Lamperti had set off early in Carrières-sous-Poissy after 171 kilometres, after his only rider Alastair MacKellar had done his job. But Lamperti rode cleverly, staying close to the bunch and opening the way for the day's top favourite, Biniam Girmay (NSN Cycling Team), who finished fifth. The German sprinters Pascal Ackermann (Team Jayco AlUla) and Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) were unable to make it into the final. Ackermann suffered a puncture at an unfavourable time and Bauhaus had problems on the final climb.
For Lamperti, the seventh victory of his career was his first at WorldTour level and the first for his new team. He had switched from Soudal to EF in the winter. It was also the first, much-needed success for the team in 2026. This makes Picnic PostNL the last WorldTeam to be winless this year.
After his opening victory, Lamperti also leads the overall standings of the tour and the points classification. There is a good chance that he will be able to take both on the following day. Apart from the team time trial the following day, what is on paper the easiest section of the "Ride to the Sun" awaits.
Paris-Nice 2026 - Results of the 1st stage
Stage 1: Achères - Carrières-sous-Poissy
Paris-Nice 2026: Stage 1, Achères - Carrières-sous-Poissy
| Rnk. | Riders | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | EF Education - EasyPost | 03:45:17 |
| 2 | Lotto Intermarché | +00:00:00 |
| 3 | Movistar Team | +00:00:00 |
| 4 | Cofidis | +00:00:00 |
| 5 | NSN Cycling Team | +00:00:00 |
| 6 | Alpecin-Premier Tech | +00:00:00 |
How the 1st stage of Paris-Nice 2026 went
Immediately after the start in the outskirts of Paris, a six-man breakaway group set off in good cycling weather to dominate the majority of the day. Jayco AlUla brought two riders to the front, Austrian Patrick Gamper and Luke Durbridge. However, the group was kept on a tight leash and never got more than a two-minute lead.
Around 50 kilometres before the finish, about half of it was still left. A few kilometres earlier, Casper Pedersen (Soudal Quick-Step) had secured the first of four category 3 mountain classifications. The Dane also won the second. With 32 kilometres to go, the peloton crossed the finish line for the first time with two laps to go. At this point, the escapees had been able to extend their lead to one and a half minutes.
While Pedersen also secured the third mountain classification and thus the first mountain jersey of the tour, the intermediate sprint at the second crossing of the finish line, including the bonus seconds, went to Gamper. Mathis Le Berre (TotalEnergies), on the other hand, secured the fourth mountain classification when the breakaway group broke away eleven kilometres before the finish.
Meanwhile, there were also ambitions in the peloton to distance themselves from the competition on the final climb. And one or two of the sprinters also had problems and were dropped in the meantime. 2000 metres before the finish, the last breakaway riders were brought up
