As it happened: Attacks galore during exciting Paris-Nice finale

Hello and welcome to the eighth and final stage of the 2025 Paris-Nice.

It’s time for what is often one of the most exciting days of the season - the Paris-Nice finale. Every year this race ends with a short, intense day of climbing, and almost always produces thrilling racing, with the GC lead often changing hands at the last hurdle.

Could this year see another last day yellow jersey coup? Visma-Lease a Bike have controlled this race comfortably ever since taking the yellow jersey for Matteo Jorgenson on stage three’s time trial, and haven’t ever come under real pressure. But Florian Lipowitz remains just 37 seconds behind him on GC, and the terrain is there today for him to gain that.

One rider who won’t be threatening Jorgenson is Mattias Skjelmose, after he crashed out of the race yesterday. There was good news today though, as it was confirmed that he has not sustained any fractures. 

The riders are off from the unofficial start, and will be racing soon.

The scene at the start.

Two riders have pulled out of the race before the start today - Rémi Cavagna (Groupama-FDJ) and Roel van Sintmaartensdijk (Intermarché-Wanty).

A welcome sight for the riders - the sun is shining today! After a week of miserable weather, Paris-Nice has at last lived up to its name as Race to the Sun.

120KM TO GO

And they're off!

Mads Pedersen wastes no time in attacking straight away.

Pedersen's been brought back.

After being caught, Pedersen is on the move again! Clearly the Dane is in the mood today, having been in great form all week.

Correction from earlier - it's actually Alberto Dainese (Tudor Pro Cycling), not Cavagna, who has pulled out of the race. 

Matteo Jorgenson at the start. Will he still be in yellow come the end of the day?

Pedersen's been brought back once again.

110KM TO GO

For a third time, Pedersen is on the attack. He's in a small group trying to get a gap

Pedersen has 7 other riders with him.

Some riders are being dropped out of the peloton already, including Brandon McNulty. That’s a surprise, as the American is up in 7th on GC.

Adrien Petit (Intermarché-Wanty) is another rider to have dropped out of the bunch, and he’s abandoned the race.

Max Walker of EF Education-EasyPost has also pulled out.

Mads Pedersen earlier, during one of his multiple attempts to get up the road.

100KM TO GO

Still attacks are firing off the front of the peloton, but still no group has succeeded in forming the break.

Brandon McNulty had abandoned the race. We can only assume he’s come down with some kind of illness, as he had been going well all week and was poised for a top ten finish. 

UAE Team Emirates have confirmed that McNulty is indeed ill.

Here's a glimpse of what it's like at the moment on the road, with attacks going clear but none getting much of a gap. 

Lorenzo Milesi and Edward Planckaert are the latest riders to try and attack. 

They've been joined by - guess who? - Mads Pedersen.

More riders have joined them. There are about a dozen in the lead group now.

90KM TO GO

This lead group also features Julian Alaphilippe, and has a lead of about 10 seconds.

The road is currently going uphill, on a long drag that bring them to the foot of the first climb of the day, Col de la Porte.

Here's a full list of the 13 riders who are in the lead:

Dries Van Gestel (Soudal-Quick Step)

Daan Hoole (Lidl-Trek)

Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)

Ben O’Connor (Jayco AlUla)

Aurélien Paret-Peintre (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale)

Callum Scotson (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale)

Tobias Lund Andresen (Picnic PostNL)

Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar)

Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor)

Ewen Costiou (Arkéa-B&B Hotels)

Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost)

Ed Plancakert (Alpecin-Deceuninck)

Joel Nicolau (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)

Paret-Peintre is the highest ranked rider on GC present in the group, at 4-50.

That was a promising group, but it too has been shut down.

Another group now trying its luck. It goes without saying that Pedersen is involved.

Pedersen is with Narváez and Steinhauser.

Four riders are chasing that leading trio.

Jack Haig and Matteo Sobrero have joined Pedersen, Narváez and Steinhauser at the front of the race.

Cavagna, Powless and Gachignard are chasing behind.

That chasing trio has been caught, but the five leaders have a gap of about 12 seconds.

Ben O'Connor and Ilan Van Wilder have been involved in a crash.

