With INEOS, Decathlon and Tudor doing some work at the front, the peloton started to reel the break in as the race hit its final 100 kilometres. Rasenberg lost contact as their lead went from almost three minutes to two minutes with 84 kilometres to go.
Per Strand Hagenes has won the 2026 Paris-Tours
Peloton chase before mass crash
Merlier suffered a puncture with 57 kilometres to go as Decathlon drove the pace to make it less than a minute for the break. However, the following kilometres were marred by a mass crash in the bunch affecting the likes of Dorian Godon, Vacek, De lie, Anthony Turgis and several others.
Meanwhile, just five riders remained in the break out front as Stefan Bissegger, Yves Lampaert, Storm Ingebrigtsen, Matis Louvel and Julius van den Berg stayed ahead with 40 kilometres to go as some riders involved in the crash came back to the bunch.
With 25 kilometres to go, Jenno Berckmoes launched a ferocious acceleration on a short climb, completely splitting the peloton. The race was scattered across the road after the Lotto Intermarche rider’s devastating attack. The move saw the peloton reduced to around 25 riders, Merlier dropped and the break's lead cut to a handful of seconds.
With the race now open for the taking, Pierre Gautherat launched a powerful attack with 20 kilometres to go, surged past the former leaders and went solo. Uno-X Mobility led the chase behind, while Decathlon CMA CGM drove the second chasing group in an attempt to close the gap.
Gautherat kicks off dramatic finale
Team Visma-Lease a Bike leads the pursuit of Pierre Gautherat, with Per Strand Hagenes bridging across alongside Paul Lapeira. In the final kilometres, the chasers joined and formed a formidable group at the front.
With three kilometres to go, an 11-man leading group featuring Christophe Laporte, Per Strand Hagenes, Toms Skujins, Paul Lapeira, Rasmus Sojberg Pedersen, Thibaud Gruel, Jasper Stuyven, Florian Senechal, Jonas Abrahamsen, Matys Grisel and Lewis Askey would contest the win.
Strand Hagenes made his late attack stick and powers to victory in Paris–Tours, completing a perfectly timed move inside the final kilometre. Jasper Stuyven finishes second behind Per Strand Hagenes, while Christophe Laporte completed the podium in third to cap an outstanding finale for Team Visma-Lease a Bike.
Results Paris-Tours 2026
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Per Strand Hagenes | Team Visma–Lease a Bike | 4:31:46 |
| 2 | Jasper Stuyven | Soudal Quick-Step | +0:02 |
| 3 | Christophe Laporte | Team Visma–Lease a Bike | " |
| 4 | Matys Grisel | Lotto Intermarche | " |
| 5 | Jonas Abrahamsen | Uno-X Mobility | " |
| 6 | Paul Lapeira | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | " |
| 7 | Thibaud Gruel | Groupama-FDJ United | " |
| 8 | Lewis Askey | NSN Cycling Team | " |
| 9 | Florian Senechal | Alpecin-Premier Tech | " |
| 10 | Toms Skujins | Lidl-Trek | +0:09 |
| 11 | Rasmus Sojberg Pedersen | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | +0:12 |
| 12 | Fabio Christen | Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | +0:28 |
| 13 | Alexis Renard | Cofidis | +0:36 |
| 14 | Matis Louvel | NSN Cycling Team | " |
| 15 | Axel Huens | Groupama-FDJ United | " |
| 16 | Pepijn Reinderink | Soudal Quick-Step | " |
| 17 | Victor Papon | Nice Metropole Cote d'Azur | " |
| 18 | Adam Toupalik | Unibet Rose Rockets | " |
| 19 | Aime De Gendt | Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | " |
| 20 | Maxime Vezie | CIC Pro Cycling Academy | " |