Paris-Nice 2026 concluded with a second French victory. Lenny Martinez won the sprint in Nice ahead of Jonas Vingegaard, who wins his first Paris-Nice.
The final day of Paris-Nice 2026 took place around Nice on a demanding 145-kilometre route, marked by three first-category climbs. The Col de la Porte (7 km at 7.2%) opened the hostilities, followed by the Châteauneuf-Villevieille climb (6.6 km at 6.6%). But it was the Linguador climb, short but formidable with its 3.3 km at 8.2% and an initial gradient of 14%, that proved to be the decisive factor. Placed less than 20 kilometres from the finish, it was followed by a technical descent and then a flat and winding finale towards the Allianz Riviera. With the general classification still wide open behind Jonas Vingegaard, this final stage offered ideal terrain for upsets.
From the first kilometres, the battle for the breakaway intensified. A first quartet — Van Den Bossche, Levy, Rutsch and Benjamin Thomas — attempted to take the lead, but their advantage lasted only three kilometres. A second offensive then formed, led by Thomas and Van Den Bossche, joined by Marsman, Delettre and Trentin. Despite their efforts, the peloton remained vigilant, keeping the gap under a minute as they approached the Col de la Porte. Eventually, the breakaway was caught, and Valentin Paret-Peintre went solo over the summit, ahead of Marc Soler, while Jonas Vingegaard secured valuable points to consolidate his polka dot jersey.
The race changed at 54 kilometres from the finish with the fall of Daniel Felipe Martinez on the Châteauneuf-Villevieille climb. The Colombian, second overall, was unbalanced by his teammate Laurence Pithie. Although he was able to continue, he quickly conceded two minutes to the peloton, compromising his ambitions and offering an unexpected opportunity to Kévin Vauquelin in the fight for the podium. Meanwhile, only 104 riders continued this final stage, with Jayco AlUla and Pinarello Q36.5 having been the most affected by abandonments since the start of the week.
Lenny Martinez the only one able to follow cycling giant Jonas Vingegaard
The race was decided on the final difficulty of the day, the Linguador climb in the first category. At 21 km from the finish, Visma Lease a Bike decided to accelerate to launch their leader. Only Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) managed to follow the pace of the yellow jersey. The two men worked together to arrive together, without opening up large gaps. Behind, Daniel Felipe Martinez managed to return with the help of his Red Bull – Bora‑Hansgrohe teammates to secure his second place in the general classification.
In the final, the two leaders watched each other, leaving an opportunity for the group to come back. Lenny Martinez decided to take matters into his own hands as he saw the gap closing. The rider from Cannes did not hesitate when launching his sprint from far out. Coming close to being beaten on the line, Lenny Martinez won in Nice with half a wheel ahead of the yellow jersey and winner of Paris-Nice 2026, Jonas Vingegaard.
In front of his family, Lenny Martinez achieved his third professional victory here and finishes fifth overall. At the finish, the rider from Maralpin expressed his joy: “winning ahead of Jonas by making a solo raid with him is even more beautiful. I’m very happy […] Seeing that I can win a stage at the end shows that I can stay at the level throughout the week.”
In the general classification, no changes:
- Jonas Vingegaard
- Daniel Felipe Martinez at 4’23
- Georg Steinhauser at 6’07
- Kévin Vauquelin at 6’24
- Lenny Martinez at 7’31.
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