Paris-Nice 2026 | Vingegaard and Ayuso’s Tour ambitions go on the scales for the first time
CyclingFriday, 06 March 2026 at 14:18
It’s time! With the Opening Weekend behind us, spring is fully underway. After Strade Bianche on Saturday, the first European WorldTour stage race of the year finally begins on Sunday with Paris–Nice — a race many view as one of the most prestigious week-long events on the calendar. At the start, we’ll see big names including Jonas Vingegaard and Juan Ayuso, setting up an early-season showdown worth watching. IDLProCycling.com previews the race.
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The past two editions were won by Matteo Jorgenson for Visma | Lease a Bike. The American will not defend his title this year, meaning Paris–Nice is looking for a new winner. In recent seasons, Slovenian superstars Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič have also added the “Race to the Sun” to their palmarès.
One name still missing from that winners list is Jonas Vingegaard. The Dane wore the leader’s jersey last year before crashing in stage 6. The two-time Tour de France winner returns in 2026 looking for revenge — but he will need to be at his best, because the start list is stacked.
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Latest winners Paris-Nice
2025 Matteo Jorgenson
2024 Matteo Jorgenson
2023 Tadej Pogacar
2022 Primoz Roglic
2021 Maximilian Schachmann
2020 Maximlian Schachmann
2019 Egan Bernal
2018 Marc Soler
2017 Sergio Henao
2016 Geraint Thomas
2024 Matteo Jorgenson
2023 Tadej Pogacar
2022 Primoz Roglic
2021 Maximilian Schachmann
2020 Maximlian Schachmann
2019 Egan Bernal
2018 Marc Soler
2017 Sergio Henao
2016 Geraint Thomas
Matteo Jorgenson won Paris-Nice in 2024 and 2025.
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Course, favorites stage wins and times Paris-Nice 2026
Stage 1, Sunday, March 8, 2026: Achères - Carrières-sous-Poissy (170.9 km)
Paris–Nice opens with a stage that screams “puncheurs” and Classics riders. The route rolls all day, and in the final 30 kilometres the peloton tackles the steep Côte de Chanteloup-les-Vignes twice. With gradients up to 12%, it invites attacks — but the top comes more than 10 kilometres from the finish, so you’ll need a strong engine to make it stick.
Favorites
Rick Pluimers (Tudor)
Marijn van den Berg (EF)
Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek)
Rick Pluimers (Tudor)
Marijn van den Berg (EF)
Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek)
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Times
Start: 1:10 PM
Finish: around 5:00 PM
Start: 1:10 PM
Finish: around 5:00 PM
Stage 2, Monday, March 9, 2026: Épône - Montargis (187.0 km)
Despite a few obstacles earlier on — including three categorised climbs in the opening phase — the stage to Montargis should mainly be one for the fast men. The final 45 kilometres are essentially flat, ideal for sprinters to recover after the lumps.
Favorites
Biniam Girmay (NSN)
Milan Fretin (Cofidis)
Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious)
Biniam Girmay (NSN)
Milan Fretin (Cofidis)
Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious)
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Times
Start: 12:50 PM
Finish: around 5:00 PM
Start: 12:50 PM
Finish: around 5:00 PM
Stage 3, Tuesday, March 10, 2026: Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire - Pouilly-sur-Loire (23.5 km, team time trial)
It has become a modern Paris–Nice staple: the team time trial. And with the Tour de France starting in Barcelona this year with a TTT as well, GC teams will see this as a perfect rehearsal to fine-tune tactics and pacing.
Favorites
Visma | Lease a Bike
UAE Emirates-XRG
INEOS Grenadiers
Visma | Lease a Bike
UAE Emirates-XRG
INEOS Grenadiers
Times
Start: 3:10 PM
Finish: around 5:00 PM
Start: 3:10 PM
Finish: around 5:00 PM
Stage 4, Wednesday, March 11, 2026: Bourges - Uchon (195.0 km)
After a relatively calm first half, stage 4 should explode late on. Three categorised climbs are packed into the finale, with the finish on one of them — meaning the GC riders won’t be able to hide. The final climb may average “only” 4.5%, but Uchon is extremely irregular, and the last two kilometres kick up to more than 10%. Explosiveness will matter.
