"There wasn't even time to take off any clothes" - Jonas Vingegaard takes win on historically brutal day at Paris-Nice
Cycling
Jonas Vingegaard experienced disaster last year at Paris-Nice, but this time around he has the race virtually sealed. On stage 4, the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider thrived in the crosswinds, avoided the crashes, thrived in his clothes selection and climbed better than anyone to take over the yellow jersey after Juan Ayuso crashed out of the race.
"We expected a crazy day, but not that crazy. We had a plan, we wanted to attack on the penultimate climb, but it was full-on racing from the start," Vingegaard said in a post-race interview. "There wasn't even time to take off any clothes. Maybe you could call me a trendsetter, with my long pants. I just didn't have time to take them off."
With his bib straps on his shoulders outside of the Visma jersey, Vingegaard was able to convey just how difficult the conditions were this Wednesday afternoon in the French race. The temperatures were quite low, which made the rain falling on the riders all day long extra difficult. With the wind blowing very hard and with crosswinds right from kilometer 0, the echelons that were expected took only a few minutes to take place.
"The wind was blowing from the shore right from the start. Some riders fell behind. Later, many riders got cold. I didn't freeze because I was wearing a lot of clothes. That might have been why I couldn't take them all off. But yes, the rain will also have had a significant impact on the race."
The new yellow jersey
The race blew apart right from the start, not catching Visma lacking attention, but with Vingegaard only being followed by one rider: Edoardo Affini. "I felt good. But it was an extremely tough day. Edoardo [Affini] was with me all day; he did a fantastic job. From the start, it was so hectic… I'm just happy to be here and to have won the stage."
Whilst the Italian didn't make it into the decisive split, Vingegaard did, making it to the back wheel of the five-rider BORA train that soared through the flatlands before the day's climbing began. It was an ideal scenario, as the terrain and race situation meant that BORA wouldn't be attacking the Dane, but instead pacing Daniel Martínez throughout the final hour of racing.
Vingegaard took full advantage of the situation, with BORA creating the gap to his main rivals behind - although Juan Ayuso was out of the race and Oscar Onley was experiencing repeated instances of bad luck. The Dane only required his regular climbing legs to make the winning gap. Provisionally, he has the overall classification won... But that will require him to escape bad luck in the coming days.
"Definitely. Last year, I had to abandon the race. I crashed with the leader's jersey on my shoulders. To be back now and win a stage – my first individual victory in Paris-Nice – and to start the season like this is fantastic."
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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leedorney11-03-20264
Happy for the guy
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- Congrats! It is done so now is time for CX.averagecyclist15-11-2026
- It's going to happen at some point. It will happen to Tadej as well, we all get older. Jonas was in pretty great form at the tour. I still consider him a top two or three cyclist in the world, until he's not.awp15-11-2026
- mij, I am not so sure of that. I have been on a spine ward at a Denver hospital that had quite a few spinal injuries from mountain biking.BDBigGuy15-11-2026
- Pogi takes care of his teammates in races and training. Tadej Pogačar is widely praised within the cycling peloton for his fair and egalitarian leadership, actively supporting his UAE teammates both on the road during races and behind the scenes at training camps. Rather than acting like an untouchable superstar, he has intense team loyalty by sharing daily chores, giving up personal glory to help domestiques, and publicly praising their sacrifices. Unlike some Grand Tour contenders, like Vingegaard, who occasionally train away from their squads, Pogi consistently attends team training camps alongside his domestiques, making the exact same sacrifices to build friendship. I love how Pogačar shares his teammates-domestiques, either when they succeed or win in races or when they simply just do a good job for him. It has to be a great moral boost for them. And then they work even harder and go even deeper for Pogi. This is teamwork.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
- Yeah, what he said!Lozza15-11-2026
- I’m sure Jasper Philipsen would disagree with you.Lozza15-11-2026
- Article says he was “out for a spin around the town”, implying not off-road.Lozza15-11-2026
- let’s be honest, Alpecin is all about one rider - MVDP. I’m sure he gets whatever he needs, the rest get the scraps.mij15-11-2026
- there are more vicious injuries on a road bike than a mountain bike far and away.mij15-11-2026
- That'll be one crazy rider
Rafionain-Glas15-11-2026
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