Paris-Nice is one of the most reputable and toughest stage-races in the World Tour calendar and every single year it hosts many of the world's best climbers, sprinters and classics riders. This year the race takes place from the 9th to 16th of March. We take a look at the profiles.
The race features a mix of stages where most will have a chance to shine. There will, noticeably, be a team time-trial that can be important for the overall classification; three mountain stages (two of them with medium-length summit finishes), a hilly stage with a very steep hilltop finish and three days for the sprinters to thrive.
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The race opens up with a stage for the sprinters. It will be a loop in the city of Le Perray-en-Yvelines, following the race's traditional start with a stage that should end in a bunch sprint but... There are chances of a late attack succeeding, it's not impossible.
156 kilometers on the menu, it won't be too difficult or long of a day and certainly one where all the attention will be in the end, unless weather conditions force the riders to act otherwise. There will be a small hilltop finishing with 21.5 kilometer to go, but the main one comes later.
So there is an intermediate sprint on the top of the final little climb, which is 1 kilometer long at 6.2%. With a yellow jersey and some seconds to hand out, some riders will want this and potentially also try to carry on with the attack/sprint. This comes with only 9.5 kilometers to go.
From there on a straight road, flat without descent, and we'll have a finale that should be easy to control for an organized peloton. The fight for the bunch sprint will be fast and furious into the final corner which comes with 700 meters to go. From there on, a small bend to the right, positioning will be key into the corner without a doubt.
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Stage 2 will be the second and clearest opportunity for the sprinters throughout the race, having a mostly flat 186-kilometer long day that has almost no climbing whatsoever and a finale in Bellegarde.
There isn't really anything meaningful to analyse in the day. The organizers have made sure the sprinters would have at least one day where they wouldn't have to think about small climbs or anything, and they can just focus on the final kilometers.
And these will be... ideal? Well they should be safe, let's put it like that. The final kilometers are in a completely straightforward road, no roundabouts, no corners, no gradients. A pure bunch sprint.
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Day 3 of the race will be the team time-trial, a discipline that has risen in use this year due to it's presence at the Tour de France. Some teams will be testing their setups here in the 28-kilometer long course, one that is not completely flat and will be interesting for teams to pace.
This will begin in the Magny-Cours race track, the first kilometers will be on perfectly smooth terrain before heading into a long straight road into the town of Nevers. In the town, there will be a small climb of 900 meters at 6%, with a small ramp featuring double-digit gradients. The final kilometers will then be slightly downhill, very fast until the uphill rise to the line. It won't be an easy one to pace certainly.
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Stage 4 is the first day that features quite a bit of climbing. 2700 meters of climbing on the menu, doesn't make it a true mountain stage but you can't neglect it, and it will be the day where the riders will truly understand their form going uphill.
Don't expect anything crazy before the last kilometers, all legs will be saved for the final ascent to La Loge des Gardes where the last time around it was Tadej Pogacar who won. An explosive ascent, but one where it's possible to make differences.
This climb will be 6.7 kilometers long at 7.1% average gradient. All-in-all a mostly constant climb without too many gradient shifts, but it will be hard right from the base. Attacks are expected in the final kilometers, because if a group goes into the final 1.5 kilometers there will be a small moment to rest there, and otherwise things could come down to a sprint.
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Stage 5 is the day where the organizers best organized something for the classics specialists. This is terrain just like the Ardennes, and the finale is incredibly similar to La Fléche Wallonne. There will be plenty short and sharp climbs in the final hour of racing, where some stage hunters and GC riders will mix for an exciting finale.
In the last 40 kilometers, besides the final climb, there will be five small hilltops. Most are steep, but none of large duration. With 37, 32.5, 29.5, 16.5 and 13 kilometers to go there will be the end of some important spots on the day. The run-up to the final climb in itself isn't completely flat, instead it also has a small ramp.
But it's in the ascent to the Notre-Dame-de-Sciez (with gradients up to 18%) to the line that we'll have the most fireworks. Don't expect early attacks, it's a suffocating climb that slowly rises in gradient until 18% (or perhaps 24%, depending on which profile you trust more)... Creating gaps is impossible, so one way or another it will come down to a sprint. However, if someone decides to go early, it will be one of the most painful sprints of their lives. Gaps are expected at the summit, it's a purely anaerobic effort, with a technical start to the climb meaning there will be a big fight for positioning.
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The sixth day of racing will be the final opportunity for the sprinters. A bunch finish at Berre-l'Étang is expected, but with 210 kilometers on the menu and a few climbs spread all throughout the course, there may be a surprise.
Right at the start there is a small uphill drag and this, being the final opportunity for most riders in the race, could lead to a lot of attacks and a strong group forming. Throughout the day we have some ascents, but only the last one feels important. It will have an intermediate sprint at the top, it will be 900 meters long at 6% with 19.5 kilometers to go. Unlikely to make a difference, but riders will have to keep an eye.
