Schlagwort-Archive: 83. Paris-Nizza

83. Paris-Nizza Etappe 5

Ergebnisse, Etappenrennen, Strassenrennen, , , , , , , , ,

5. Etappe: Saint-Just-en-Chevalet – La Côte-Saint-André – 203Km

1 Martinez Lenny Bahrain Victorious 60 04:36:23
2 Champoussin Clément XDS Astana Team 40 + 03
3 Jorgenson Matteo Team Visma | Lease a Bike 30 + 03
4 Tejada Harold XDS Astana Team 25 + 03
5 Lipowitz Florian Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe 20 + 06
6 Almeida Joao UAE Team Emirates-XRG 15 + 07
7 McNulty Brandon UAE Team Emirates-XRG 10 + 11
8 Van Wilder Ilan Soudal Quick-Step 8 + 16
9 Sheffield Magnus INEOS Grenadiers 5 + 16
10 Paret-Peintre Aurélien Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team 2 + 18
11 Alaphilippe Julian Tudor Pro Cycling Team + 20
12 Storer Michael Tudor Pro Cycling Team + 20
13 Arensman Thymen INEOS Grenadiers + 22
14 Martin-Guyonnet Guillaume Groupama-FDJ + 22
15 Castrillo Pablo Movistar Team + 26
16 Vingegaard Jonas Team Visma | Lease a Bike + 26
17 Skjelmose Mattias Lidl-Trek + 28
18 Gall Felix Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team + 35
19 Jegat Jordan Team TotalEnergies + 38
20 Silva Thomas Caja Rural-Seguros RGA + 41

Gesamt:

1 1 Jorgenson Matteo Team Visma | Lease a Bike 16:27:26
2 1 Vingegaard Jonas Team Visma | Lease a Bike + 22
3 1 Lipowitz Florian Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe + 36
4 1 Almeida Joao UAE Team Emirates-XRG + 40
5 4 Martinez Lenny Bahrain Victorious + 55
6 3 Skjelmose Mattias Lidl-Trek + 57
7 McNulty Brandon UAE Team Emirates-XRG + 01:05
8 2 Arensman Thymen INEOS Grenadiers + 01:14
9 4 Champoussin Clément XDS Astana Team + 01:22
10 2 Tejada Harold XDS Astana Team + 01:24
11 Van Wilder Ilan Soudal Quick-Step + 01:36
12 2 Castrillo Pablo Movistar Team + 01:44
13 1 Storer Michael Tudor Pro Cycling Team + 01:55
14 2 Martin-Guyonnet Guillaume Groupama-FDJ + 02:20
15 4 Paret-Peintre Aurélien Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team + 02:38
16 8 Foss Tobias INEOS Grenadiers + 02:41
17 2 Romeo Iván Movistar Team + 02:42
18 3 Sheffield Magnus INEOS Grenadiers + 02:48
19 1 O’Connor Ben Team Jayco-AlUla + 03:07
20 3 Barta William Movistar Team + 03:09
21 2 Gall Felix Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team + 03:14

Florian Lipowitz klettert auf Gesamtrang drei, während der Paris-Nice-Kampf um das Klassement Fahrt aufnimmt

Florian Lipowitz hat seine starke Form bei Paris-Nice erneut unter Beweis gestellt und auf der 5. Etappe eine weitere beeindruckende Leistung abgeliefert. Der junge Deutsche belegte auf der Côte de Notre-Dame-de-Sciez den fünften Platz, nur sechs Sekunden hinter Etappensieger Lenny Martinez, und kletterte damit auf den dritten Gesamtrang.

Der 24-Jährige zeigte sich bereits beim gestrigen Gipfel-Finale der 4. Etappe in hervorragender Verfassung und bestätigte seine Klasse auch heute. Trotz der kurzen, explosiven Schlusssteigung (1,7 km bei 11 Prozent) hielt Lipowitz mit den besten Fahrern mit – eine Leistung, die ihn selbst überraschte.

