As it happened: Huge time gaps and race left in pieces as crosswinds and crashes affect stage four of Paris-Nice
Two second-category climbs lie in wait on the 195km road to Uchon
Bonjour and welcome to stage four of the 2026 Paris-Nice!
Yesterday’s team time trial has transformed the GC, so that the stage is set for the fight for overall victory to really get going today. Ineos Grenadiers took the stage win, but Juan Ayuso just about claimed the overall lead ahead of their duo Kévin Vauquelin and Oscar Onley.
Whereas yesterday saw significant time gaps related to how well each contender’s teams went, today will be the first time they take each other on mano y mano on an uphill finish. And though the vital stats (8km at 4.5%) of final climb at Uchon might make it sound modest, that belies just how steep it gets - its maximum gradient is 16%, which is sure to gaps between them with the strongest coming to the fore.
The riders are on the move through the neutralised zone.
It's a cold one today, with the temperature down to 10 degrees. And, crucially, there's also a stronger breeze than in previous stages - something that could be a factor during the 100km-or-so of flat roads that opens the stage.
The riders are the start, wrapped up warm.
Three riders have pulled out of the race overnight - Piet Allegaert, Roel van Sintmaartensdijk, and Eddie Dunbar, who would have hope to have ridden a good GC at this race.
It's a fast start, and the wind is blowing - echelons are very much on the cards today!
The wind also appears to be blowing from the south, which, considering that most of the stage is in a eastwards direction, is ample conditions for crosswinds.
There are splits already! The peloton has fractured into four groups.
Conditions are horrible out there, with rain also falling.
About 40 riders are in the front peloton, including Juan Ayuso in the yellow jersey.
For now, the gaps between the groups are being measured in seconds, with 10 seconds between the first two, and the others less than 40 seconds back. But those caught out are in danger of being dumped out of contention if this continues.
No word yet of any of the top GC contenders being caught out, though King of the Mountains Casper Pedersen is in on of the trailing groups.
Here's what it looks like on the road - the race is in pieces already.
The man second place on GC, Kévin Vauquelin, is among those dropped! He's down in the third group on the road.
Lenny Martinez has also been dropped. He's in the second group.
180KM TO GO
Less than 20km into the stage, and already there's carnage. The front group leads a second containing Lenny Martinez by 25 seconds, a third group containing Kévin Vauquelin by 45 seconds, an a fourth group by 1:10.
Jonas Vingegaard and Juan Ayuso are both in the front group.
Oscar Onley is in the front group, here with his teammate Josh Tarling.
The second group is now made up of the Vauquelin and Martinez, which came together.
Weather could continue to be a factor throughout this Paris-Nice. There are growing fears that the key mountain stage at the weekend is under threat.
The front group, being led here by Juan Ayuso's Lidl-Trek team.
There are about 40 riders in the lead group, containing most of the main GC men. Vauquelin and Martinez are missing, and there is no sign of Vlasov.
Vlasov's Red Bull teammate Dani Martínez is in the lead group, however, as well as Brandon McNulty, David Gaudu and Ivan Romeo.
This is all that's left of the front peloton.
The teams best represented in the front group, each with at least four riders, are Uno-X Mobility, Movistar, Ineos and Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe – although the latter two are missing GC men Vauquelin and Vlasov respectively.
Remember, this isn’t the only bike race taking place today - over in Italy, it’s the third stage of Tirreno-Adriatico. We’re bringing you all of the action live here.
The wind has made for a very fast opening to this stage - they've only been racing for an hour, yet have already completed 53km.
Race leader Juan Ayuso just off the back of the peloton, getting some assistance with a rain jacket. He’s passed this test of his overall lead so far, having made the split - but there are still more tests to come in the shape of the climbs towards the end of the stage.
Jonas Vingegaard managed to make the split, but only has one Visma-Lease a Bike teammate with him (Edoardo Affini). After a team time trial performance that fell short of their high expectations, it hasn’t been the best start for the team at this Paris-Nice.
The rain is making this an especially grim day of racing for the riders.
Clément Russo has been dropped out of the front group, leaving his Groupama leader David Gaudu with just one teammate, Johan Jacobs.
This was the thrilling moment right at the start of the day when the peloton first split apart in the weather.
Oscar Onley, who’s safely in the front group, unlike his teammate Kévin Vauquelin. If these two groups don't come back together, then he will become Ineos’ outright leader for the GC.
Hoole has abandoned the race as a result of that crash. That's terrible news, given the brilliant form he's shown the previous two days.
This has now developed into a bad situation for Ineos Greniaders, who have both of their GC leaders, Vauquelin and Onley, missing from the front group.
Looking at the conditions out there, it's easy to see how a crash could have occurred.
This stage is turning into significant whiplash from the highs of yesterday for Ineos Grenadiers. Then, DS Geraint Thomas was celebrating what felt like a turning point for the team.
Good news for Onley and Ineos - he’s back in the lead group! He, Tarling and Watson managed to recover quickly after the crash, and have paced their way back up to the leaders.