Steinhauser has dropped Pedersen and Narváez.

80KM TO GO

Steinhauser has a small lead of about five seconds, ahead of Pederen, Narváez, Sobrero and Haig.

Steinhauser's been caught, and now Pedersen has counter-attacked.

COL DE LA PORTE

Pedersen leads the race as they begin the first climb of the day, the Col de la Porte. This one's a proper mountain, averaging 6.9% for 7km. It will be very impressive if the Dane can out-climb the likes of Steinhauser and Haig on an ascent like this. 

He is for now - the four chasers have been caught by the peloton, leaving Pedersen as the only rider left out front.

A surprise in the peloton as Lenny Martinez is one of the riders dropped on the climb. Given his form this week, he was one of the favourites for the stage win today.

Pedersen's doing a great job for now, maintaining a lead of about 15 seconds over the peloton. Once again the Dane’s climbing is defying expectations.

Ineos Grenadiers are leading the peloton. Are they hoping to attempt challenging the yellow jersey with Thymen Arensman, currently third overall at 1-20?

Ineos' pace has proven to be too much for Pedersen. He's been brought back.

There are only about 30 riders left in the peloton, and Jorgenson is the only rider left from Visma-Lease a Bike. Ineos have already succeeded in isolating him.

They've gone over the top of the climb, and Pedersen is back at the front again!

Pedersen attacked just after the summit, after Ineos had led the reduced peloton over it.

Pedersen has 10 seconds on the peloton.

Tejada is also out the back. He's got a top 10 place on GC to defend.

Pedersen at the front of the race, where he's spent most of this stage.

Actually, it turns out Tejada is off the front of the peloton, not the back. This is bold move by the Astana rider.

Tejada is 10th on GC, at 3-36.

Ineos are keeping Tejada in sight, with four riders leading the peloton.

Pedersen is flying down this descent, not holding back at all. He’s 48 seconds ahead of the peloton.

60KM TO GO

His lead continues to grow as they continue down this long, technical descent. It’s up to 47 seconds now, and they still have about 10km left to descend.

This was the result of the KOM at the top of the Col de la Porte. None of the candidates for the polka-dot jersey took any points ahead of the Ineos men. 

1. Tarling , 10 pts
2. Foss, 5 pts
3. Arensman, 3 pts
4. Sheffield, 2 pts
5. Pedersen, 1 pt

Over a minute now for Pedersen.

Tejada has sat up now, and is back in the peloton.

The top five in the KOM classification remains as it was:

1 Thomas Gachignard 21

2 Michael Storer 20

3 João Almeida 20

4 Alexandre Delettre 17

5 Lenny Martinez 14

The final stage of Tirreno-Adriatico is also taking place today. You can follow all the action here.

Elsewhere in Italy, it's the latest leg of the Women's World Tour at Trofeo Alfredo Binda. We've got that covered too.

Here at Paris-Nice, the riders are finished with the steepest gradients, but are still going downhill.

50KM TO GO

As the gradient of the descent has levelled off, so too has Pedersen’s lead. It’s stabilised at 1-10.

This was Ineos Grenadiers leading the peloton on the climb. 

CÔTE DE PEILLE

The descent is done, and the road immediately goes upwards again for the start of the Côte de Peille. They'll reach the top in 6.7km, having climbed at 6.7%.

Ineos lead the peloton onto the climb. They have multiple riders surrounding an isolated Jorgenson. The yellow jersey looks vulnerable.

Attack from Vlasov!

Vlasov is well down on GC, so not a threat to the yellow jersey. But he could be a useful man to help his Red Bull teammate Lipowitz later.

O'Connor has joined Vlasov. He too is no longer in GC contention.

Vlasov and O'Connor have 12 seconds on the peloton.

They're also bringing back Pedersen. He's now only 35 seconds ahead.

Attack from Lipowitz

He made his move after Vlasov and O'Connor had been caught.

Lipowitz has only a few riders with him, including Jorgenson.

Only 4 riders are with Lipowitz.

Lipowitz attacks again.

Jorgenson is on his wheel, followed by Jorgenson and Astana's Tejada and  Champoussin.