„Ich hätte nicht erwartet, dass mir so ein Anstieg so gut liegt“, gab er im Ziel zu. „Normalerweise tue ich mich auf diesen kurzen, steilen Rampen etwas schwer, aber heute habe ich mich selbst überrascht. Ich konnte mit den stärksten Fahrern mithalten.“
Als Fünfter überquerte Lipowitz nur knapp hinter der Spitzengruppe die Ziellinie und untermauerte damit seine Ambitionen in der Gesamtwertung. Zusätzlich übernahm er das Weiße Trikot des besten Nachwuchsfahrers. Mit drei verbleibenden Etappen bis zum Finale in Nizza liegt er nun nur noch 36 Sekunden hinter dem Gesamtführenden Matteo Jorgenson.

Martinez delivers a mighty punch

Stage 5 of Paris-Nice 2025, filled with steep ascents all the way to a spectacular summit finish at La Côte-Saint-André, favoured a lightweight – Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), who surged to victory inside the last 100 metres after an animated finale. The young French climber got the better of Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) and resisted his countryman Clément Champoussin (XDS-Astana) to take his most prestigious victory to date, on slopes that saw Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) struggle. The Dane suffered a crash early in the stage, rapidly resumed action but with an injured hand, and eventually finished 16th, with a gap of 26’’. The yellow and white jersey thus returns to Jorgenson… with Vingegaard in 2nd place of the overall standings (+22’’). Martinez moves up to 5th (+55’’).

The 143 riders who finished stage 4 at La Loge des Gardes are all present to resume racing in Saint-Just-en-Chevalet. Many of them eye the possibility of a winning breakaway, and a group of 11 riders try their luck from the first (uphill) kilometre… without success.

A blistering first 2 hours

Attack and counter-attack movements follow one after the other and meet the same fate, with riders already spotted in the previous days such as Joshua Tarling, Ben Swift (Ineos Grenadiers), Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X), as well as new attackers like Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) and Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost).
After two hours of battle, Ben Swift (Ineos Grenadiers) and Thibaud Gruel (Groupama-FDJ) get the clear for the break of the day. They set off at km 73, press on as a duo and eventually benefit from the clemency of the peloton after more than 90 kilometres, covered at an average of 48.4 km/h.

Vingegaard hits the deck, Foss gets away

Their lead hits a maximum of 3’15’’ (km 114) before Julian Alaphilippe’s Tudor Pro Cycling react. Meanwhile, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) hits the deck on the climb of Côte de Trèves. The Danish leader of the race rapidly gets back up and returns to the bunch.
The pace and the tension increase as the riders face the Côte du Château Jaune and the Côte de Sibuze, the first of five “walls” in the last 50 kilometres. Tobias Foss (Ineos Grenadiers) uses these launchpads to join the lead duo and build a margin of 55’’ as he goes solo on the Côte de Chavagneux, with 30 kilometres to go.

Vingegaard struggles, Martinez flies

Trailing by 1’06’’ on GC, Foss takes the lead of the virtual standings as he pushes his advantage to 1’10’’ into the last 20 kilometres. But the peloton set a brutal pace on the penultimate climb of the day, Côte d’Arzay (16.5 km to go). The Norwegian attacker is eventually caught 4 km away from the line.
As Vingegaard struggles on the steeper slopes of the final climb, Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) sets his own pace at the front and even opens a small gap with 300 metres to go. But Harold Tejada (XDS-Astana) bridges the gap with his teammate Clément Champoussin and Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious)… The latter dances on his pedals in the last 100 metres to claim victory.

83. Paris-Nizza Etappe 4

Ergebnisse, Etappenrennen, , , , , ,

4. Etappe: Vichy – La Loge des Gardes – 163Km

Aufgrund des kalten und schlechten Wetters wurde die Etappe 45km vor dem Ziel neutralisiert und gestoppt.
Der umstrittene Neustart erfolgte dann unter fragwürdigen Bedingungen, nicht alle Fahrer wussten davon Bescheid und bekamen so in große Probleme (Vlasov, O’Connor).


