DISCUSSION | Tirreno-Adriatico & Paris Nice - Martinez shines in Nice as Milan storms San Benedetto while Vingegaard and Del Toro seal overall glory

The final weekend of the early-season stage racing calendar delivered two very different but equally dramatic conclusions, as Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico wrapped up with attacking racing, late tension and dominant overall winners. In France, Lenny Martinez claimed a prestigious stage victory in Nice after a two-rider showdown with Jonas Vingegaard, while in Italy Jonathan Milan powered to a bunch sprint win in San Benedetto del Tronto as Isaac del Toro confirmed his overall triumph.

Both races followed their traditional scripts on the last day, one decided in the hills above the Côte d’Azur, the other along the Adriatic coast, yet each finale still produced enough action to underline why these two events remain the key tests before the spring classics.

The final stage of Paris-Nice once again proved decisive on the steep roads around Nice, where Jonas Vingegaard launched the move that shaped the outcome of the day. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader attacked on the slopes of the Côte du Linguador, immediately splitting the group of favourites.

Only Lenny Martinez was able to follow the Danish rider, and the Bahrain Victorious climber quickly committed to the move as the pair opened a clear gap over the rest of the contenders. With the chasing group unable to organise a proper pursuit, the stage victory came down to a two-man battle on the descent and the fast run-in towards the finish.

Martinez made the first move in the final sprint in Nice, launching from distance and holding off the race leader to secure his first win of the 2026 season, while Vingegaard crossed the line in second place, more than satisfied after a week in which he had controlled the race following his long-range attack earlier in the week.

Earlier in the stage, Valentin Paret-Peintre had animated the racing with a long solo effort in search of mountain points, attacking on the early climbs and cresting the Col de la Porte in first position before being reeled in ahead of the decisive final ascent.

The battle for the overall podium had already taken a dramatic turn when Dani Martinez crashed after contact with a team-mate, forcing the Colombian into a long chase. Despite losing significant time, he limited the damage and managed to retain second place in the general classification.

Behind the leading duo on the stage, a small chase group featuring Kevin Vauquelin, Georg Steinhauser, Harold Tejada, Ion Izagirre, Alex Baudin and Mathys Rondel fought for the final podium spot. Vauquelin tried to drop Steinhauser on the run towards Nice, but the German held firm to secure third place overall, completing a strong week behind the dominant Vingegaard.

While Paris-Nice ended with attacks in the hills, the final stage of Tirreno-Adriatico followed the familiar pattern of a fast and controlled run along the Adriatic coastline, with the overall classification already largely decided before the start.

Isaac del Toro began the day in the leader’s jersey after his decisive victory in Camerino, and the UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider safely remained in the peloton throughout the final stage to secure the overall title without difficulty.

The stage itself developed according to expectations, though not without a few late moments of tension. An early breakaway formed shortly after the start when Dries De Bondt attacked and was joined by Xabier Mikel Azparren and Roberto Carlos Gonzalez, the trio building a solid advantage before the sprinters’ teams began to organise the chase.

Lidl-Trek worked for Jonathan Milan, Alpecin-Deceuninck controlled the pace for Jasper Philipsen, UAE Team Emirates - XRG kept Del Toro protected, and Picnic-PostNL helped regulate the tempo for Pavel Bittner as the peloton gradually closed the gap.

The calm was briefly broken on the climb of Ripatransone when Mathieu van der Poel surged to the front and dramatically increased the pace, splitting the peloton and distancing several sprinters before the race regrouped on the descent towards the coast.

The Dutch rider continued to push the tempo for several kilometres after the breakaway had been caught, stretching the field before the stage finally settled once the riders reached the finishing circuits in San Benedetto del Tronto.

Even on the flat finale, the general classification battle briefly came back to life at the intermediate sprint, where Team Visma | Lease a Bike executed a perfectly timed move to support Matteo Jorgenson. With help from his teammates, the American took maximum bonus seconds and moved into second place overall ahead of Giulio Pellizzari.

The expected bunch sprint was nearly disrupted in the final kilometres when Jonas Abrahamsen launched a late solo attack, opening a small gap that forced the sprint teams into a coordinated chase. The Norwegian held out until inside the final kilometre before being caught after a powerful pull at the front of the peloton.

A crash in one of the last corners eliminated Paul Magnier and Jasper Philipsen from contention, leaving the sprint slightly reshuffled before the final straight along the seafront.

When the sprint trains finally lined up, Jonathan Milan proved the fastest, launching at the right moment and taking a convincing victory to close the race in traditional fashion, while Del Toro rolled across the line safely in the peloton to secure the biggest stage-race win of his career.

With Vingegaard dominating Paris-Nice and Del Toro confirming his rise at Tirreno-Adriatico, the final week before the classics delivered clear signals about form and ambitions for the spring.

