The longest stage of this year's Paris-Nice, covering 209.8 kilometres from Saint-Julien-En-Saint-Alban to Berre l'Étang, was actually intended for the sprinters. However, the windy Rhone Valley thwarted this forecast. Instead, the Team Visma | Lease a Bike In the continuous rain again 60 kilometres before the finish, the riders stepped up the pace, which in the end only a few riders were able to follow.
In addition to overall leader Matteo Jorgenson (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), the 16-strong group also included Maximilian Schachmann (Soudal Quick-Step) and Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe). In the end, Mads Pedersen (Lidl - Trek) took victory in the sprint of the decimated group. Second place went to Joshua Tarling ahead of team-mate Samuel Watson (Ineos Grenadiers). Schachmann finished the stage in ninth place, Lipowitz came eleventh.
Lipowitz jumps to second place in the overall standings
Team Visma | Lease a Bike had the following before the start of the stage the absence of Jonas Vingegaard who did not start the 6th stage after his crash the day before. Without the Dane, the team focussed on the man in the yellow jersey, Jorgenson. He extended his lead in the overall standings and is now 40 seconds ahead of Lipowitz, who moved up to second place due to Vingegaard's cancellation. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl - Trek) is now in third place, 59 seconds behind. On the way, Jorgenson also secured a six-second time bonus from the leading group at an intermediate sprint.
Other riders in the classification, however, lost a lot of time. João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) crossed the finish line 1:54 minutes behind. Lenny Martinez (Bahrain - Victorious) even lost 8:57 minutes on this stage due to further cracks in the chasing pack.
Paris-Nice 2025 - Results of the 6th stage
Stage 6: Saint-Julien-en-Saint-Alban - Berre l'Étang
Paris-Nice 2025: Stage 6, Saint-Julien-en-Saint-Alban - Berre l'Étang
| Rnk. | Riders | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lidl - Trek | 04:25:37 |
| 2 | INEOS Grenadiers | +00:00:00 |
| 3 | INEOS Grenadiers | +00:00:00 |
| 4 | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | +00:00:00 |
| 5 | Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe | +00:00:00 |
| 6 | INEOS Grenadiers | +00:00:00 |
How the 6th stage of Paris-Nice 2025 went
At the start of the stage, the escape group of the day was formed by Thomas Gachignard (TotalEnergies) and Remi Cavagna (Groupama - FDJ), who were later joined by Jakub Otruba (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA). The lead subsequently increased to just over three minutes. In the peloton, Soudal Quick-Step organised the chase early on.
Gachignard was mainly targeting the mountain points from the group, securing three points after 90 kilometres on the Côte de Pouzilhac (3rd category) and dropping back into the peloton shortly afterwards. This was enough for the Frenchman to take the lead in the mountain classification. With 88 kilometres to go, Otruba also dropped back, leaving Cavagna as the only breakaway rider, although he defended a lead of three minutes for some time.
60 kilometres before the finish over the crest of the Côte de Mouriès (3rd category), Team Visma | Lease a Bike forced a break in the peloton by increasing the pace. Initially, only Maximilian Schachmann, Joshua Tarling and Mattias Skjelmose were able to follow alongside the six riders from Team Visma | Lease a Bike. Shortly afterwards, Florian Lipowitz and Matteo Sobrero (Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe), Mads Pedersen as well as Thymen Arensman and Tobias Foss (Ineos Grenadiers), among others, joined the group, which now comprised 16 riders.
Schachmann with a late attack
Subsequently, the group built up a one-minute lead on the large chasing peloton around João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) and Lenny Martinez (Bahrain - Victorious). With 42 kilometres to go, the group caught up with the breakaway rider Cavagna. The pace work of Team Visma | Lease a Bike and especially the windy conditions and direction changes in the Rhone valley helped the leading group to continuously extend their lead.
Meanwhile, there were no attacks from the group. Schachmann only tried at the one-kilometre banner, but was unable to open up a large gap. It came down to a sprint, which Pedersen was the first rider to open with a big gear ratio and ultimately relegated Tarling to second place.