Plomi Foto

1 Almeida Joao UAE Team Emirates-XRG 60 03:37:06
2 Vingegaard Jonas Team Visma | Lease a Bike 40 + 01
3 Skjelmose Mattias Lidl-Trek 30 + 02
4 Martinez Lenny Bahrain Victorious 25 + 02
5 Lipowitz Florian Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe 20 + 06
6 Jorgenson Matteo Team Visma | Lease a Bike 15 + 06
7 McNulty Brandon UAE Team Emirates-XRG 10 + 09
8 Tejada Harold XDS Astana Team 8 + 17
9 Arensman Thymen INEOS Grenadiers 5 + 17
10 Champoussin Clément XDS Astana Team 2 + 21
11 Van Wilder Ilan Soudal Quick-Step + 28
12 Castrillo Pablo Movistar Team + 28
13 Storer Michael Tudor Pro Cycling Team + 28
14 Foss Tobias INEOS Grenadiers + 28
15 García Raúl ARKEA-B&B HOTELS + 01:02
16 Martin-Guyonnet Guillaume Groupama-FDJ + 01:02
17 Romeo Iván Movistar Team + 01:07
18 Barta William Movistar Team + 01:20
19 Paret-Peintre Aurélien Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team + 01:40
20 Jegat Jordan Team TotalEnergies + 01:42
21 Steinhauser Georg EF Education-EasyPost +01:42

Gesamt:

1 1 Vingegaard Jonas Team Visma | Lease a Bike 11:50:59
2 1 Jorgenson Matteo Team Visma | Lease a Bike + 05
3 6 Skjelmose Mattias Lidl-Trek + 33
4 2 Lipowitz Florian Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe + 36
5 13 Almeida Joao UAE Team Emirates-XRG + 37
6 7 Arensman Thymen INEOS Grenadiers + 56
7 15 McNulty Brandon UAE Team Emirates-XRG + 58
8 3 Foss Tobias INEOS Grenadiers + 01:06
9 28 Martinez Lenny Bahrain Victorious + 01:09
10 16 Castrillo Pablo Movistar Team + 01:22
11 18 Van Wilder Ilan Soudal Quick-Step + 01:24
12 28 Tejada Harold XDS Astana Team + 01:25
13 26 Champoussin Clément XDS Astana Team + 01:29
14 28 Storer Michael Tudor Pro Cycling Team + 01:39
15 9 Romeo Iván Movistar Team + 02:01
16 16 Martin-Guyonnet Guillaume Groupama-FDJ + 02:02
17 8 Barta William Movistar Team + 02:14
18 4 Steinhauser Georg EF Education-EasyPost + 02:23
19 3 Paret-Peintre Aurélien Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team + 02:24
20 16 O’Connor Ben Team Jayco-AlUla + 02:30

Almeida strikes back

La Loge des Gardes still doesn’t smile at Jonas Vingegaard. On the day after a dominant team time-trial from Visma-Lease a Bike, the Danish star attacked on the final ascent of stage 4 of Paris-Nice 2025, just as he did on the same slopes in 2023. He was still leading the way into the last 200 metres… But, as happened a couple of years ago, the climb proved to be a bit too long for Vingegaard, who saw Joao Almeida turn the tables to claim victory after a subpar performance from UAE Team Emirates-XRG in the TTT. The Portuguese climber follows the track of his leader Tadej Pogacar, winner at La Loge des Gardes in 2023. He also gets back in the GC mix, with overall standings once again redefined after this first climbing challenge. Vingegaard takes the yellow and white jersey from his teammate Matteo Jorgenson, while Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) completes the podium on the day and in GC. The race was momentarily neutralised due to the weather conditions but the riders were then able to resume action in sunny conditions.

The peloton face the first climbing challenge of the 83rd edition of the Race to the Sun with a summit finish at La Loge des Gardes, atop a 6.7km ascent (average gradient: 7.1%). Will it redefine the overall standings on the day after Visma-Lease a Bike made the most of the team time trial to propel Matteo Jorgenson and Jonas Vingegaard to the first two positions?

