Paris-Nice - Stage 7: No queen stage: Godon wins uphill sprint after 47 kilometres
Sebastian Lindner
· 14.03.2026
He won in the sprint of a reduced field ahead of Biniam Girmay (NSN Cycling Team) and Cees Bol (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) after just over an hour of riding, as there were only 47 kilometres to cover. The rest of the day fell victim to heavy rain at the original starting point in Nice, snowfall and lousy temperatures in Auron at 1600 metres. Due to mudslides here and there along the route, only a middle section could be completed, which ended in Isola. The previous evening, the stage had initially been reduced to 120 kilometres, with only the final kilometres up the mountain being cancelled. The morning before the stage, there was another update.
"I never thought I would win a mountain stage at Paris-Nice," joked the 29-year-old in his winner's interview. "Unfortunately, it didn't work out in the champion's jersey." Although Godon is the French champion, he had to hide his blue, white and red jersey under a rain jacket. His first win of the season was also the first for his new team - until last year he was under contract with Decathlon. "Since the beginning of the week, I've always been pretty close. And today, despite the circumstances, we were really ready to ride and everyone was very motivated. Carlos Rodirguez rode 40 kilometres ahead of the peloton and for me it was practically like being on the sofa. I only had to sprint 150 or 200 metres."
There was no end to the overall standings, the favourites all stayed together. Although the course was slightly uphill the whole way, the classification riders held back and refrained from attacking. As a result, Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) continues to lead the race by 3:22 minutes ahead of Daniel Felipe Martinez (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe). Third remains Georg Steinhauser (EF Education - EasyPost), who is also the best young pro and wears the white jersey.
Paris-Nice 2026 - Results of the 7th stage
Stage 7: Pont Louis Nucera - Isola
Paris-Nice 2026: Stage 7, Pont Louis Nucera - Isola
| Rnk. | Riders | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | INEOS Grenadiers | 01:01:48 |
| 2 | NSN Cycling Team | +00:00:00 |
| 3 | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | +00:00:00 |
| 4 | Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe | +00:00:00 |
| 5 | EF Education - EasyPost | +00:00:00 |
| 6 | XDS Astana Team | +00:00:00 |
How the 7th stage of Paris-Nice 2026 went
47 kilometres were left of the original 140, but while heavy rain fell from the sky at the official team presentation in Nice and Jenson Plowright (Alpecin-Premier Tech) appeared with diving goggles, it was dry at the new start at the Pont Louis Nucera, which the riders reached in their team buses.
Nevertheless, there was a crash right at the front of the field in the neutralised phase involving Lennard Kämna (Lidl - Trek) and Nico Denz (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe), which further delayed the start and shortened the course by a few more kilometres. The first real kilometres of the race were then controlled by Visma | Lease a Bike and INEOS Grenadiers.
The first attack came from Tim Marsman (Alpecin-Premier Tech) 33 kilometres before the finish. He was only able to slowly work out a few seconds advantage, the peloton let him starve a little. And nine kilometres before the finish, the hopeless attempt was over. The Astana team then tried again with Nicolas Vinokourov, but that didn't lead to success either.
And so there was the sprint that would decide the race. It was Godon who proved to be the strongest.
