Favorites stage 5 Paris-Nice 2025 | Again cold, again tough: French version of Mur de Huy emerges

There were six climbs on Wednesday, and on Thursday, there will be even seven. In recent years, they have been looking for shorter, steeper climbs in Paris-Nice like in Tirreno-Adriatico. There are five of these in this fifth stage, with the finish line on one of those climbs. IDLProCycling.com shows you what to expect!

Course stage 5 Paris-Nice 2025

A.S.O. shows no mercy. After the first mountain stage, the riders must immediately tackle two climbs on Thursday from the starting point of Saint-Just-en-Chevalet. This could prove decisive in forming a strong leading group that can assist later in the stage. After the Cote de Saint-Polgues, a long descent follows, during which everyone can recover a little.

After that, the terrain remains somewhat undulating all day, but we are in for some action in the last fifty kilometers. There are five categorized steep climbs, but we also have to climb a few without a category label. The Cote du Chateau Jaune (1.2 km at 9.2%), Cote de Sibuze (1.1 km at 8.2%), Cote du Chavagneux (1.1 km at 8.6%), and Cote d'Azur (1.3 km at 8.0%) in succession, the legs are already starting to burn for the last ten kilometers.

We start the final ten kilometers with an intermediate sprint before heading to the final part of this third stage. That is the Cote de Notre-Dame-de-Sciez (1.7 km at 11.1%), a French version of the Mur de Huy. The gradients are bearable, but the last kilometer at 13.4 percent is brutal. Excitement guaranteed!

Climbs
10.9 km: Cote de Saint-Polgues (1.5 km a 5.5%)
106.3 km: Cote de Treves (2.3 km 6.0%)
156.2 km: Cote du Chateau Jaune (1.2 km a 9.2%)
161.1 km: Cote de Sibuze (1.1 km a 8.2%)
173.9 km: Cote du Chavagneux (1.1 km a 8.6%)
186.8 km: Cote d'Arzay (1.3 km a 8.0%)
203.3 km: Cote de Notre-Dame-de-Sciez (1.7 km a 11.1%)

Times
Start: 05:40 AM EST
Finish: 10:30 AM EST

Weather stage 5 Paris-Nice 2025

The riders are not having luck with the weather again. Although the wind may be blowing slightly in their favor, the temperature is just above freezing, and rain may fall on them throughout the day.

Favorites stage 5 Paris-Nice 2025

That fourth stage was quite a ride. After the temporary neutralization, the riders finally fought for the win on the final climb. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) seemed to take the double there, but Joao Almeida of UAE Emirates-XRG came from behind to claim victory. This means we have named the favorites for stage five, although it will be a different kind of effort.

Vingegaard is the leader and has Matteo Jorgenson as his teammate, which could also be a factor. Almeida is not far behind Brandon McNulty, but will that inspire fear in the Visma team? Probably not. They are more likely to be looking at riders like Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), and Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe): men who have also shown they are in good form.

Harold Tejada, Clément Champoussin (XDS-Astana), Ivan Romeo, Jefferson Cepeda, Pablo Castrillo (Movistar), and Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers) are also still in the running for a top ten spot. At the same time, many other riders have already lost ground. From that position, aggressive riders such as Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost), Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla), and Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) are dangerous, but there are many, many more like them...

Favorites stage 5 Paris-Nice 2025, according to IDLProCycling.com

Top favorites: Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Joao Almeida (UAE-Emirates XRG)
Outsiders: Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike), Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) and Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe)
Long shots: Harold Tejada, Clément Champoussin (XDS-Astana), Brandon McNulty (UAE Emirates-XRG), Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost), Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla), Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor), Pablo Castrillo (Movistar) and Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers)

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