Favorites
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek)
Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious)
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek)
Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious)
Times
Start: 12:25 PM
Finish: around 5:00 PM
Start: 12:25 PM
Finish: around 5:00 PM
Stage 5, Thursday, March 12, 2026: Cormoranche-sur-Saône - Colombier-le-Vieux (206.3 km)
More climbing again on stage 5. There are no long ascents on the menu, but the final 30 kilometres are relentlessly up and down. After three categorised “leg-breakers”, the road still rises towards the finish. Definitely not the day for a bad moment.
Favorites
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Juan Ayuso (Lidl - Trek)
Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl - Trek)
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Juan Ayuso (Lidl - Trek)
Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl - Trek)
Times
Start: 12:05 PM
Finish: around 5:00 PM
Start: 12:05 PM
Finish: around 5:00 PM
Stage 6, Friday, March 13, 2026: Barbentane - Apt (179.3 km)
After two uphill finishes, the peloton finally gets a finish line on flatter terrain again — although we may still see many of the same riders at the front. The second half of the stage contains several obstacles, less steep than the previous days, but after five days of racing they can still create gaps.
Favorites
Lorenzo Rota (Lotto-Intermarché)
Rick Pluimers (Tudor)
Ewen Costiou (Groupama-FDJ)
Lorenzo Rota (Lotto-Intermarché)
Rick Pluimers (Tudor)
Ewen Costiou (Groupama-FDJ)
Times
Start: 12:50 PM
Finish: around 5:00 PM
Start: 12:50 PM
Finish: around 5:00 PM
Stage 7, Saturday, March 14, 2026: Nice - Auron (138.7 km)
Sprinters may well be wondering why they came. Once again, the finish is at the top of a tough climb — although at 138.7 kilometres, stage 7 is the shortest day. The race goes to Auron, which also featured as a summit finish last year on stage 7. That stage was shortened due to bad weather at the ski resort, and Michael Storer eventually won from an early breakaway.
Favorites
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Juan Ayuso (Lidl - Trek)
Oscar Onley ( INEOS Grenadiers)
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Juan Ayuso (Lidl - Trek)
Oscar Onley ( INEOS Grenadiers)
Times
Start: 11:40 AM
Finish: around 3:10 PM
Start: 11:40 AM
Finish: around 3:10 PM
Stage 8, Sunday, March 15, 2026: Nice - Nice (129.2 km)
The finale ends in Nice as usual, although elections have forced organisers to use a different finishing straight than normal. There will be plenty of climbing again, but it may be hard for GC riders who are already down on time to turn the race around on the final day. The last climb comes almost 20 kilometres from the finish, which doesn’t exactly encourage late attacks — but in a final stage, an all-or-nothing move is always possible.
Favorites
Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl Trek)
Ivan Romeo (Movistar)
Sergio Higuita (XDS-Astana)
Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl Trek)
Ivan Romeo (Movistar)
Sergio Higuita (XDS-Astana)
Times
Start: 1:30 PM
Finish: around 4:40 PM
Start: 1:30 PM
Finish: around 4:40 PM
Favorites final classification Paris-Nice 2026
Paris–Nice 2026 will be defined by the season debut of Jonas Vingegaard. The Visma | Lease a Bike leader made a late decision to add the French stage race to his programme. Wherever the two-time Tour de France winner starts, he is almost automatically among the top favourites — and this Race to the Sun is no exception.
Last year, Vingegaard left Paris–Nice while wearing yellow after suffering a bruised wrist. In 2026, he will be hungry for payback. Visma are expected to support him with strong engines like Victor Campenaerts, Edoardo Affini and Bruno Armirail, plus Italian newcomer Davide Piganzoli, who could even ride a decent GC himself. Wilco Kelderman should also play an important role in the mountains.
