Grenadiers and Ayuso fire on all cylinders
March 10 th 2026 - 17:19
The team time trial on day 3 of Paris–Nice 2026 produced an exhilarating battle for stage victory in Pouilly‑sur‑Loire and for the top places in the overall standings. Ineos Grenadiers made the most of their power and tactics to dominate the 23.5 km course, propelling Kévin Vauquelin to the finish in 26’40’’ (52.9 km/h). Oscar Onley crossed the line just one second behind, while Lidl–Trek’s Juan Ayuso finished two seconds back. Having earned four bonus seconds on day 2, Ayuso is the new overall leader of Paris–Nice 2026, and will be the first Spaniard to wear the yellow‑and‑white jersey since Luis Leon Sánchez in 2018, a year that eventually saw Marc Soler turn the race upside down on the final day. The GC battle is now well and truly on, and it will continue Wednesday with a brutal summit finish in Uchon.
After two thrilling sprint finales dominated by Luke Lamperti and Max Kanter, the GC battle for Paris-Nice 2026 is set to begin with today’s team time trial from Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire to Pouilly-sur-Loire (23.5km).
The event uses a format tried and tested on the roads of Paris-Nice, which will also serve as an opener to the Tour de France 2026, in Barcelona. The organisers revamped a traditional exercise, mixing collective performance and individual brilliance for a more tactical battle.
The stage standings are established with the time of each team’s best rider. For the general classification, riders who finish with the first rider from their team will be credited with the same times. Others will have their own time. It’s all about which team can best propel their leader to a strong time at the finish.
Early times
Picnic PostNL are the first on course, rapidly followed by Jayco AlUla, who set the first benchmark at the finish: 27’37’’ (51.0km/h). But the Australian team is overtaken by Groupama-FDJ United, who complete the course at an average speed of 51.5 km/h.
It’s not enough to hold off the last two riders from UAE Team Emirates XRG, Brandon McNulty and Marc Soler, who finish as a duo with an advantage of 4 seconds. However, their performance is not enough to repeat the feat of 2024, when the American took the leader's jersey at the end of the team time trial in Auxerre.
Hoole’s solo effort
The Visma-Lease a Bike armada is expected to put on a show and is well positioned to do so, improving on the UAE's time by 21 seconds. The Dutch team finish with four riders, led by Jonas Vingegaard alongside Bruno Armirail, Davide Piganzoli and Victor Campenaerts.
Their performance is promising, but they are unable to match that of Decathlon-CMA CGM, who set the best intermediate time at km 14, seem to fall apart at the end of the course but count on Daan Hoole, who is clearly strong and confident. The Dutch champion rides solo for the last five kilometres, and still manages to beat Visma by 4 seconds. All this after an attempted attack in the final stretch of Montargis, which failed in the last kilometre!
Ayuso vs Grenadiers
Hoole’s impressive effort is not enough to resist Lidl-Trek. The American team makes the most of his many powerhouses - Mathias Vacek, Soren Kragh Andersen, Jakob Söderqvist… - to propel Juan Ayuso to the finish with a time of 26’42’’, 9 seconds ahead of Decathlon CMA CGM.
Lidl-Trek impressed collectively, but so do Ineos Grenadiers. The British team are 13’’ faster than their USA rivals at km 14. The gap decreases in the second part, and Kevin Vauquelin eventually clocks a time of 26’40’’, with Oscar Onley on his wheel. That’s enough to take the stage. But not for the yellow and white jersey, as Ayuso earned four bonus seconds on stage 2! The Spaniard is the overall leader ahead of the climbing challenges of Paris-Nice 2026.
