Paris-Nice
8-15 March
1,206km
France
The first major European stage race of the year is Paris-Nice, the opening step on the road to the Tour de France in July. Run by the same organisers, ASO, the 'Race to the Sun' takes places over eight stages from the Île-de-France, just outside Paris, to Nice and the Mediterranean coast.
Winners haven't always gone on to win the biggest events of the year, but in the last 10 years Tadej Pogačar, Primož Roglič and Egan Bernal have all won. There have been 84 editions, the last two of which have been won by Matteo Jorgenson.
Here's the things you should be looking out for at this year's race.
Jonas Vingegaard is back
The Dane has delayed his season start after illness, but he will be back in action at Paris-Nice, where he will be looking to have a better time than last year, when he suffered concussion. A lack of a GC title here feels like a gap in the Visma-Lease a Bike career, that he will be keen to fill in.
Wind at the Race to the Sun
When one thinks of Paris-Nice, crosswinds loom large. As the race crosses central France, the corners and the famous named winds of the country come into play - the Mistral, the Tramontane and others. GC riders will have to be alert to not miss out on splits in the peloton, because it might ruin a race early on, before the big climbs even come into the picture.
A race to the sun?
The Race to The Sun might be its nickname, but given this is early March, weather is a bit changeable. As things stand, it looks like the eight-stage race will be the Race of the Sun rather than to the sun, as it looks fair across France across all of the week this far out. Previous editions have been rather wetter.
No room for sprints
Traditionally, Paris-Nice has been a solid warm-up race for the Classics, offering the hard men the chance to fine tune their form ahead of the key cobbled races. This year is no different, but there is only one nailed-on sprint stage, so there isn’t much on offer for the out-and-out fast men. Tirreno isn’t much kinder, either.
Tirreno-Adriatico is on too
Run concurrently, Tirreno-Adriatico is the other option for riders looking to get some kilometres in their legs in early March. There isn’t quite as much climbing in Italy, but the lineup is still good, with Mathieu van der Poel, Isaac del Toro and Wout van Aert all taking part in the seven-stage race on the other side of the Alps.
Focus on the TTT
All three big ASO-run stage races this year feature a team time trial, culminating in the big one at the Tour de France on stage one. They have been present in the last few editions of Paris-Nice, with the new-ish system where riders are given individual times at the finish, rather than as a team. This one looks relatively flat over 23.5km, with just 213 metres of climbing, so it is best tackled with as many riders as possible. Expect teams testing things out before the Tour.
There has already been one TTT this season, at the Challenge Mallorca, where Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe powered to victory with a team including Remco Evenepoel. In the past three editions of Paris-Nice, it has been won by Visma-Lease a Bike and UAE Team Emirates, so expect the super-teams to be on the podium.
The route
Stage |
Date |
Start |
Finish |
Distance |
Terrain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Sunday 8 March |
Achères |
Carrières-sous-Poissy |
171.2km |
Hilly |
2 |
Monday 9 March |
Épône |
Montargis |
187km |
Flat |
3 |
Tuesday 10 March |
Cosne-Cours-Sur-Loire |
Pouilly-Sur-Loire |
23.5km |
TTT |
4 |
Wednesday 11 March |
Bourges |
Uchon |
195km |
Hilly |
5 |
Thursday 12 March |
Cormoranche-sur-Saône |
Colombier-Le-Vieux |
205.4km |
Hilly |
6 |
Friday 13 March |
Barbentane |
Apt |
179.3km |
Hilly |
7 |
Saturday 14 March |
Nice |
Auron |
138.7km |
Mountains |
8 |
Sunday 15 March |
Nice |
Nice |
14km |
Mountains |
How to watch
It is on TNT Sports in the UK and Ireland, accessible via a TV package or a Discovery+ subscription. Find out more in our how to watch Paris-Nice guide.
Last year’s podium
1. Matteo Jorgenson
2. Florian Lipowitz
3. Thymen Arensman
Riders to watch
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma–Lease a Bike) ****
The Dane is yet to race this season, so his form is a bit of a mystery. The only things we know about his 2026 are that he crashed in training and he was ill, but things have to turn around at some point… Targeting the Giro-Tour double.
João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) ****
Another man who will be at the Giro is Almeida, who is yet to quite replicate his stunning stage racing form from last year, when he won three WorldTour stage races. Second at Valenciana and third at Algarve hint at someone working towards his best.
Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) *****
The man who beat Almeida at the Volta ao Algarve was Juan Ayuso, who therefore is the GC favourite with a GC win to his name this season. The Spaniard is still finding his feet at Lidl-Trek, but given the backing of a whole team, will hope to deliver the promise that he showed at UAE. His goal is the Tour.
Oscar Onley (Ineos Grenadiers) ****
Also targeting the Tour not the Giro is Onley, who impressed on his first outing in Ineos Grenadiers colours in Portugal last month. A win here would cement the Scot as one to watch this season, and prove that the British team were right to sign him, breaking him out of his previous contract.
Biniam Girmay (NSN Cycling) ****
There are not many opportunities for sprinters, but given the Eritrean is a bit more of a puncheur, he could well thrive in this lumpy edition of Paris-Nice. His only appearance at the race came in 2022, when he had three top 10s, but he has won twice already this season, so it is time for that to change.
