Simoni takes Stage 5, Julich the lead at Paris-Nice

Eurosport | Simoni tames Toulon

Gilberto Simoni rode away from the field 2 kilometers before the finish atop Mont Faron, and won his first race as a member of the Lampré team.

Simoni, whose climbing won him the Giro d'Italia in 2001 and 2003, was followed by Cadel Evans of Australia, and David Moncoutié at the summit.

Julich finished 10th on the day, 40 seconds behind Simoni, and leads Saunier Duval's Constantino Zaballa by 19 seconds, and iBanesto's Alejandro Valverde by 20 seconds.

Stage results

Overall standings

Also:

My favorite picture of Simoni ever, from the 2003 Giro

Reuters.co.uk | Julich takes Paris-Nice lead

Reuters notes that T-Mobile's Alexandre Vinokourov, who won this climb in 2003 on the way to overall victory, was "dropped early in the climb and looks to have lost all hopes of a final victory".