“We cannot change it” - Jonas Vingegaard accepts Paris-Nice TTT setback as rainy Stage 4 looms

After the first major reshuffle of the general classification at Paris-Nice, Jonas Vingegaard begins Stage 4 facing the challenge of responding to time lost in Tuesday’s team time trial.

The Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader sits 17 seconds behind race leader Juan Ayuso after his team finished fourth in the 23.5-kilometre test against the clock, a result that reshaped the early GC battle and forced Visma to reassess their position in the race.

Speaking before the start of Stage 4, Vingegaard made clear that the team has already turned its attention away from the disappointment of the previous day.

“Of course, we hoped for a bit more yesterday, but we lost some time, and that’s how it is now,” he said in conversation with Cycling Pro Net. “We cannot change it. We just have to do our best and see what we can do from here.”

The team time trial had been one of the first opportunities for the major contenders to create meaningful time gaps in the race. Visma briefly set the fastest provisional time when they reached the finish, stopping the clock at 26 minutes and 55 seconds.

However, later teams proved quicker. Decathlon CMA CGM Team and Lidl-Trek both improved on that benchmark before INEOS Grenadiers ultimately secured the stage victory.

Vingegaard finished the stage alongside team-mates Davide Piganzoli and Bruno Armirail, ensuring the trio all recorded the same time, but the Danish rider acknowledged afterwards that the performance was not the team’s strongest. “It also depends on the riders having the legs,” he explained. “Of course, we didn’t do our best team time trial, but for the future, we can do it better. It’s something we have to talk about.”

Despite the time lost, the overall gaps remain tight, leaving several contenders still well positioned as the race moves into more selective terrain.

Attention now shifts to Stage 4, where a punchy uphill finish and forecasted rain are expected to play a significant role in how the race unfolds.

“I think the rainy chapter will start now,” Vingegaard said when asked about the conditions awaiting the peloton. “All the predictions say rain all day, so it will be a cold day. And with an uphill finish, you have to be ready.”

Paris-Nice has long been known for unpredictable weather and aggressive racing, and the Danish rider suggested the changing conditions could immediately influence how the stage develops.

Whether Stage 4 becomes the first real opportunity for Vingegaard to recover time will largely depend on the sensations in the legs after the demanding team effort the day before.

“It depends on the legs,” he said. “If you have the legs, you can go for it. If not, you can’t. Everything depends on the feeling today, and of course I hope for good legs.”

With the race still tightly balanced after three stages and several GC contenders separated by only seconds, the coming days will determine whether Vingegaard and Visma can begin to reverse the time lost in the team time trial as Paris-Nice moves into its next phase.