2025 Paris-Nice Stage 1 Results & Recap
Stage 1 of the 2025 Paris-Nice is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Tim Merlier Wins Stage 1
Tim Merlier was in a class of his own in the ensuing sprint. He finished well ahead of Arnaud Démare and Alberto Dainese, securing the first leader’s jersey in the Race to the Sun.
“It’s always nice to start a stage race and get a win. I’m very proud to win in Paris-Nice. Visma started to make the bunch really nervous. There was some attack on the climbs with Loulou [Julian Alaphilippe]. The bunch was really nervous but we organised again to stay in front. The others closed the gap and Bert [Van Lerberghe] did a perfect lead-out. It’s the second time I get the yellow jersey in Paris-Nice, the second time I win the stuffed lion too! I’ll try to stay in the lead, it may be possible tomorrow but then I think it’ll get much harder. I’ll try my luck tomorrow again. Last year was also really good so I’m on the same level I think. It’s not up to me to say if I’m the best sprinter in the world. I just try to win as much as possible and to take my opportunities. We’ll see what happens with the weather in the next days. If it’s not too cold, like this, it’s perfect.”
Alexandre Delettre and Samuel Fernández were the first attackers in Paris-Nice. Taco van der Hoorn jumped across to them, and the trio opened up a lead that lasted for over two minutes. That’s all they got.
Van der Hoorn stopped his efforts when the gap fell to 30 seconds, with 60 kilometres to go. The other two were reeled in a little later.
Jhonatan Narváez bested Matteo Jorgenson and Magnus Sheffield in the sprint for bonus seconds.
“This is my first Paris-Nice and it’s really nice to finish today with a jersey," Sheffield said. "It’s a long week, and I think there’s gonna be a lot more hard stages but it was good to get going today and I’m really excited for the rest of the week. At some point, there were four of us Americans at the front; I was laughing to myself. My shape is good, and you have to go for seconds. I’m getting experience, Paris-Nice is the closest you get to the Tour other than the Dauphiné. I’ve done a lot of one-day races, so it’s good experience to see what the racing is like here in France and to go for the best GC result, whether that’s a top-10, a podium… I’m really excited to see what comes.”
Joshua Tarling, Matteo Trentin and Mattias Skjelmose snuck away inside the last seven kilometres. The three opened a 10-second gap before being caught with 2.3 kilometres left.\n
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