Pro road racing is in full swing, but Paris–Nice marks one of the first major stage races of the season, and the 2026 edition features some heavy hitters, including multiple Grand Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard.

Heading to warmer roads

The race begins on Sunday on the slightly cooler roads near Paris and will face warmer temps as the peloton reaches the Mediterranean coast in Nice.

Vingegaard will pin on a race number for the first time this season, immediately placing him under the spotlight. The Visma–Lease a Bike rider was supposed to start his season earlier this year, but illness and a weird crash in training involving a fan, delayed it.

Stacked field

He will face some strong challengers. One of the biggest contenders is Spanish talent Juan Ayuso. There’s also riders like INEOS Grenadiers’ new recruit, Oscar Onley, and American Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates–XRG). INEOS also has Kévin Vauquelin. Another Frenchman, Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), has shown strong form in early-season races in his country. There are two Canadians racing, NSN Cycling’s Guillaume Boivin, and Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team’s Nick Zukowsky. Zuke will most likely be working for team leader Eddie Dunbar–but don’t be surprised to see him cover some moves. He’s shown good form so far this season–maybe his team will let him go for it this week?

Vingegaard’s 2026 campaign

Last year’s race was defined by Matteo Jorgenson’s impressive ride after teammate Vingegaard crashed out mid-week. The American won’t be there this year—he did, however, have a good ride at Strade Bianche. Jorgenson finished 8th in a race absolutely dominated by world champ Tadej Pogačar.

From early sprint stages to decisive mountain finishes in the south of France, Paris–Nice rarely disappoints. The weather can have a huge factor too.

Stage 1 is a lumpy 170.9 km from Carrières-sous-Poissy. Stage 3 is an interesting one—the TTT. The format has changed in recent years, where the squad sets up their team leader in the end, as opposed to taking a collective time. The midpoint of the 8-day race is where things get tough, with several stages featuring tough climbs before eventually getting to Nice.

You can watch every stage on FloBikes.com. Coverage begins at 10:20 a.m. EDT. Canadian Cycling Magazine will also have full daily reports. There’s plenty of other races going on, including the Vuelta a Extremadura Femenina, where several Canadian women are racing, as well as the one-day Trofeo Oro in Euro, where world champ Magdeleine Vallières-Mill is in action. The Sherbrooke, Que., rider had a great ride at Strade Bianche, finishing fifth.

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