Riders had been fearing the potential effects of bad weather at Paris-Nice, but complete carnage descended on stage 4 of the French stage race, with rain, crosswinds and crashes amounting to a decimated field and a day to forget for many of the general classification-focussed teams.
Race leader Juan Ayuso was the major casualty of the carnage, with a high-speed crash on the descent of the Côte de la Croix des Cerisiers at 48km to go, leaving him writhing in pain while he lay on the side of the road. Not long after, the yellow jersey had to abandon, a big hit to his flying start to 2026.
