Paris‑Nice shock sprint
Stage 7 of Paris‑Nice was shortened to 47 km because of severe rain and cold — the day still finished in a bunch sprint won by Dorian Godon (INEOS Grenadiers). Jonas Vingegaard held onto the race lead as the shortened stage added unpredictability to the ‘Race to the Sun’ finale results.
Organisers rewrote the day twice, moving the start 73 km down the road to produce a 47 km Le Broc→Isola‑Village route. ineosgrenadiers.com A snowplow had to clear the summit at Isola and race director Yannick Talabardon said the opening sector was scratched because it “was raining heavily” and they “couldn’t take that risk.” gulf-times.com Tim Marsman rode clear for much of the shortened course, stretching his advantage to about 15 km at one point before the bunch swallowed him up just inside the last 10 km. paris-nice.fr INEOS Grenadiers delivered a structured final kilometre with Kevin Vauquelin, Josh Tarling and Sam Watson shaping the sprint lead‑out, a move the team said sealed their plan. ineosgrenadiers.com The finale was messy: snow‑lined roads and a wet roundabout saw multiple riders crash or slip in the closing kilometres, according to race reports. gulf-times.com Jonas Vingegaard goes into Sunday’s final stage with a 3min 22sec cushion over Dani Martínez on the general classification, while organisers have slightly adjusted the Nice finale because of local elections on March 15, 2026. gulf-times.com