The many ups and downs of the day inspire attackers. After a fierce battle for the breakaway, eight riders manage to open a gap at km 19: Ben Swift (Ineos Grenadiers), Thibault Guernalec (Arkéa B&B Hotels), Vincenzo Albanese (EF Education-EasyPost), Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility), Sylvain Moniquet (Cofidis), Dion Smith (Intermarché-Wanty), Thomas Gachignard (Total Energies) and Ed Planckaert (Alpecin-Deceuninck).

Gachignard steps up, Buitrago goes down

Gachignard chases the KOM points to defend his teammate Alexandre Delettre’s polka-dot jersey. Behind the attackers, Edoardo Affini and Per Strande Hagenes (Visma-Lease a Bike) drive the bunch to control the gap around 3 minutes.
As the advantage of the breakaway reaches a maximum of 3’35‘’ at km 89, Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) suffers a puncture and then crashes as he makes his way back to the peloton. He his forced to abandon.

Race neutralised
On the Côte de Granon, Joshua Tarling and Tobias Foss (Ineos Grenadiers) launch a counter-attack, while Dion Smith was dropped by his breakaway companions.
The weather conditions become very difficult, with hailstorms and slippery roads, and the race is neutralised 45 kilometres away from the finish. At that point, the chasers trailed by 1’35’’ and the peloton by 2’20’’.

Here comes the sun
The action resumes with the same gaps and 29km to go. Leknessund sets off at the front but he doesn’t manage to open more than a 15’’ gap and waits for his chasers. Meanwhile, Swift drops back to help Foss and Tarling. And Lidl-Trek, Movistar and UAE Team Emirates unite to drive the bunch.

The three Grenadiers catch the breakaway with 11km to go. And the group explodes on the first slopes of the ascent to La Loge des Gardes. Foss goes solo with 6 km to go. Behind him, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) drives a hard chase and brings the gap down to 30’’.

Vingegaard almost makes it
Several riders shake the bunch: Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Pablo Castrillo (Movistar), Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious)… But Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) counters and flies past everyone with 2 kilometres to go.

Into the last kilometre he has a gap of 7’’… But that’s not enough to resist Joao Almeida’s strong push in the last 200 metres. The Portuguese leader of UAE Team Emirates-XRG catches the Dane inside the last 100 metres and claims his first victory in French territory.

83. Paris-Nizza Etappe 3

Ergebnisse, Etappenrennen, Strassenrennen, , , , , ,

3. Etappe: Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours – Nevers – 28,40 Km Teamzeitfahren:

01 Team Visma | Lease a Bike 30:26
[Leader jersey] Jorgenson Matteo Vingegaard Jonas (00) Campenaerts Victor (27) Lemmen Bart (42) Hagenes Per Strand (03:05) Affini Edoardo (03:05) Zingle Axel (04:06)
02 Team Jayco-AlUla + 15
Matthews Michael O’Connor Ben Schmid Mauro (+ 25) O’Brien Kelland (+ 01:11) Hepburn Michael (+ 03:23) Walscheid Max (+ 03:53)
03 Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe + 25
[Youth jersey] Lipowitz Florian Vlasov Aleksandr Zwiehoff Ben (+ 28) Sobrero Matteo (+ 49) van Dijke Mick (+ 03:10) Mullen Ryan (+ 03:10)
04 Lidl-Trek + 30
Skjelmose Mattias Pedersen Mads (+ 59) Bernard Julien (+ 02:13) Hoole Daan (+ 03:42) Gibbons Ryan (+ 03:53) Vergaerde Otto (+ 03:53) Kirsch Alex (+ 05:09)
05 INEOS Grenadiers + 33
Foss Tobias Arensman Thymen (+ 34) Sheffield Magnus (+ 34) Watson Sam (+ 01:15) Tarling Joshua (+ 02:32) Jungels Bob (+ 02:32) Swift Ben (+ 06:16)
06 EF Education-EasyPost + 34
Powless Neilson Steinhauser Georg (+ 36) Sweeny Harry (+ 56) Doull Owain (+ 02:42) Albanese Vincenzo (+ 03:24) Walker Max (+ 04:09)
07 Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale + 39
Paret-Peintre Aurélien Bissegger Stefan Scotson Callum (+ 42) Gall Felix (+ 42) Armirail Bruno (+ 45) De Pestel Sander (+ 02:37) Naesen Oliver (+ 02:37)
08 UAE Team Emirates-XRG + 42
Almeida Joao McNulty Brandon (+ 44) Narvaez Jhonatan (+ 44) Politt Nils (+ 02:20) Oliveira Ivo (+ 02:20) Sivakov Pavel (+ 04:29) Molano Sebastian (+ 05:05)
09 Movistar Team + 49
Romeo Iván Castrillo Pablo Barta William Cepeda Jefferson (+ 59) Moro Manlio (+ 03:20) Milesi Lorenzo (+ 03:20) García Cortina Iván (+ 04:46)
10 Soudal Quick-Step + 51
Schachmann Max Van Wilder Ilan Lampaert Yves (+ 02:53) van Gestel Dries (+ 03:32) Bastiaens Ayco (+ 03:32) [Point jersey] Merlier Tim (+ 03:32) Van Lerberghe Bert (+ 03:32)