Continue reading below the photo
Vingegaard’s biggest opposition may come from Lidl–Trek. The team arrives with two GC leaders in Juan Ayuso and Mattias Skjelmose, but normally it is the Spaniard who looks most capable of challenging the Dane. Ayuso has already won the Volta ao Algarve this season.
UAE Team Emirates–XRG suffered a notable late change to their plans in the days before the start: João Almeida, who was expected to lead, disappeared from the start list. That leaves the Emirati squad relying on Brandon McNulty, Marc Soler and Pavel Sivakov.
INEOS Grenadiers are also aiming high, bringing a deep line-up with Oscar Onley, Kévin Vauquelin and Carlos Rodríguez all set to race. With that kind of trio, could they even challenge for the overall win? If so, they’ll need to race as a true unit.
Continue reading below the photo
Oscar Onley
Further contenders include Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe with Aleksandr Vlasov and Daniel Felipe Martínez, while the French will hope for big performances from the experienced David Gaudu (Groupama–FDJ) and the in-form Lenny Martinez. Bahrain Victorious can also count on 38-year-old Damiano Caruso for a solid GC ride.
Other names to note: Harold Tejada and Sergio Higuita (XDS–Astana), Pablo Castrillo and Iván Romeo (Movistar), Eddie Dunbar (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team), Mathys Rondel (Tudor), Steff Cras and Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step), Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), and Georg Steinhauser (EF), all with hopes of a top-10 finish.
Favorites final classification Paris-Nice 2026, according to IDLProCycling.com
Top favorites: Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek)
Outsiders: Oscar Onley and Kévin Vauquelin (INEOS), Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) and Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious)
Long shots: Davide Piganzoli (Visma | Lease a Bike), Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS), Alexander Vlasov and Daniel Felipe Martinez (Red Bull), Brandon Mcnulty (UAE) and Ivan Romeo (Movistar)
Outsiders: Oscar Onley and Kévin Vauquelin (INEOS), Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) and Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious)
Long shots: Davide Piganzoli (Visma | Lease a Bike), Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS), Alexander Vlasov and Daniel Felipe Martinez (Red Bull), Brandon Mcnulty (UAE) and Ivan Romeo (Movistar)
Data powered by FirstCycling.com
TV broadcast Paris-Nice 2026
Paris-Nice will be shown every day from about 15:10 on HBO Max and from 15:45 on Eurosport. Sporza will also broadcast the stage race live.
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Latest Comments
- It's a bit embarrassing that. Isn't the main sponsor supposed to keep them at 36.5 ?tomjacques03-03-2026
- They were close to cracking a very tired Tadej that wasn't fully focused on the TdF with a team of riders focused solely on cracking Tadej. And if they cracked him, he would have still won. Tadej won't be racing the giro this year. It'll be an even easier win for him.Veganpotter09-02-2026
- Nice!Bea22-01-2026
- Those events are mental rest for him. Fun, without expectations. *Sagan lost his abilities because he gained weight and got lazy. Pogi will likely retire before that has a chance at happening.Veganpotter14-12-2025
- Ah, the consequences of riding for Israel.Veganpotter11-12-2025
- Pidcock could follow everyone but Pogi while finishing 3rd. No second place rider this season😃Veganpotter16-11-2025
- Now the Palestinian protestors can stop their whining. Trump came to the rescue. So they can now STFU and go back to waving the rainbow flags.raufus15-10-2025
- Cracked the code lol. If it was that easy to 'crack the code' jonny Vegas would be charging up the Kwaremont giving Pog a dose of his medicine. Evenepoel can't match pog on a climb and neither can mvdp. Anything with a half difficult climb and Pog smashes the field. Even on flat(ish)parcours like Roubaix it came down to a mistake and crash by pog to definitively crown mvdp. MSR is the only one that Pog probably won't win.kevpt10-10-2025
- We've seen this movie before. I think Pogacar is doping.DeadBlow10-10-2025
- 👍Bea08-10-2025
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