Does Jonas Vingegaard seal the deal in the decisive Paris-Nice finale?

Jonas Vingegaard is close to clinching his first Paris-Nice overall victory. But, traditionally, the final stage of the Race to the Sun is still a tough challenge. Will the Dane face more attacks? And who will take the stage win? WielerFlits looks ahead!

Route

Paris–Nice concludes with a demanding final stage of 129.2 kilometers and 2300 meters of elevation, featuring three categorized climbs in total. The riders will start by riding along the banks of the Var River before tackling the Col de la Porte. At seven kilometers long with an average gradient over 7%, it’s a tough climb midway through the stage.

The Côte de Châteauneuf-Villevieille (6.6 km at 6.6%) and a short, uncategorized climb to Aspremont follow after a long descent. From Aspremont, there are still 35 kilometers remaining to the finish line. But these final kilometers are far from easy.

Indeed, the Côte du Linguador still awaits in the full finale. This climb takes the riders 3.3 kilometers at an average of 8.8% up to Castagniers. The steepest section is within the first kilometer, where the gradient ramps up to 14%. The riders then descend back into the Var valley, followed by another short climb of nearly one and a half kilometers at about 4.8%.

After that, it's flat all the way to the finish. This year’s finish is not on the famous Promenade des Anglais, but at the Allianz Riviera, the football stadium in Nice.

Classifications

Favorites

Will a French rider take another stage win after Dorian Godon’s victory? French fans certainly have reason to hope. Think of Godon himself, but also riders like Valentin Paret-Peintre, Kévin Vauquelin, Lenny Martinez, and Mathys Rondel. All are riders who have definitely made their presence known.

One rider who knows what it’s like to win the final stage at Paris-Nice is Ion Izagirre. Can he replicate his 2019 triumph in Nice? We are also keeping an eye on Harold Tejada, although it remains to be seen how he recovers after his heavy crash on Saturday. Another Colombian, Daniel Felipe Martínez, will mostly focus on securing his second place in the general classification. But if he gets the chance, DFM will definitely want to contest the stage win as well.

The absolute top favorite, however, is Jonas Vingegaard. The Dane from Team Visma | Lease a Bike already has two stage wins under his belt, but why not grab a third if the race continues to go so smoothly? Finally, we also mention riders like Georg Steinhauser, Marc Soler, and Oscar Onley.

Weather and TV

A hundred percent chance of precipitation, according to several weather forecasts. So it won’t really feel like ‘the Race to the Sun.’ Afternoon temperatures along the Côte d'Azur will be around thirteen degrees Celsius.