In 2025 Jonas Vingegaard had his spring campaign ended due to a crash at Paris-Nice. It wasn't in the Dane's plan to race it this year; but after another injury hampered his preparation this winter, the change was made. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader begins the race as its main headliner.
His main contenders for the overall win will be the likes of Juan Ayuso, Oscar Onley and Brandon McNulty. The French race is missing some of its main figures such as João Almeida who is was not only set to challenge Vingegaard here; but also at the Volta a Catalunya and Giro d'Italia.
“I feel good. I’ve had a strong winter, training has gone very well, and we’re starting with a strong team," Vingegaard said in a press release "Of course, the first race of the season is always exciting, and the competition has more race kilometers in the legs, but I’m really looking forward to riding this beautiful race. Whenever I line up at the start, I always want to go for the win.”
Vingegaard suffered a small training crash whilst riding in Malaga in early February which, combined with an illness, saw him pull out on the UAE Tour which was initially planned out. However, it does not seem like it has made a big difference in his overall preparation for the Giro d'Italia - Tour de France combination that will follow later in the year.
Team Visma | Lease a Bike for 2026 Paris-Nice
“We want to go for a strong general classification and be in contention for the win. Paris-Nice is always a nervous race, so it’s important to stay alert in every stage," team DS Marc Reef has said. “The course is tricky, but I don’t think there are any extremely tough mountain stages where big gaps can be made. That makes the team time trial extremely important.”
It is a course that lacks high mountains, and the final stage to Nice has also been made less difficult. Hence, Vingegaard does not start the race as the outright favourite, and may perhaps be slightly behind Lidl-Trek leader and Volta ao Algarve winner Juan Ayuso.
“Jonas comes out of a good training block. Of course, he faced a setback that forced him to miss the UAE Tour, but he’s trained well and is in excellent shape. How that compares to the competition remains to be seen, but we fully expect to be in contention for the overall victory.”
“We’ve studied the course carefully and already trained in our formation. We have a very strong team with plenty of powerful riders, but the course is quite technical," Reef said of the TTT, which can be key for the overall win. "Still, I expect that with our experience we can put in a strong performance and get Jonas to the finish as quickly as possible.”
Vingegaard will be joined by four riders who will join him at the Giro d'Italia block, making for an important week of adaptation: Victor Campenaerts, Wilco Kelderman, Edoardo Affini and Davide Piganzoli - the latter will race with Vingegaard for the first time.
The lineup is complete by Axel Zingle who, like last year, should have freedom to pursue some stage results; and fellow Frenchman Bruno Armirail who makes his debut for the team but is also racing the Tour de France last year.
| Rider |
| Jonas Vingegaard |
| Edoardo Affini |
| Wilco Kelderman |
| Victor Campenaerts |
| Axel Zingle |
| Davide Piganzoli |
| Bruno Armirail |
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
- I'm picking .... .... Never mind 🫥flyer07-11-2026
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Jonas his season opener 🤩 Here’s our team for Paris-Nice 🇫🇷
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