It's bad news for Bert Van Lerberghe, however. Like Daan Hoole, he has had to abandon as a result of that crash.
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A reminder that we also have live coverage of the Tirreno-Adriatico stage today, where the rain is falling as well.
The race will soon change in character, as the terrain becomes more hilly, beginning with the first climb of the day, the category three Côte de la Croix des Cerisiers, about 10km away.
Just a few kilometres before they begin the Côte de la Croix des Cerisiers. It's a sustained effort, lasting 6.2km, but averages only 4.1%.
The leaders begin the climb, with an even bigger gap - they now have 1:40 over the chasers
Although many of the riders in this front group are prioritising the GC, there’s a chance for others to go for the KOM points on offer at the top of this climb. The current leader in the classification, Casper Pedersen, is missing from this group, as is the only other man with more than 3 points, Mathis Le Berre.
Some riders are suffering under the pace being set by Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe on this climb. Rune Herregodts of UAE and Jakob Söderqvist of Lidl-Trek have been dropped.
The chasing group are using this climb to try and make inroads. And it's having some effect with the gap reduced to 1:10.
Johan Jacobs is the latest rider dropped out of the first group as they continue this climb.
That leaves Jacobs' Groupama-FDJ leader David Gaudu isolated.
Meanwhile Ayuso is down to just one Lidl teammate - Mathias Vacek.
Vauquelin is taking it upon himself to lead the chase group on the climb. His Paris-Nice hopes could be slipping away unless he can get back into that front group soon.
Lenny Martinez is also helping Vauquelin, and they've brought the lead group back within 50 seconds.
Lotto's Joshua Giddings is the latest rider dropped from the front group as they near the summit.
The lead group are about to summit the climb.
KOM - CÔTE DE LA CROIX DES CERISIERS
The Red Bull trio of Mick van Dijke, Callum Thornley and Dani Martínez lead the front group over the summit, with nobody sprinting to challenge them for the KOM points.
Jonas Vingegaard, still safely in the bunch.
Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe are doing all the work at the front of the leading group, making use of their strength in numbers. With Vlasov not among them, they’re all in for Daniel Martínez.
Mecanical for Oscar Onley. He's chasing back to the front group now with teammate Tarling.
Behind, the Vauquelin chase group has been to reduced to about 15 riders. They're reduced their gap a little to the leaders, but it remains at 50 seconds.
Onley and Tarling have work to do. They're 20 seconds behind the lead group, and only 30 secods ahead of the Vauquelin chase group.
The terrain goes gradually downhill for a while until the next, and penultimate, hill of the day, the category two Côte de la Croix de la Liberation.
Vauquelin is getting increasingly desperate. He's attacked out of the chase group alone.
Race leader Ayuso has also gone down!
Ayuso is back on his bike, but looks in a bad way.
The lead group is much smaller now. There ca't be much more than 15 riders in it.
Ayuso is back off his bike, and looks set to abandon.
Romeo is another rider to have gone down. He’s back on his bike and riding, but his shorts are torn.
Red Bull continue to lead the front group with what looks like the same five riders all there. Vingegaard is also OK and still in this group, as is Vacek.
In fact, those seven riders are the only ones left in the front group. We didn't see the crash, but it must have been a big one.
The front group could be about to get bigger, as some of those held up in the crash have them back within sight.
The race is in pieces now. A 7-man front group leads, with other stragglers trying to join them. An Ineos chase trio of Onley, Tarling and Watson are about 30 seconds behind, while the Vauquelin chase group is about 1:30 behind.
Thornely has been dropped out of the front group, leacing just 6 riders in it.
And now Vacek is dropped out of it.
The five riders left in the front group are: the Red Bull quartet of Dani Martínez, Nico Denz, Tim Van Dijke and Mick Van Dijke, plus Visma's Jonas Vingegaard.
An intermediate sprint is coming up in about 5km. There's a chance for both Martínez and Vingegaard to gain some bonus seconds.
Oscar Onley and his two-man Ineos train of Tarling and Watson have caught a group ahead of them. They are now second on the road, 40 seconds behind the leading 5.
The Onley group is a large one, but it doesn’t seem as though many GC contenders are in it. It’s mostly made up of rouleurs.
The leaders are coming to the intermediate sprint.
Vingegaard takes it, slipping clear of all four Red Bull riders to take the maximum seconds on offer.
Vingegaard takes 6 seconds, Martínez 4 seconds in 2nd, and Denz 2 seconds in third.
This is all that's left of the front group leading the race.
They will be climing again soon, up the Côte de la Croix de la Liberation. Though its average is only 5.4% for 4.7km, that takes into account a brief downhill halfway up. The final 2.5km rise at 7.3%.
The leaders are on the climb, and Denz is dropped having done a heap of work on behalf of his teammates.
The chase group is on the climb too, over a minute behind. Onley is struggling to keep the wheels of some ahead of him - are all of the crashes, mechanicals and chasing he’s endured today taking its toll?