Gesamt:

01 3 Jorgenson Matteo Team Visma | Lease a Bike 08:13:52
02 37 Vingegaard Jonas Team Visma | Lease a Bike + 06
03 57 Matthews Michael Team Jayco-AlUla + 21
04 95 O’Connor Ben Team Jayco-AlUla + 21
05 29 Vlasov Aleksandr Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe + 31
06 29 Lipowitz Florian Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe + 31
07 81 Schmid Mauro Team Jayco-AlUla + 31
08 74 Zwiehoff Ben Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe + 34
09 64 Skjelmose Mattias Lidl-Trek + 36
10 – Sheffield Magnus INEOS Grenadiers + 38
11 68 Foss Tobias INEOS Grenadiers + 39
12 53 Powless Neilson EF Education-EasyPost + 40
13 67 Arensman Thymen INEOS Grenadiers + 40
14 45 Steinhauser Georg EF Education-EasyPost + 42
15 10 Narvaez Jhonatan UAE Team Emirates-XRG

Vollgas vom Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours: Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe fährt auf Platz drei im Paris-Nice Mannschaftszeitfahren

Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe hat beim Mannschaftszeitfahren von Paris-Nizza eine starke Leistung gezeigt und belegte den dritten Platz, nur knapp 25 Sekunden hinter den Etappensiegern von Visma | Lease a Bike. Das 28,4 km lange Rennen vom Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours nach Nevers verlangte den Teams alles ab – mit engen Kurven, welligem Terrain und einem steilen Anstieg, bei dem Teamarbeit und gleichmäßiges Pacing entscheidend waren.

Von Beginn an ging die Mannschaft kontrolliert ins Rennen, meisterte die Kurven auf der Motorsport-Rennstrecke souverän und fand schnell ihren Rhythmus. Die ersten Wellen forderten bereits einiges, doch das Team blieb diszipliniert und vermied es, zu früh zu viele Körner zu verbrennen. Zur Zwischenzeit lag das Team mit nur 7 Sekunden Rückstand auf Visma | Lease a Bike auf Rang drei.
Am Ende behauptete sich unser sechsköpfiges Team auf dem dritten Platz und lieferte eine starke, geschlossene Teamleistung ab. Damit bleibt die Mannschaft in aussichtsreicher Position für die Gesamtwertung, bevor es morgen auf der vierten Etappe ins Gebirge geht.

Dan Bigham:
Das Team hat heute eine wirklich solide Leistung gezeigt, und insgesamt bin ich mit dem Ergebnis sehr zufrieden. Sie haben ein sauberes Einzelzeitfahren absolviert, bei dem jeder dem Plan treu geblieben ist. Gegen Ende, entlang des Flusses haben Ryan und Mick alles gegeben und die anderen für einen starken Finish in die Stadt vorbereitet. Es war fast wie ein italienisches Verfolger-Rennen, bei dem sich jeder nach und nach bis zur Ziellinie abwechselte. Lipo und Aleks haben stark abgeschlossen und uns im Rennen gehalten, sodass wir damit auf dem Podium sind. Auch wenn man immer das Ziel hat, den obersten Platz zu erreichen, bin ich angesichts des aktuellen Standes und des Weges, den wir noch vor uns haben, wirklich zufrieden mit dem heutigen Ergebnis.

