Favorites stage 2 Paris-Nice 2026 |Day two, but already the last real sprint chance

The opening stage offered a lively, rolling test, but in stage two we should not expect any real gaps to appear because of the terrain. There are only around 1,200 metres of elevation gain, and the climbs on the route are neither steep nor long. From the start in Épône, the peloton heads south on a mostly flat profile. The Côte des Mesnuls, Côte de Villeconin and Côte du Pressoir should not have much impact on how the day unfolds.

As the race approaches Montargis, the route gets flatter still. After the intermediate sprint in Fromont, with 47 kilometres to go, there is barely any uphill road left at all. The finale is not especially demanding either, although there are still a few corners in town to keep the bunch attentive. Still, it is hard to see what could prevent a bunch sprint here. On paper, this looks like the sprinters’ day.

Times
Start: 12:50 PM
Finish: approx. 5:15 PM

Paris-Nice can always spring a surprise, and on a stage like this you might normally hope for echelons. This time, that scenario looks highly unlikely. The wind is expected to be mainly head-on and, on top of that, not strong enough to really split the race. Rain is not expected either, with temperatures around 18°C. In other words: excellent conditions for racing, but probably not the kind that will blow this stage apart.

Where stage 1 offered opportunities for several different types of rider, stage 2 seems built for one group above all others: the sprinters. There are no absolute top-tier sprint stars at the start, which makes this a fairly open contest, but that only adds to the intrigue. Biniam Girmay of NSN Cycling looks like one of the standout names for the finish in Montargis, while Casper van Uden of Picnic PostNL should also be right near the top of the list. On pure speed, those two may well have the edge on the rest.

Van Uden is not the only Dutchman with a realistic shot at a result. Rick Pluimers of Tudor and Marijn van den Berg of EF Education-EasyPost can also target a strong finish, although both tend to come into their own a little more after tougher terrain. Van den Berg also has to factor in the presence of stage 1 winner Luke Lamperti, who gave EF plenty to smile about on Sunday after taking the opening bunch sprint. Among the more pure sprint specialists, Milan Fretin, Phil Bauhaus and Pascal Ackermann all stand out as serious contenders.

There are more names worth watching. XDS Astana can count on Max Kanter, while Decathlon CMA CGM has Cees Bol for this sort of finish. Milan Menten brings speed for Lotto-Intermarché, and Axel Zingle could be the fast finisher for Visma | Lease a Bike. Stian Fredheim has shown his speed often enough for Uno-X Mobility, while Alpecin-Premier Tech even has two options in Jensen Plowright and Simon Dehairs.

Elsewhere, Laurence Pithie is the likely sprint card for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. French champion Dorian Godon will hope to deliver for INEOS Grenadiers, and Emmanuel Houcou gives Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling another outsider for a chaotic finish. All things considered, though, this stage still points firmly toward a classic bunch sprint, and that makes positioning, timing and team support just as important as outright top speed.

Top favorites: Casper van Uden (Picnic PostNL) and Biniam Girmay (NSN Cycling)
Outsiders: Milan Fretin (Cofidis), Pascal Ackermann (Jayco AlUla), Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) and Luke Lamperti (EF Education - EasyPost)
Long shots: Simon Dehairs, Jensen Plowright (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Cees Bol (Decathlon CMA CGM), Stian Fredheim (Uno-X Mobility), Milan Menten (Lotto-Intermarché), Axel Zingle (Visma | Lease a Bike), Rick Pluimers (Tudor), Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Dorian Godon (INEOS Grenadiers), Max Kanter (XDS Astana)