Way down the road, Vauquelin, Lenny Martinez and Marc Soler have gone clear from the rest of the riders in their group as they climb this hill.
Onley is with Tarling and two others, who have gone clear from the rest of that chase group.
Gaudu and Plowright are the two riders with Tarling and Onley.
Georg Steinhauser is between the front and Onley group. He must have gone clear of the latter earlier on the climb.
Here are the updated KOM standings:
2 Mathis Le Berre 14
3 Mick Van Dijke 8
Vauquelin, Lenny Martinez and Soler are on the charge. They keep picking up and passing riders ahead of them on the road.
The leading quartet.
An update on Juan Ayuso.
The Vauquelin chasers are only about 15 seconds behind the Onley group. It seems they'll soon come together.
Lots of abandonments have now been confirmed - McNulty, Castrillo and Piganzoli.
The Vauquelin group has now caught the Onley group.
This newly-formed chase group is still miles behind the leaders, however. Their a whole 2:55 behind, a gap that continues to rise.
Only a few kilometres until the start of the final climb. It's long and irregular, averaging 4.5%, but with a brutal maximum of 16%.
The leaders are onto the final climb now.
Still the Van Dijke brothers lead. This has been a sublime show of strength and resilience from them, remaining at the front all day on what has been a brutal war of attrition.
The way things have shaped up today, the race for the yellow jersey might have already become a two-man contest between Jonas Vingegaard and Dani Martínez. In which case, how they compare on this final climb could be decisive.
Mick Van Dijke is done, leaving just his brother Tim with Vingegaard and Martínez.
The agonising 16% section comes in the final kilometre. Will both Vingeagaad and Martínez wait until then to make a move, or potentially go earlier?
Behind, Vauquelin is pushing on, and his teammate Onley is among those dropped.
How things have changed - whereas earlier it was Onley well ahead of Vauquelin after the split, now Vauquelin is Ineos’ strongest option again.
Still with Vauquelin is Gaudu, Soler, Lenny Martinez and Plowright.
Still Tim Van Dijke leads the front group, just 3km from the finish at the top of the climb.
As things stand Dani Martínez and Vingegaard will climb to top two places on GC, with Vauquelin into third, Georg Steinhauser into fourth, Soler fifith and Gaudu sixth.
The gradient ramps up for the front group. Surely only a few more peddlestrokes left for Van Dijke.
He's got a gap of a few seconds already.
Tim Van Dijke looked like he was done, but now Vingegaard's attacks he's gone back to setting the pace for his teammate.
Vingegaard is 500m from home and looking good for both the stage and the yellow jersey.
Still Tim Van Dijke remains with Martínez.
Vingegaard is approaching the top, he can see the finish line.
Dani Martínez has at last struck clear of Tim Van Dijke.
Martínez takes second, at aboit 42 seconds, and Tim Van Dijke third.
Mick Van Dijke takes fourth place, making it three in the top four for Red Bull.
Vauquelin has dropped the other three riders who were in his group.
Steinhauser comes home for fifth place, at 2:55.
Now Vauquelin arrives home for 6th place, at 3:40.
Lenny Martinez takes 7th, and David Gaudu is set to take 8th. All of these riders are arriving in ones.
Plowright takes 9th.
All that means that Vingegaard now leads the GC by 52 seconds from Daniel Martínez, with Georg Steinhauser a distant third at 3:20.
Bad weather often has an effect at Paris-Nice, but rarely does it cause quite as much carnage as this. The time gaps are enormous, at a race that usually ends being so close-poised at the top of the GC.
The only other rider other than Daniel Martínez and Steinhauser within five minutes of Vingegaard on GC is Kévin Vauquelin in fourth, at 3:39.
Considering all the things that could have gone wrong today, that was a fine performance by Jonas Vingegaard, and shows why he’s one of the best of his generation. It’s not just his elite climbing and time trialling that makes him such a special rider - he’s also resilient in the cold, can handle himself in the crosswinds, and keep himself right at the front of the race and away from danger.
There are still exhausted riders arriving at the finish, in dribs and drabs, some 18 minutes after Vingegaard won the stage.
Ride of the day must be Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe in general, and Tim Van Dijke specifically. They blew the race apart, the strongest in the crosswinds, and then pressed on to take up three of the top four places.
And Van Dijke defied gravity on the final climb, hauling his large frame up the super-steep gradients to stay by team leader Dani Martínez’s side, and ultimately finishing third on what was one of the main GC stages of the race. If Remco Evenepoel is watching, he may want the Dutchman on his Tour de France line-up.
Tim Van Dijke, who put in a stunning performance for third place.
Thanks for joining us today, on a stage in which the 2026 Paris-Nice was turned on its head. We’ll have more news on the various fall-outs in the aftermath of the brutal race.
And, as always, we’ll be back again tomorrow for live coverage of stage five, as Jonas Vingegaard strives to defend his overall lead on a day with the most amount of climbing so far. This might have felt like a definitive stage, but there’s plenty more riding still to be done.
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