“Paris-Nice has been my nemesis but I finally got it right” - Jonas Vingegaard secures the Maillot Jaune after dominant week

Jonas Vingegaard completed a commanding week at Paris-Nice by sealing overall victory in Nice, finally conquering a race he admitted had long resisted him.

The Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader arrived on the Côte d’Azur with a comfortable advantage after two stage wins earlier in the week and controlled the decisive final stage before finishing second behind Lenny Martinez in a two-rider sprint.

For Vingegaard, the result represented the closing of an unfinished chapter in his career.

“Paris-Nice is one of the biggest races in the world,” he said afterwards to Cycling Pro Net. “You could say it has been my nemesis. It’s the race I just couldn’t get right before. Finally, I got it right now, so that makes me extremely happy and proud.”

The final stage around Nice once again proved brutally selective, with aggressive racing from the opening kilometres and a succession of steep climbs steadily thinning the peloton.

Vingegaard credited his team for keeping control of the race throughout the decisive moments of the day. “Today was also a very hard day. It was full gas from the start and very hard racing,” he explained. “We tried to control it, and the team did an amazing job controlling the race today. They were very strong.”

The Danish rider eventually broke clear on the Côte du Linguador, the final climb of the race, with only Lenny Martinez able to follow his acceleration. The pair worked together towards Nice before the Bahrain Victorious rider took the stage win in the sprint. “Of course, I hoped that I could win the stage as well,” Vingegaard admitted. “But Lenny was very strong and very fast in the sprint, so he deserves it.”

Although Vingegaard dominated the race overall, he acknowledged the French climber had been the stronger rider in the final metres. “Lenny is extremely fast in a sprint, so he deserves to win,” Vingegaard said. “I think maybe I made a mistake by waiting a bit too long to start my sprint, but that’s how it is.”

Despite the narrow defeat on the day, the two-time Tour de France winner made clear he had no regrets after a week that confirmed his early-season form. “I’m still happy with the week and, to be honest, I’m also happy for Lenny,” he added. “He’s a good guy, very strong, and he deserves it.”

Paris-Nice also served as an important gauge of Vingegaard’s condition as he builds towards the major objectives of the season.

While the Dane produced a dominant performance throughout the race, he suggested there is still more to come physically in the months ahead. “At the moment, my shape is pretty decent,” he explained. “It’s not at its very best yet, but it’s at a very high level and much better than it was last year at this moment.”

The victory, therefore, provides both confidence and momentum as his campaign continues. “I think I’m in a good place at the moment,” Vingegaard said. “The plan now is to continue building after Catalunya towards the Giro and the Tour.”

For now, however, the immediate satisfaction comes from finally conquering a race that had repeatedly slipped through his hands in the past.

After a dominant week in the yellow jersey, Vingegaard can now add Paris-Nice to a palmarès that continues to grow with each passing season.