The Paris Nice 2026the ‘Race of the Sun’, starts its 84th edition faithful to one of its traditions, which is to leave the Yvelines department at the gates of Paris, an initial day that has a route of 170.9 kilometers between the towns of Achères and Carrières-sous-Poissy, which you can follow live on Teledeporte and RTVE Play starting at 3:50 p.m.
The double winner of the Tour de France, Jonas Vingegaard, is emerging as the great favorite to succeed his teammate Matteo Jorgenson as winner of the general classification after last year he had to retire after suffering a fall.
The Portuguese Joao Almeida (UAE) and Spanish Juan Ayuso (Llidl-Trek) are, a priori, the Dane’s strongest rivals, which, together with the demanding route, means that Vingegaard has to work hard to conquer his first Paris Nice.
The first stage offers a layout from less to more that culminates in a technical circuit. After a first half of the route that is relatively comfortable for the cyclists’ legs, the difficulty escalates with four third-class ports. The sequence begins with the dimensions of Gargenville y Vaux-sur-Seinewhich will serve as wear before the main course of the day.
The focus will fall on the double ascension to the Côte de Chanteloup-des-Vignes. With an average of 8% and peaks of up to 12%this explosive climb of just over a kilometer will be the perfect setting for distant attacks, eliminating the pure sprinters before the final sprint.
After a winter marked by a fall and a virus that forced him to cancel his participation in the UAE Tour, Jonas Vingegaard debuts in the 2026 season hungry for competition. His team seeks to defend the title achieved last year by Matteo Jorgenson.
For its part, Juan Ayuso faces one of his first big dates with the Lidl-Treka team he signed for after his high-profile departure from UAE Team Emirates, and arrives at the event after winning the Vuelta al Algarve (Portugal).
Finally, Joao Almeida arrives as leader of the UAE in a race where he already demonstrated his ability in this race by winning a stage.
The day will surely be decided in the final kilometers, with a chain of four third-category mountain passes, the last of them just ten kilometers from the finish line in the town of Carrères-sous-Possy.
You can follow the last kilometers of the race live through Teledeporte and the RTVE Play digital platform.
