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VALDEBLORE LA COLMIANE, France (AP) — British rider Simon Yates took the Paris-Nice lead on Saturday after claiming the queen stage of the weeklong race with a decisive move in the final climb.
Yates' teammate Roman Kreuziger raised the tempo in the last 5 kilometers (3 miles) and Yates made his decisive move with 1.4-kilometers left to drop Spaniard Ion Izagirre in the climb to La Colmiane.
Belgium's Dylan Teuns crossed eight seconds back, and Izagirre completed the podium in the same time.
"It was a very difficult day from the beginning but the guys looked after me very well," said Yates. "At one moment, me and Roman Kreuziger decided it was the moment to squeeze the race a bit and we went. I attacked from there and as we saw I had good legs."
Yates has an 11-second lead over Izagirre ahead of Sunday's final stage around Nice.
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