Vingegaard will race in Paris-Nice, featuring team time trial on car racing circuit and tough final weekend

Jonas Vingegaard will start in Paris-Nice. The Danish two-time Tour de France winner will line up in Yvelines on March 9. This was announced during the course presentation for the Race to the Sun. It will only be the second time that the Visma | Lease a Bike team leader participates in the race, as he often opted for Tirreno-Adriatico instead.

This year, however, he has chosen the French multi-day race. Christian Prudhomme made the announcement during the Paris-Nice presentation: "We will have a great field of participants, especially with the news that Jonas Vingegaard will be racing here — he has never won Paris-Nice before," the Tour de France director said. "I can imagine he wants 2025 to be a year of revenge after Tadej Pogacar’s victory in the last Tour." Vingegaard, who has been training in Spain this week, last participated in 2023, where he finished third, 1 minute and 39 seconds behind Pogacar.

The 2025 edition consists of eight stages. Three stages are set for the sprinters. Two stages will serve as transitional stages, likely suiting breakaway riders, and two stages are designed for the general classification contenders. Additionally, there is a 28-kilometer team time trial on the calendar, which will take place on the Magny-Cours car racing circuit. The mountain stages will be decisive during the final weekend. Riders will first tackle a stage over the Col de la Colmiane, finishing at the Auron ski resort at an altitude of 1,600 meters, where snow could potentially play a role.

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Last year Vingegaard opted for the Tirenno-Adriatico instead of Paris-Nice

Will brutal final weekend decide the race?

The final stage, already familiar to cycling enthusiasts, will start and finish in Nice. Riders will face three first-category climbs: first the Col de Porte (7 kilometers at 7.2%), then the Côte de la Peille (6.5 kilometers at 6.9%), and finally the Col des Quatre Chemins. The nearly four-kilometer climb has become the race’s decisive moment, with an average gradient of 8.8% and sections that reach a punishing 16%. Last year, Vingegaard’s Visma teammate Matteo Jorgenson claimed victory in the multi-day race.

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