More riders bridge to them, including Vlasov, who counter-attacks. Red Bull are really taking the pace to Visma.

Jorgenson brings Vlasov back, dragging about 7 other riders with him.

Alemida is not among them, he's been dropped.

Arensman accelerates, but Jorgenson is alert to it once again.

Felix Gall and Vlasov are the latest to try an attack.

The yellow jersey group has gotten bigger, and there are Ineos domestiques to chase them down.

Gall and Vlasov have joined Pedersen at the front of the race.

Almeida is still outside the back of the peloton.

There are about 12 riders left in the peloton as they near the top of the climb.

40KM TO GO

Still it's Ineos who lead the peloton. They're 15 seconds behind the three leaders. 

A few riders return to the peloton, including Almeida.

Here was the peloton earlier on the climb.

Tim Merlier (and his Soudal teammate Bert Van Lerberghe) have abandoned. He'll go home happy, having won two stages.

Here were the KOM rankings at the top:

1 Vlasov

2 Gall

3 Pedersen

4 Foss

5 Arensman

Sheffield is out the front of the peloton.

This is an interesting development, as Sheffield is a threat on GC - he's 2-54 down on GC.

Ineos are asking questions of Jorgenson. Will he chase? 

Jorgenson is indeed chasing.

Sheffield is 10 seconds ahead for now.

Sheffield's gap is growing. It's up to 15 seconds. 

Jorgenson is leading, but isn't going deep. Sheffield's advantage has grown to 30 seconds, while more riders are joining the peloton from behind.

30KM TO GO

Up ahead, the leading trio are 21 seconds ahead of Sheffield, and 50 seconds ahead of the peloton. 

Almeida has attacked out of the peloton.

The pace had slowed after a few other attacks had just been brought back, and Alemida took advantage of the lull.

The peloton is now about 20 riders in size.

COL D’EZE

The riders have begun Paris-Nice's famous climb, Col d'Eze. It's not actually an official climb, but there are bonus second on offer at the top.

And, more importantly for Pedersen, green jersey points. That's primarily what he's now after in this break.

JORGENSON ATTACK

Matteo Jorgenson attacks on Col d'Eze!

He's gone several seconds clear of everyone.

Having been isolated, Jorgenson is taking matters into his own hands.

Meanwhile up ahead, Sheffield has joined the leading trio.

Jorgenson is catching the leaders already.

Lipowitz has attacked out of the peloton, in pursuit of Jorgenson.

Jorgenson's charge is also endangering Pedersen's green jersey. If he takes the intermediate sprint points instead, he could take the green jersey from him

The leaders are approaching the sprint now at the top.

Pedersen does it, he takes the points at the top. Chapeau!

Jorgenson crests it just a few seconds behind.

Jorgenson now catches Vlasov and Gall on the descent. Pedersen and Sheffield are still ahead.

Lipowitz is back in the peloton, who are 25 seconds behind.

The peloton is disorganised and not chasing. This is looking good for Jorgenson!

Jorgenson has broken clear of Gall and Vlasov on the descent.

Pedersen gained 10 points at the intermediate sprint, giving him a 17 point lead ahead of Jorgenson:

1 Pedersen 62

2 Jorgenson 45

3 Zingle 36

4 Martinez 27

5 Kielich 26

20KM TO GO

Jorgenon's lead over the peloton is increasing, now up to nearly 40 seconds.

Vlasov is back on Jorgenson's wheel, but Gall still has ground to make up.

Jorgenson and Vlasov are bearing down on the 2 leaders. They're now just 8 seconds behind them.

With one last climb to come after this descent, a stage win could also be on the cards for Jorgenson, as well as the GC.

Gall is back with Jorgenson and Vlasov.

Pedersen and Sheffield are growing their lead out again, to 16 seconds. That could come crashing down on the climb, though. 

It's worth mentionning that Sheffield has lept from 6th to 4th on the virtual GC, ahead of Almeida and Storer.

They're about to start climbing again.

It's a very steep one averaging 8.8%. It might only last 3.6km, but there's likely to be carnage.