Jorgenson takes his ease

A year after his breakthrough victory in Paris-Nice 2024, Matteo Jorgenson is back at the top of the overall standings thanks to the performance of Visma-Lease a Bike in Tuesday’s team time-trial. After a strong collective start, the American all rounder put the hammer down on the final slopes of the day, and only Jonas Vingegaard accompanied him to set the best time of the day: 30’26’’ (56km/h). Jayco AlUla achieved the second best performance of the day with Michael Matthews and Ben O’Connor (+15’’), and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe complete the podium of the day with Aleksandr Vlasov and Florian Lipowitz (+25’’). Ineos Grenadiers had to settle for the 5th place (+33’’) and UAE Team Emirates-XRG lost 42’’. On Wednesday, the road rises towards La Loge des Gardes on a day that will see Jorgenson wear the yellow and white jersey for the first time, after he surged to victory on the very last day of last year’s edition.

After Tim Merlier’s dominant sprints on days 1 and 2, the Race to the Sun throws a very different challenge at the riders: a 28.4-km team time trial, with the format initiated in 2023 in Paris-Nice, in which each rider is credited with his actual time in the stage.

Jayco AlUla faster than Ineos Grenadiers
Julian Alaphilippe and his Tudor Pro Cycling teammates kicked off the action, but their time did not stay the top of the table for long, erased by the collective performance of Jayco AlUla, with Michael Matthews crossing the finish line in Nevers first in 30’41‘’.

Ineos Grenadiers were then expected to strike hard with rouleurs of the calibre of Joshua Tarling, Tobias Foss and Thymen Arensman to support Magnus Shefflied’s GC ambitions… But they finished 18’’ behind the provisional leaders.

The best time for Jorgenson and Vingegaard
All eyes turn then to UAE Team Emirates-XRG, victorious last year in Auxerre. This time, the collective split up on the Côte de la Pisserotte, and four kilometres later, only three were left to appear a short distance from the finish: Brandon McNulty, Joao Almeida and Jhonatan Narvaez, who settle for an average speed of 54.7 km/h.
As for Lidl-Trek, Mattias Skjelmose surged alone in the finale… and achieved a strong performance, 15’’ behind Jayco-AlUla.
But Visma-Lease a Bike, with the defending champion Matteo Jorgenson and Jonas Vingegaard, enforce their collective strength, setting the best time at the intermediate point of La Chaume des Pendus (km 14.1), before their two leaders pounce in the finale. Wheel to wheel, Matteo Jorgenson and Jonas Vingegaard finish the job in 30’26‘’, i.e. 56.0 km/h.

Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe on the podium
Most of the stronger collectives have already finished, but Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe still manage to take Aleksandr Vlasov and Florian Lipowitz to the third step of the podium, 24’’ behind the day’s winners.
Tim Merlier’s Soudal Quick-Step were the last on course. The Belgian sprinter stepped aside at the bottom of the Côte de la Pisserotte and bid farewell to his yellow and white jersey.

83. Paris-Nizza Etappen 1+2

Ergebnisse, Etappenrennen, Strassenrennen, , , ,

1. Etappe: Le Perray-en-Yvelines – Le Perray-en-Yvelines – 156 Km

1 Merlier Tim Soudal Quick-Step 60 03:32:03
2 Démare Arnaud ARKEA-B&B HOTELS 40 + 00
3 Dainese Alberto Tudor Pro Cycling Team 30 + 00
4 Molano Sebastian UAE Team Emirates-XRG 25 + 00
5 Zingle Axel Team Visma | Lease a Bike 20 + 00
6 Fedorov Yevgeniy XDS Astana Team 15 + 00
7 van Dijke Mick Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe 10 + 00
8 Kielich Timo Alpecin-Deceuninck 8 + 00
9 Albanese Vincenzo EF Education-EasyPost -25 + 00
10 Walscheid Max Team Jayco-AlUla 2 + 00
11 Aniolkowski Stanislaw Cofidis + 00
12 Pedersen Mads Lidl-Trek + 00
13 Jeannière Emilien Team TotalEnergies + 00
14 Lund Andresen Tobias Team Picnic PostNL + 00
15 Wright Fred Bahrain Victorious + 00
16 Kristoff Alexander Uno-X Mobility + 00

