Magnus Sheffield delivered a stunning performance on the final stage of Paris-Nice, attacking early from the GC group and holding off Matteo Jorgenson. Despite Jorgenson’s late chase, Sheffield was unstoppable, securing his most impressive career win.

It was the final stage of Paris-Nice, featuring several early climbs, which the GC group tackled at a strong pace, Col de la Porte (17 minutes at 5.95 ᵉW/Kg) and Côte de Peille (16 minutes at 6.25 ᵉW/Kg). The stage was demanding, with INEOS working to protect Thymen Arensman’s podium place. Matteo Jorgenson, despite lacking significant team support, did not have much to worry about, as Florian Lipowitz attacked and split the GC group with 43 km to go on Côte de Peille but failed to drop his main rivals.

Later, Felix Gall, Aleksandr Vlasov, and Magnus Sheffield broke away from the group, chasing a potential GC victory and catching Mads Pedersen, who had been the most active rider and leading the race. Pedersen finished third on Côte de Peille and first on Col d’Èze, securing the sprint classification win. Jorgenson launched a successful attack from the GC group on the short Col d’Èze (1.6 km, 9.1%), riding towards his second consecutive Paris-Nice title while hunting down the breakaway.

He managed to catch Pedersen, Gall, and Vlasov but could not reach Sheffield, who was in flying form. The 22-year-old American climbed Col des Quatre Chemins (3.82 km, 8.4%) in 10:13 minutes with 6.86 ᵉW/Kg, increasing his lead over Jorgenson, who was chasing behind at 6.73 ᵉW/Kg for 10:21 minutes.

Sheffield was untouchable on the pedalling descent, riding to the most impressive win of his career and his first victory since 2022. Jorgenson secured his second consecutive Paris-Nice title, the first rider to do so since Max Schachmann in 2021, after Primož Roglič crashed on the final stage that year and lost the race lead. Florian Lipowitz claimed his second World Tour GC podium after the Tour de Romandie, while Thymen Arensman finished third.

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Michael Storer claimed victory on Stage 7 of Paris-Nice, attacking from the breakaway to take the win. Meanwhile, Mads Pedersen impressed by finishing in the GC group alongside top climbers, showcasing his strength on a cold day in the mountains.

It was another wet and cold day in the “Race to the Sun,” but not a pleasant one for the peloton. In this dreadful edition of Paris-Nice, Danish GC contenders Jonas Vingegaard and Mattias Skjelmose did not survive the race. Vingegaard crashed on Stage 5, crossed the finish line, but did not continue after a health check, while Skjelmose crashed hard on a traffic island and did not finish today’s stage. With major changes to the GC due to crosswinds on Stage 6, the overall standings were not decided solely by time trials or climbs.

Poor weather conditions also led to the removal of two climbs, shortening the stage. Despite this, the intensity remained high, with Luca Vergallito expending 2,669 kilojoules over 2:26 hours at a rate of 15.79 kJ/kg/h. The road up to Auron had only a 2% gradient, but the high pace made it anything but easy.

Little happened in the GC group due to a lack of mountain domestiques for the big teams, while Michael Storer won from the breakaway and jumped to fourth in the overall standings, beating Mauro Schmid, Georg Steinhauser, Iván Romeo, and Jordan Jegat. In the end, this stage did not bring major GC changes, with the queen stage looming tomorrow. Matteo Jorgenson will defend his yellow jersey, likely without much help from teammates, as only Florian Lipowitz and Thymen Arensman remain within two minutes of the American in the overall standings.

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Mads Pedersen, who had already done a big pull on La Loge des Gardes earlier in the week, decided to hold on in the GC group alongside climbers like Jorgenson, Arensman, and Almeida after Skjelmose crashed out of the race. Pedersen produced 6.12 ᵉW/Kg for 19 minutes. As this was a mid-altitude climb, his performance adjusted to 6.43 ᵉW/Kg at sea level, an impressive effort in horrific conditions on a tough day. Felix Gall, who had already lost significant time in previous stages, was the fastest climber, producing 6.27 ᵉW/Kg.

Mads Pedersen thrived in the wet and cold conditions, driving a relentless pace that shattered the peloton on the final climb to La Loge des Gardes. Through the rain and sleet, João Almeida caught Jonas Vingegaard and powered to victory in Paris-Nice stage 4.