COL DES QUATRE CHEMINS

Sheffield and Pedersen begin the climb, with a lead of 15 seconds.

Sheffield drops Pedersen.

Jorgenson, Vlasov and Gall catch Pedersen.

Ineos are leading the peloton. This climb is their last chance to get back into yellow jersey contention. They are 40 seconds down for now.

Pedersen has been dropped by the trio.

Lipowitz attacks

He's not managing to go clear though.

Sheffield is hanging on well here. He still has a 22 second lead on the Jorgenson group, and could hang on for the stage win.

Jorgenson's dropped!

Gall is riding away from him.

Jorgenson is visibly struggling on these steep gradients. Could the yellow jersey be back in play?

Arensman attacks out of the peloton.

10KM TO GO

Thre's 25 seconds between Jorgenson and Sheffield in the lead, and 40 seconds between Jorgenson and the peloton.

Jorgenson looks to be recovering a bit. He has Gall back in his sights. 

Lipowitz has attacked out the peloton, and gone clear this time.

Vlasov has dropped back to help pace Lipowtiz. This has been Red Bull's plan for a while, but they'd have hoped to have Jorgenson behind them, rather than ahead.

Jorgenson is back with Gall.

Jorgenson is also growing his lead to Lipowitz. It's nearing 50 seconds now.

Sheffield is over the top of the climb, with a 20 second lead over Jorgenson and Gall.

Arensman, Champoussin and Storer are with Vlasov and Lipowitz, as they reach the top of the climb.

The yellow jersey seems in the bag for Jorgenson. The big question now is who will win the stage?

It's advantage Sheffield at the moment. He has a lead of 20 seconds.

Jorgenson has ridden away from Gall on the descent.

5KM TO GO

22 seconds for Sheffield, with just 5km left to ride.

Still 22 seconds for Sheffield. The stage is his to lose.

It's not over yet - the gap's now being reported as 16 seconds.

Just 2km to go. Sheffield should be OK.

Sheffield is celebrating already!

1KM TO GO

It's still not over yet though. Sheffield has 10 seconds as he enters the final kilometre.

Sheffield's on the finishing straight now.

MAGNUS SHEFFIELD WINS THE STAGE

Now here come Jorgenson, who is smiling.

MATTEO JORGENSON WINS PARIS-NICE

Jorgenson crosses the line 2nd, to seal overall victory.

Gall comes home next for third.

Vlassov, Lipowitz, Arensman, Storer and Champoussin arrive together.

Then comes a group containing Almeida, 40 seconds later.

Here's Sheffield during his long solo attack.

Pedersen arrives home, to big cheers from the crowd. That was some performance from him today, and his reward is the points classification victory. 

Here’s what the final GC looks like, the only change being Sheffield jumping up two places:

1 Jorgenson

2 Lipowitz at 1-15

3 Arensman at 1-58

4 Sheffield at 2-17

5 Storer at 3-03

So Mateo Jorgenson defends his Paris-Nice title. Whereas last year’s victory was a surprise, this year he was one of the top favourites, and had made the race a top priority. He revealed during his post-race interview that he’s spent the last four months thinking about this race. 

The performance also confirms his status as one of the most complete riders in the peloton. He spent the weeks leading up to Paris-Nice tearing it up on cobbled climbs in the Belgian classics, and wins this race with excellent displays in the mountains, hills and crosswinds.

His overall victory is all the more impressive given how much pressure he was under. When he was left without any Visma-Lease a Bike teammates early on in the stage, he looked very vulnerable; only to simply ride everyone off his wheel with an early attack.

Here’s Jorgenson and Pedersen congratulating each other at the finish, at having won the green and yellow jerseys. Pedersen would have lost green to Jorgenson had he not gained those all-important points at the intermediate sprint, given the points picked up at the finish by Jorgenson finishing second-place. What an effort by the Dane.

Sheffield is very emotional at the finish during his post-win interview. This is his first win at World Tour level, and he’s revealing just how frustrated he’s been these past few years in his near-misses.

Thanks for joining us today, and for all of Paris-Nice. As ever it was a great race, a real war of attrition that put the riders through the wringer with horrible weather, unfortunate crashes and tough racing.