One race ended with attacks in the hills above Nice, the other with a high-speed sprint on the Adriatic coast, but both confirmed the same truth every March, the road to the classics always runs through Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico.

The Tirreno stage was rather odd, which makes for some more interesting racing I guess.

Mathieu van der Poel climbing and pushing in the peloton by himself with no direct plan is something that's cutting edge modern cycling, where the absolute top riders do come to such a race and do some efforts just to prepare for Milano-Sanremo, in this case, instead of having a regular race day.

Playing devil's advocate: I do think if anyone else had done that there would be a swarm of criticism on social media. But because it's van der Poel, the same way it works with Tadej Pogacar, it just doesn't really matter what they do because in the end they are just stronger and whatever they do within common sense will lead to a win.

Big fan of the Jonas Abrahamsen attack, perfectly executed and very few riders would be able to sustain the gap the way he did, whilst in the final sprint Jonathan Milan was in trouble but had a last-minute leadout that saved the day and delivered him perfectly to the stage win.

Paris-Nice was meant to be a breakaway day but Visma decided to control the stage for Vingegaard, who then attacked on the main climb of the day. However the stage wasn't hard enough for him to make serious differences and Lenny Martínez was able to follow, and then outsprint him in the end.

A good win for the Frenchman, a rider who often lacks consistency but is a brilliant and also explosive climber - a rare type of rider in the current peloton.

The conclusion of both races yielded two very different outcomes, though equally interesting from a sporting perspective. At the Tirreno–Adriatico, Isaac del Toro’s overall victory confirms that he is one of the most influential young riders in the current peloton.

His victory was not the result of a single inspired day, but of a very solid performance throughout the week: he minimised time losses in the time trial, held his ground when he momentarily lost the lead to Giulio Pellizzari, and ultimately sealed the race with authority in the decisive mountain stages.

The final stage, won in a sprint by Jonathan Milan, was almost a formality for the Mexican, who leaves the race with the feeling of having truly dominated the event and taken a huge leap forward in his career.

Even with the presence of figures such as Mathieu van der Poel and Primož Roglič, Del Toro was the most consistent rider of the entire week.

In contrast, the conclusion of Paris–Nice took on a more classic tone: a final battle between the best and a leader confirming his superiority. Jonas Vingegaard did not merely defend the yellow jersey, but attacked on the final climb and shaped the race alongside Lenny Martínez.

The Frenchman ended up winning the stage in Nice, but the Dane closed out the general classification with authority, demonstrating once again his mastery of stage races. It was a more spectacular finish than the previous day’s and a fitting conclusion to a Paris–Nice in which the Visma leader had been the standout performer.

Watching Mathieu van der Poel fine-tune the engine ahead of Milan-Sanremo was simply delightful. He rode in a way that left everyone wondering what exactly he was up to, whether he was testing his legs, playing mind games, or just enjoying himself.

Either way, it added a special flavour to the race and reminded everyone that when Van der Poel is on the startlist, there is always something unpredictable in the air.

Jonas Abrahamsen tried to turn the tables on the sprinters and steal the stage for himself, and for a moment it looked like he might actually pull it off. Even the crash further back involving Paul Magnier and Jasper Philipsen could not take the spotlight away from the fast men, because the day still had that inevitable feeling of a sprint finish written all over it.

I have to admit that when I saw Jonathan Milan so badly positioned in the final kilometer, I was already thinking of another name for the stage win. But Milan is Milan. And Lidl-Trek delivered one of those textbook lead-outs that make sprinting look like an exact science. They brought the Italian to the front with such precision that, from the sofa, it almost looked easy for him to finish the job. Powerful, controlled, inevitable.

Over at Paris-Nice, the stage had a completely different kind of tension. Valentin Paret-Peintre showed real intent and strong legs, the kind that makes you think, “you know what, I’d actually like to see this guy win.” But there was still a long way to go, and in races like this the final word usually belongs to the big names.

Jonas Vingegaard attacked exactly as expected, the move everyone was waiting for. What probably wasn’t in the script was Lenny Martinez going with him. The Dane looked like he wanted another solo ride to the finish, but Martinez hanging on changed the dynamic completely.

I actually enjoyed seeing Vingegaard cooperate with Martinez. Normally he is not the type to spend much time on the front pulling, especially when the stage win or the overall classification are on the line. This time he did, and it made the finale more interesting.

A special note as well for the heavy crash of Dani Martínez. It looked nasty, the kind that makes you fear the worst, but he still made it to the finish and apparently avoided serious injury. Ending up on the final podium after a day like that says a lot, and he owes plenty to the huge work done by Aleksandr Vlasov and Laurence Pithie.

And I could not help thinking, if the same thing had happened to Giulio Pellizzari at Paris-Nice… I would really like to see whether Primoz Roglic would have come back to help.