It was a tough stage for GC riders, with over three hours of hard riding in wet and cold conditions. The race was briefly neutralised in the middle of the stage, and there was even snowfall. Northern Europeans thrived in these conditions, as Mads Pedersen and Lidl-Trek set a hard pace for Mattias Skjelmose. Meanwhile, Tobias Foss and Joshua Tarling attacked with 52 km to go, bridging to the breakaway with teammate Ben Swift.

The stage finished atop La Loge des Gardes, where, in the 2023 edition of this race, Tadej Pogačar won with a time of 16:22 minutes and an estimated 6.70 ᵉW/Kg. That day, Jonas Vingegaard, who arrived below his best shape, struggled and finished sixth. This time, Visma brought their two strongest GC riders—the 2024 Paris-Nice winner and current race leader after the TTT, Matteo Jorgenson, along with Vingegaard.

Nils Politt helped set a hard pace at the bottom of the climb, as UAE had brought João Almeida and Brandon McNulty. Mads Pedersen, excelling in these conditions, then reduced the GC group on the final climb to only the strongest climbers. Foss had around a 40-second advantage before the climb, but it was not enough.

After enduring gruelling race conditions, the lightweight Lenny Martinez was active on the climb, launching an attack that Vingegaard quickly closed down. Almeida then increased the pace with a slight acceleration. Race leader Jorgenson remained in the wheels, while his teammate Vingegaard responded to rival attacks. Martinez attacked again, with the Dane once more on his wheel. Vingegaard, unwilling to work with the Frenchman, initially tried to counterattack him and succeeded in dropping him on his second attempt. However, Almeida and the GC group kept Vingegaard within 10 seconds, making the climb far more exciting than a typical Pogačar-style solo, where he immediately opens a huge gap.

In the final moments, Almeida caught and passed Vingegaard, taking the stage win, with all the favourites finishing within six seconds of each other. Vingegaard and Jorgenson now lead the race with a 30–60 second gap over their closest rivals.

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Almeida won on La Loge des Gardes with an estimated 6.57 ᵉW/Kg for 16:41 minutes—19 seconds slower than Pogačar and Gaudu in the 2023 race. Vingegaard, who spent the most time in the wind, produced 6.59 ᵉW/Kg.

Juan Ayuso attacked on the longest climb of the day, Col de la Grande Limite, and proved untouchable, dropping all his rivals with 40 km to go. Despite Mattias Skjelmose’s chase, the Spaniard powered to victory in the Faun Drôme Classic.

Practically the same Faun-Ardèche Classic field lined up today, with only small changes, as the course was slightly easier for punchy riders like Axel Zingle. The big favourites remained the same but for the absence of Jan Christen who broke his collarbone on Saturday. With 53 km to go, a huge crash took out several key riders, including Marco Brenner, who had performed very well yesterday.

The decisive climb in this race was Col de la Grande Limite (3.84 km at 6.64%), where, in the 2022 edition, Jonas Vingegaard attacked with then 19-year-old Juan Ayuso following him, though the Dane did most of the work before sealing a dominant victory.

In 2025, it was a different Dane, Mattias Skjelmose, who tried to attack, with Lidl-Trek working for him across both Drôme classics. However, their early move at the bottom of the climb was unsuccessful. Isaac Del Toro then took matters into his own hands, increasing the pace and stretching out the peloton. He rode full gas for 1 km before handing over to his teammate Ayuso, who attacked with 40 km to go. This time, nobody even attempted to follow. While Ayuso had been unable to drop his rivals yesterday, today he was untouchable. He climbed Col de la Grande Limite in 8:23 minutes, pushing 7.53 ᵉW/kg.

With his rivals unwilling to work together, Ayuso’s gap after the climb already stood at 22 seconds. Behind him, a chasing group formed, including Skjelmose, Ben Tulett, Ben Healy, Christian Scaroni, Gianmarco Garofoli, Marc Hirschi, and others. Due to a headwind and significant drafting benefits, the favourites’ group completed the climb in 8:45 minutes at 6.77 ᵉW/kg. At the summit, Skjelmose attacked, opening a gap over the others in an attempt to chase Ayuso.

Despite efforts from the group behind, Ayuso was simply uncatchable. He delivered a huge performance to win the Faun Drôme Classic, becoming one of the rare riders to claim victory in both Faun races after winning the Faun-Ardèche Classic in 2024. Skjelmose finished second, 23 seconds down, while, in the reduced peloton, Tulett was the fastest uphill finisher, with even Hirschi unable to come around him. They lost 75 seconds to Ayuso.

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