Voigt – who surged into the overall lead at Paris-Nice on Wedneday — has won the two-day race five times, tying a record held by Emile Idée and Raymond Poulidor, but the 38-year-old German veteran won’t be going back this year.

Voigt on a chilly Paris-Nice morning ... before getting a new jersey in Aurillac. | Andrew Hood photo

“We won’t be sending a team to Critérium and that’s too bad for Voigt,” Saxo Bank sport director Kim Andersen told VeloNews. “We have the races in Belgium, we have Catalunya, which is a ProTour race and we’re obliged to go. And we also have two of our guys going to the track worlds. We can’t be everywhere, eh?”

Voigt has ruled the two-day, three-stage Critérium International, winning three consecutive crowns as part of a record-tying five victories overall.

With Ghent-Wevelgem and Volta a Catalunya coinciding with the two-day race window of Critérium International on March 26-27, Voigt’s Saxo Bank is stretched too thin to send a minimum of six riders to the French race which the German veteran has won a record five times.

“Can’t I just start alone? I don’t need a team. All I need is a mechanic and a car!” Voigt told VeloNews. “I can take the jersey on the first day, then I can just hide in the bunch, then you do a time trial. You don’t need anybody else.”

Voigt said he’s not too upset about the changes, especially with changes in the route with the switch to Corsica.

After being held for several years in the French Ardennes, race organizers have transferred the race to the Mediterranean island of Corsica, a move that’s seen as a precursor to a likely Tour de France start there in the next few years.

Voigt said the changes would have made it more difficult for him to win.

“They’ve changed the race quite a bit. Normally, it was the flat stage Saturday, with a hilly stage on Sunday. Now they have the mountain stage on Saturday, and Sunday morning is just a 70km flat crit, so it doesn’t fit so perfectly into my abilities like it did before,” Voigt said. “Plus, they are going to have stupid, warm weather down there, and I don’t like that. I like it to be hard, nasty and stressful, that’s good for me.”

So is Paris-Nice Voigt’s new, early season target? Smart riding in Wednesday’s explosive stage pushed him into the overall.

“The team is not going to Critérium, so I need to get my win in earlier,” he joked.

Voigt just might be able to pull it off, if he can get up the climbing finish to Mende on Thursday with the yellow jersey still on his back.

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New Zealand’s Greg Henderson (Team Sky) survived a crash-strewn first stage of Paris-Nice on Monday to take the sprint win ahead of Lampre’s Grega Bole and Saur Sojasun’s Jeremy Galland.

Henderson gets the stage, but Boom was in that first group and keeps the jersey. | AFP

Prologue winner Lars Boom finished with the front group and will retain his leader’s jersey, increasing his gap over second-placed Jens Voigt by winning two bonus seconds at intermediate sprints.

Overall race favorite Alberto Contador crashed with less than 3 kilometers to go and quickly got up to finish. He was credited with a time 17 seconds behind Henderson, leaving him in eighth place overall.

Americans Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner also crashed, with about 44km to go. Leipheimer lost about 17 seconds at the finish line, and is now tied on the GC time with Contador.

Horner came in more than seven minutes behind the winner, but appeared to have no serious injuries.

The windy 201.5km race from Saint Arnoult en Yvelines to Contres rolled over some narrow, twisty roads in its final kilometers, perhaps contributing to the number of crashes.

An early break by Albert Timmer (Skil-Shimano) and Roman Feillu (Vacansoleil) built a lead of nearly seven minutes, but was reeled in by Boom’s Rabobank squad in the second half of the stage. They were finally caught with about 15km to go, as the front of the pack splinted from aggression and crashes, with some teams working to set up a sprint and others working to bring their leaders — including RadioShack’s Leipheimer.

Echelons formed to fight crosswinds in the final 20km, further breaking up the field. Boom managed to stay in the front group, which was whittled to about 20 riders by the last 5km. One overall favorite in the lead group was Spaniard Alessandro Valverde.

Tony Martin had a go in the final kilometer, but Henderson timed his effort to take a clear win ahead of Bole and Galland.