Then, the expected sprint finish. It will be an urban one, not very technical, but with a few roundabouts to navigate. With 2.2, 1.9 kilometers to go and 600 meters to go there will be roundabouts. (Unlike the map shows, the riders won't go all around the roundabout, but cut it through the left). They will be small features where the peloton will line out, where speeds will be very high and so will positioning. The finishing straight is pan-flat and right by the sea.
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Stage 7 is the day where the race heads into the Alps. It is a short day on the bike, with only 148 kilometers on the menu, and neither of the climbs will be steep so it won't be brutal on anyone. Early in the day there are two small ascents where the breakaway is expected to be formed, before the real action really kicks in.
At the Col de la Colmiane a lot of damage can be done, the climb is 16 kilometers long at over 5%, with the final 7 being a bit steeper than the first half. This ascent finishes with 53 kilometers to go, attacks are very unlikely, but the teams that want to make an impact in the final ascent can do quite some damage here.
Then of course, the ascent to Auron. Officially, only 7.3 kilometers at 6.9%, which is enough to make some differences - but don't overestimate them, it's not a long ascent. What can really make damage is the run-up to the climb, as the 25 kilometers leading up to it have a slight uphill gradient throughout the valley. If a team commits to pushing very hard in these kilometers, then the final climb can for sure already start with some exhausted riders.
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The final day of race. Paris-Nice always delivers in it's final Sunday, we've got 120 kilometers on the menu only but six climbs, many technical descents, many hairpins and one final steep climb where everything can be decided. This time around an easier start, with a few added kilometers but only one climb instead of a fast combo of three before Peille.
This will be the Col de la Porte, 7 kilometers at 6.9%, ending with 70 kilometers to go and featuring a very technical descent. It will quickly lead up to the Côte de Peille which is 6.5 kilometers at 6.9%, full of hairpins, a climb where winning attacks have happened in the past. This summits with 41 kilometers to go.
However this time around there are still two tough ascents to go. The riders have an intermediate sprint at the Col d'Èze which is 1.6 kilometers at over 9%, this summits with 25 kilometers to go. Attacks certainly can happen here, because the following fast descent leads directly into the final climb of the day.
This is the Col des Quatre Chemins - part of the Col d'Éze. It is 3.6 kilometers at 8.8%, but the final half is quite steeper. The ramps go up to 18%, brutal and enough to create differences. The race can end atop this ascent, it summits with 9 kilometers to go and from there on it's almost downhill all the way to the finish line at the Promenade des Anglais.
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☀ Voici le parcours de #ParisNice 2025 !
— Paris-Nice (@ParisNice) December 17, 2024
☀Here is the route of #ParisNice 2025! pic.twitter.com/ynMCs4sVut
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- Agree, but just putting it in his head isn’t going to make it happen, or did he doubt himself too much during his 5 MSR attempts? Didn’t look like it.Jumpyjohn28-03-2025
- Marketing for dummiesJumpyjohn28-03-2025
- It's very refreshing and a welcome change of pace to hear a legend from the past share some positive and encouraging words to the now generation for a change. Thank you, Bernard Hinault.
santiagobenites28-03-2025 - And you know this how? Proof?frieders328-03-2025
- This guy lives his live in the past, must be fun for his grandkids.JoostMehrtens27-03-2025
- It’s also no longer allowed. It was crazy back then, almost 200 race days in a year sometimes.Mistermaumau27-03-2025
- Well said. It’s tough to compare across erasmobk27-03-2025
- The level of competition in every sport is so very much higher than it was in the 70s (I'm old enough to remember), and that's fine. You compete against the people you compete against. You win the race you're in, not a race of the past or of the future. Are there any world records from the 70s? Very few, I suspect. The way people train these days, the way they race these days, it's just different. And I am comfortable assuming the following: today's riders are faster and stronger than those of the past. It's a different profession, it's more professional, and that's fine. So is every sport. What de Vlaeminck did was totally amazing in his time, but in this era not only is it not needed (people earn enough without bonuses), it's also not enough (training prepares you for racing more than racing does). Eras change. It's okay. Who knows where we will be in another 50 years.RidesHills27-03-2025
- For once Tadej won’t be the favourite. Maybe that will allow him to be a bit more opportunistic. I doubt Tadej expects to win it this year. But I am sure he will plan a return.mobk27-03-2025
- The guy is only 24? So very very young. At this age, what was MvdP doing, but building up a team as well. He's right, he's an entertainer, and yes, I've been entertained. Between him and MvdP, I started watching XCC and XCO mountain biking (now I want to go to the Quebecois race in Mont Ste. Anne that are only a few hours away), just like WvA and MvdP pulled me into cyclocross a few years ago. Multi-disciplinary awesomeness is fun. Pidcock is his own rider, and I'm curious where he'll be in 5 years. It will be fun to wait and watch.RidesHills27-03-2025