2026 Paris-Nice Stage 3 Results & Recap
Stage 3 of the 2026 Paris-Nice is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Once dominant in the discipline, INEOS Grenadiers won their first team time trial for five seasons when they finished two seconds faster than Lidl-Trek in the 23.5km test in the Loire region that finished in Pouilly sur Loire. There was significant consolation for Lidl-Trek, though, as their leader Juan Ayuso moved into the yellow jersey. The Spaniard is two seconds clear of Ineos's KĂ©vin Vauquelin, with the Frenchman's teammate Oscar Onley another second back in third place.
The race organisers stuck with the intriguing format used at the race over the last few seasons, with each team's time set by their fastest finisher rather than the fourth-fastest finisher as is usually the case in this discipline. It made for an enthralling spectacle, with teams adopting different strategies in order to go for the win and, at the same time, keep their GC leaders in contention.
Team Jayco AlUla and then Groupama-FDJ United were the early pace-setters until UAE Team Emirates XRG came through to take the lead thanks to Brandon McNulty. They were soon knocked off top spot by Visma-Lease a Bike, who were led in by Jonas Vingegaard. But the Dutch team's position at the top of the standings didn't last long either. Decathlon CMA CGM Team's Dan Hoole rode away from his teammates in the final section and crossed the line 4 seconds quicker.
Soon after, Lidl-Trek went through the intermediate checkpoint a couple of seconds faster than Decathlon, and they pushed that advantage out to 8 seconds by the finish, thanks to Ayuso's blast of speed up the final drag to the line. That time was immediately under threat from Ineos, though. They were 12 seconds quicker at the checkpoint and, although they lost most of that advantage on the run-in, Vauquelin crossed the line two seconds quicker than Ayuso, giving the British team victory.
Get our full coverage of the Paris-Nice and every race we cover with our mobile app! The apps have over 100 additional exclusive features, including our award-winning Time Machine feature that lets you pause/rewind/replay the entire app to sync with delayed race video, integrated Fantasy Cycling, push notifications, an integrated news feed, live GPS tracking, world-class commentary, and our animated interactive maps and profiles.