MERLIER, THE EXPERT
Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) was head and shoulders above the rest of the sprinters to win stage 1 of Paris-Nice 2025 and be the first leader of the 83rd edition of “the Race to the Sun”, just like he did in 2023. The European champion survived the traps of the day, marked by a punchy finale, and perfectly navigated the last kilometre to fly past everyone and take his fifth success of the season. Arnaud Démare (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Alberto Dainese (Tudor) complete the podium of the day. As for Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike), the defending champion in the overall standings, he started the race just like he did last year, claiming time bonuses in the finale.

The 83rd edition of “the Race to the Sun” kicks-off in the department of Yvelines with a first stage open to different scenarios, featuring two loops around Le Perray-en-Yvelines adding up to 156.1km of racing. First, the riders head into the Versailles plain, before exploring the Chevreuse valley. Then they get back to the first loop as they battle for the first leader’s jersey of Paris-Nice 2025.

The tricky terrain inspires three early attackers. Alexandre Delettre (Cofidis) and Samuel Ferrnandez (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) immediately set off and Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché-Wanty) joins them at km 4. Behind them, Mads Pedersen’s Lidl-Trek and Tim Merlier’s Soudal Quick-Step quickly get in action to control the gap.

Alaphilippe and Jorgenson move
Delettre makes the most of the first two ascents to claim 6 KOM points but the attackers’s advantage never gets higher than 2’35’’ (km 20) and drops down to 1’05’’ as they cross the line fort he first time (km 54.6). Fernandez attacks with 62 km to go to breathe some new life into the breakaway. Delettre joins him while Van der Hoorn drops back to the bunch. The lead duo are eventually caught just inside the last 50 kilometres.
Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) shakes the peloton on the steepest section of the Côte de Villiers-Saint-Frédéric (21.6km to go). Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) follows him and goes first at the summit. The bunch rapidly get back together afterwards.

A flurry of attacks
The climb of Les Mesnuls, with an intermediate sprint awarding time bonuses just inside the last 10 km, is the perfect launchpad for more attacks. Jhonatan Narvaez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) goes first at the summit, ahead of Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadier’s).

A flurry of attacks ensues and three riders eventually get away inside the last 7 kilometres: Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), Joshua Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) and Matteo Trentin (Tudor). They’re caught with less than 3 kilometres to go.
Jayco AlUla and Alpecin-Deceuninck try to set their sprinters for the win… But Bert Van Lerberghe and Tim Merlier perfectly surf wheels until the Belgian star ounces inside the last 300 metres.

2. Etappe: Montesson – Bellegarde – 184 Km

1 Merlier Tim Soudal Quick-Step 60 04:11:29
2 Jeannière Emilien Team TotalEnergies 40 + 00
3 Pedersen Mads Lidl-Trek 30 + 00
4 Kristoff Alexander Uno-X Mobility 25 + 00
5 Kielich Timo Alpecin-Deceuninck 20 + 00
6 Zingle Axel Team Visma | Lease a Bike 15 + 00
7 Démare Arnaud ARKEA-B&B HOTELS 10 + 00
8 Govekar Matevz Bahrain Victorious 8 + 00
9 Jakobsen Fabio Team Picnic PostNL 5 + 00
10 Bol Cees XDS Astana Team 2 + 00
11 Del Grosso Tibor Alpecin-Deceuninck + 00
12 Fedorov Yevgeniy XDS Astana Team + 00
13 Leitão Iúri Caja Rural-Seguros RGA + 00
14 Molano Sebastian UAE Team Emirates-XRG + 00
15 Aniolkowski Stanislaw Cofidis + 00

