and how hard he worked on his bike this winter to get into a more aerodynamic position, It's not that unusual."

"I'm very proud of him.

Quintana's arrival in Arkea-Samsic has given teammate Warren Barguil, once the French team's only stage race leader, another chance for success. Barguil, the reigning national champion of French road racing, finished second in Sunday's Royal Bernard Drome Classic and will also be in the Arcair-Samsic lineup for Paris-Nice.

"Warren has had a great winter training and is in better shape this spring than he was this time last year," said Hubert. 'We will discuss it on the eve of Paris-Nice and decide what his goals are.'

Quintana and Barguil will head to Catalunya Volta after Paris-Nice and then on to the Ardennes Classics, while another Arkea-Samsic star, Nasser Bouhanni, will be looking for sprint success in another race program.

With one win in the Saudi Tour and one in the Tour de Provence in less than three weeks, Bouhanni also seems to be on a solid upward curve. Fifteen months of slump and strain at Cofidis now seem to be a thing of the past.

"During the winter I said that Bouhanni would have to win early to do well this year. He has regained the confidence to go for the big prize money later this year," Hubert observed.

Bouhanni's next target will be the Tirreno-Adriatico, albeit dependent on whether the race will be held in Italy, where the coronavirus is widespread.

As team director, Hubert is in the ideal position to know that the addition of Bukhani and Quintana and the continued presence of Barguil in the whirlwind of racing action has brought about a collective change in the mentality of Arkea Samsic.

The team had just five wins in 2019; with six in 2020, it has already surpassed that total by one.

"Having three very charismatic leaders has taken the whole team to a new level, not only physically but also psychologically," Hubert said. [It is very easy to work for someone when you know he is going to win. In cycling, it's never just about the leader. Let's see how far he can go."