Paris-Nice 2026 stage 6 preview, profiles, favourites & predictions - Sprint or GC fight on another hilly day?

The 2026 edition of Paris-Nice will be taking place from the 8th to the 15th of March and is, as every year, one of the key pro cycling events of the spring. It features opportunities for the climbers, sprinters and classics specialists alike. We preview stage 6, which is estimated to start and finish at 12:50 and 16:45 CET.

The race was first held in 1933 and won by Belgian Alfons Schepers. Due to the race's nature, as the name says, from Paris to Nice in the Mediterranean sea, it is often called the 'Race to the Sun', and on the road, that is quite literally often the case. It is an event, with 8 days in duration, that has crowned some of the sport's very best over the generations. Jacques Anquetil, Tom Simpson, Eddy Merckx, Raymond Poulidor, Joop Zoetemelk, Seak Kelly (the record holder, winning every single edition from 1982 to 1988), Miguel Indurain, Laurent Jalabert...

The list goes on and on, and in recent years, the race hasn't lost any of its meaning. Modern legends such as Alberto Contador, Tony Martin, Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas, Primoz Roglic and Tadej Pogacar have all inserted their names into the history books. In 2025, it was Matteo Jorgenson who took the overall win, defending it successfully with a performance that spanned great stages in all terrains.

The sixth day of racing is another day for the puncheurs, sprinters, climbers and breakaway specialists all to fight for their honour, before the race makes it to Nice. With two small climbs early in the day, there are high chances of a strong breakaway consisting of classics specialists being formed.

Late in the day there are three climbs, but they are not overly hard. The first is 7.2Km at 4.3% and ends with 34.5Km to go; the second has an intermediate sprint at the top and averages 5% over 2.7 kilometers at 16 kilometers to go...

The final one is 4.1Km long at 5% and ends with a mere 4.5 kilometers to go. The climb is not overly hard, but any gap can mean victory because the run-in to Apt is almost fully downhill; very fast until the technical flat final kilometer leads to the finish line.

The stage could end in a sprint, as the climbs aren't overly hard, and it's more a matter of who can survive and then be in contention for it. A lot depends on the pace that is taken throughout the day, because there are no obvious contenders. If the pace is too hard, most sprinters will vanish into thin air. Riders such as Axel Zingle, Laurence Pithie and Dorian Godon could be part of the exception, perhaps and maybe they will have their teams commit to a chase throughout the day just to keep the breakaway in check.

Classics riders such as Matteo Trentin, Rick Pluimers and Anthony Turgis also have the potential to do something big here, whilst I wouldn't discard Jensen Plowright too, after what he did on the queen stage, even riding himself into a Top 10 somehow... Stage 2 winner Max Kanter, Cees Bol, Bryan Coquard and Marijn van den Berg are also riders who usually climb quite well when in good form, so they should be taken into consideration.

For sure, we will see the GC riders towards the front too, and when it comes to potential attacks in the finale, they will be included there. I wouldn't put a Jonas Vingegaard winning the stage, I think it is too explosive for him, but he is the strongest climber in the race... But I think it's one more for an opportunist move. I think someone like Kévin Vauquelin could, on paper, do it, but he should also be followed by his rivals, I would think; but someone like Ion Izagirre, Harold Tejada, Marc Soler or Oscar Onley wouldn't likely be immediately followed, and this would open up the opportunity.

Other strong riders, such as Andreas Leknessund or Iván Romeo, are well adapted to this type of climb, whilst I wouldn't rule out Tim van Dijke from doing something special, taking into consideration the form he has shown in previous days.

*** Dorian Godon, Matteo Trentin
** Axel Zingle, Laurence Pithie
* Anthony Turgis, Cees Bol, Marijn van den Berg, Jonas Vingegaard, Kévin Vauquelin, Ion Izagirre, Harold Tejada, Oscar Onley, Iván Romeo, Tim van Dijke

Pick: Dorian Godon

How: Reduced bunch sprint