Boom said his experience racing in crosswinds was an advantage.

“It was a hard day, but a good day,” he said. “If we have another day with the crosswinds (tomorrow), we should be okay.”

Contador said he was not concerned about the lost time.

“”My worry is not the time lost on the first stage, even though I would have liked it to have turned out differently, but the pain,” said the Madrid-born Astana rider, who hurt his left thigh in the fall.

“It is not the 17 seconds lost that concerns me right now but mainly how I will feel tomorrow (Tuesday) morning,” he added.

Agence France Press contributed to this report.

Top ten for the stage:

1. Henderson Greg (NZL) Team Sky in 4:22:17

2. Bole Grega (SLO) Lampre-N.G.C, s.t.

3. Galland Jérémie (FRA) , s.t.

4. Kolobnev Alexandr (RUS) Team Katusha, s.t.

5. Belmonte Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse D’epargne, s.t.

6. Roche Nicolas (IRL) Ag2r La Mondiale, s.t.

7. Voigt Jens (GER) Team Saxo Bank, s.t.

8. Marcato Marco (ITA) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team, s.t.

9. Martin Tony (GER) HTC – Columbia, s.t.

10. Kreuziger Roman (CZE) Liquigas Doimo, s.t.

Top Ten GC:

1. Lars BOOM (Netherlands) Rabobank

2. Jens VOIGT (Germany) Team Saxo Bank, at 0:05

3. David MILLAR (Great Britain) Garmin-Transitions, at 0:13

4. Luis Leon SANCHEZ GIL (Spain) Caisse D’epargne, at 0:14

5. Roman KREUZIGER (Czech Republic) Liquigas Doimo, at 0:15

6. Greg HENDERSON (New Zealand) Team Sky, at 0:20

7. Levi LEIPHEIMER (United States) Team RadioShack, at 0:25

8. Alberto CONTADOR VELASCO (Spain) Astana, at 0:25

9. Peter SAGAN (Slovakia) Liquigas Doimo, at 0:29

10. Xavier TONDO VOLPINI (Spain) Cervelo TestTeam, at 0:29

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The 28-year-old Kazakh outsmarted last year’s winner Thomas Lovkvist (Team Sky) and Michael Rogers (HTC-Columbia), recent winner of the Ruta del Sol, to claim victory in the fourth edition of what’s quickly becoming a fan favorite.

Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Transitions) joined the decisive breakaway late in the race and ended up with his third consecutive top-10 with fifth. Filippo Pozzato (Katusha) came through fourth.

“This is the first time I’ve raced on the ‘white roads’ and I knew you had to be at the front of the race, especially in the finale,” Iglinskiy told reporters after the race. “When Lovkvist, Rogers and Hesjedal went, I was the last rider to join them.”

Fine spring weather welcomed some 110 riders from 15 riders lined up for the ever-popular “Strade Bianche,” held over white, gravel roads across the heart of Italy’s Tuscany.

This year’s 190km route featured eight sectors of the loose gravel roads, the longest of which is 13.5km, for a total of 57.2km. In terms of scenery and history, the race is hard to beat. The course started in Gaiole in Chianti and ended in Siena’s famous Piazza del Campo.

Things were hot from the beginning, with three riders attacking early, with Bernard Eisel (HTC-Columbia), Pavel Brutt (Katusha) and Diego Caccia (ISD-Neri) forcing the action. More trailed out, prompting Saxo Bank and Team Sky to open up the chase.

Rogers was part of a decisive counterattack also featuring Stefano Garzelli (Acqua e Sapone), Vicenzo Nibali (Liquigas), Simon Spilak (Lampre) and Francesco Ginanni (Androni).

The winning move came late in the race, with Rogers, Lovkvist and Hesjedal taking control of the race. Iglinskiy saw it taking shape, grabbed the wheel and ended with the most important win of his career.

“I knew it would be decisive to be at the front (in the finale), so I was there on the climb,” said Lovkvist, who won last year. “Igliskiy cut me a little, but races are like that.”

Up next in Italy is Tirreno-Adriatico (March 10-16).