Results Paris-Nice 2026 Stage 3 | Joshua Tarling-led INEOS Grenadiers power to team time trial victory

The INEOS Grenadiers have powered to victory on Stage 3 of Paris-Nice, winning the 23.5-kilometre team time trial between Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire and Pouilly-sur-Loire by the narrowest of margins.

The British squad held off a late challenge from Lidl-Trek, securing the stage win by just 2.47 seconds after producing the fastest intermediate split of the afternoon. The result delivered the first major shake-up of the general classification after two sprint stages had left the race tightly packed.

The decisive moment of the stage came at the intermediate checkpoint, where INEOS set the fastest time of the day.

Led by powerful engines including Joshua Tarling, Oscar Onley and Kevin Vauquelin, the team blasted through the time check 13 seconds faster than Lidl-Trek. That advantage proved just enough to withstand the late challenge from their rivals on the run to the finish.

Earlier in the stage, Juan Ayuso had briefly placed Lidl-Trek in the lead. The Spanish rider produced a powerful final effort, completing the last hectometres alone to stop the clock nine seconds faster than the previous benchmark set by Decathlon CMA CGM Team.

That time ultimately proved good enough for second place on the stage once INEOS completed their ride.

Before the later contenders arrived, the benchmark time had already changed hands several times. Team Visma | Lease a Bike were the first major favourites to set a reference time, stopping the clock 22 seconds faster than UAE Team Emirates XRG.

That mark was later beaten by Decathlon CMA CGM Team, with Daan Hoole completing the final kilometres alone to push the French squad into the provisional lead. Their time would eventually be surpassed by Lidl-Trek and then INEOS as the stage entered its decisive phase.

The team time trial provided the first real separation in the general classification at the 2026 edition of Paris-Nice.

With the opening two stages decided by bunch sprints, the standings had remained extremely tight, but the discipline created meaningful gaps among the race’s contenders as the week moved toward its hillier stages.

The stage therefore, reshaped the overall picture of the race, rewarding the strongest collective performances and placing several general classification hopefuls in stronger positions heading deeper into the event.