2026 Paris-Nice Stage 8 Results & Recap
Stage 8 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
After Saturday's very shortened stage due to adverse weather, 'the race to the sun' did live up to its nickname for a thrilling final stage in the hills behind Nice. Victory on the day went to Lenny Martinez (TBV), who just bettered race leader Jonas Vingegaard (TVL) in a two-up sprint outside the city's football stadium.
Although denied his third victory of the week, Vingegaard finished with his first overall title in this race, with the points and mountains titles added for good measure. What's more, his winning margin of 4:23 was the biggest in Paris-Nice since 1939.
After the expected frenetic start to the stage, four riders went clear: Benjamin Thomas (COF), Matteo Trentin (TUD), Alexandre Delettre (TEN) and Tim Marsman (APT). Their sortie ended on the first of three 1st-category climbs, the Col de la Porte, where Valentin Paret-Peintre (SOQ) was one of several riders who bridged up to them, the Frenchman then pressing on alone.
Paret-Peintre led over that climb and the second, where 2nd-placed Dani MartĂnez was dropped from the GC group after colliding with a teammate and crashing heavily into a concrete culvert. Although the Colombian remounted, he never regained contact with his rivals.
Paret-Peintre was caught at the foot of the third climb, where Vingegaard attacked and only Lenny Martinez could follow. The pair collaborated into the final kilometer, where the Frenchman led out the sprint and just held off the race leader.
Behind, 3rd-placed Georg Steinhauser finished in the same group as main rival KĂ©vin Vauquelin to maintain his podium place, while the injured Dani Martinez rode bravely to limit his losses and retain second place overall.
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