Gesamt:

1 Merlier Tim Soudal Quick-Step 07:43:12
2 Démare Arnaud ARKEA-B&B HOTELS + 14
3 13 Jeannière Emilien Team TotalEnergies + 14
4 1 Jorgenson Matteo Team Visma | Lease a Bike + 14
5 2 Narvaez Jhonatan UAE Team Emirates-XRG + 14
6 126 Abrahamsen Jonas Uno-X Mobility + 14
7 8 Pedersen Mads Lidl-Trek + 16
8 2 van Dijke Mick Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe + 16
9 5 Dainese Alberto Tudor Pro Cycling Team + 16
10 4 Sheffield Magnus INEOS Grenadiers + 18
11 3 Zingle Axel Team Visma | Lease a Bike + 20
12 1 Kielich Timo Alpecin-Deceuninck + 20
13 4 Fedorov Yevgeniy XDS Astana Team + 20
14 7 Molano Sebastian UAE Team Emirates-XRG + 20
15 4 Kristoff Alexander Uno-X Mobility + 20
16 2 Aniolkowski Stanislaw Cofidis + 20
17 4 Walscheid Max Team Jayco-AlUla + 20
18 6 Govekar Matevz Bahrain Victorious + 20
19 3 Bol Cees XDS Astana Team + 20
20 5 Leitão Iúri Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

Stage 2 of Paris-Nice 2025 led to a much different sprint than stage 1 but the same winner powered to victory: Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step), who takes his sixth win of the year and retains the yellow and white jersey as the overall leader of the Race to the Sun. The Belgian star is the first rider to win the first two stages since Dylan Groenewegen in 2019… And it was already in Bellegarde! This time, Merlier got the better of two Frenchmen, Émilien Jeannière (TotalEnergies) and Hugo Page (Intermarché-Wanty). On Tuesday, stage 3 is set to shake the overall standings with a team time trial in Nevers, the first major rendezvous of Paris-Nice 2025 for the GC contenders.

After Kasper Asgreen (EF Education-EasyPost) came down with an illness overnight, 153 riders start stage 2 of Paris from Montesson, just outside of the French capital, to make their way towards Bellegarde. The slight rain doesn’t deter early attackers.
In the wake of his breakaway towards Le Perray-en-Yvelines, Alexandre Delettre (TotalEnergies) is back on the move to defend his polkadot jersey. Samuel Fernandez (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) is with him again, after he won the combativity award on day 1. This time, they’re joined by Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), a hero of the Tour de France 2024 with his many breakaway attempts.
The gap rapidly rises to 3’10’’ (km 14) before Soudal Quick-Step take the reins of the bunch on the day after Tim Merlier’s opening success.

Merlier and Pedersen unite
Delettre makes the most of the cat-3 climbs up Côte de Mesnuls (km 34.1) and Côte de la Villeneuve (km 54.1) to bring his KOM tally up to 12 points.
Mads Pedersen’s Lidl-Trek collaborate with Soudal Quick-Step and the gap drops down to 2 minutes as the peloton summit the second and last categorised ascent of the day.
With the peloton coming hot on their heels, Abrahamsen puts the hammer down 51 km away from the line. Delettre and Fernandez are caught but the Norwegian pushes his lead back up to a minute.

Merlier suvives an animated finale
The pace picks up again in the bunch but their progress is hampered by a mass crash with 46 km to go. Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) and Arnaud Démare (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) are among the riders involved but they quickly get back up. On the other hand, Florian Sénéchal (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) has to abandon.

Abrahamsen still leads the way into the final 20.3km lap around Bellegarde. Behind him, Tim Van Dijke (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) sprint for the time bonuses. Behind them, a crash splits the bunch again. Luke Durbridge (Jayco AlUla) and Gorka Sorarrain (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) abandon.

Stragglers get back and Abrahamsen is eventually caught with 2.5km to go. Bert Van Lerberghe (Soudal Quick-Step) and Merlier navigate just like they did on day 1 and the Belgian sprinter eventually pounces with 200 metres to go… Nobody can match his speed at the moment.