Godon shines his light on Isola
March 14 th 2026 - 15:19
Dorian Godon made the most of a shortened stage 7 of Paris-Nice 2026 to take his first victory with Ineos Grenadiers. The French national champion unleashed his raw power on the uphill finish in Isola, after 47 kilometres on a route redesigned due to the harsh weather conditions, with snow at altitude and heavy rains in the valley. Biniam Girmay (NSN) and Cees Bol (Decathlon CMA CGM) complete the day’s top 3. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) survived another day with the leader’s yellow and white jersey and heads into the final stage around Nice with a strong margin on Dani Martinez (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost).
As the peloton of the Race to the Sun head into the final weekend of this 84th edition, the weather conditions are not favourable, so much so that the course has to be adapted. Originally scheduled to reach the Auron ski resort, at an altitude of 1,614 metres, the stage is set to finish in Isola-Village. The start is also moved to Le Broc, making it a 47-kilometre route on the eve of the final stage in Nice. 110 riders sign on during the team presentation on the Promenade des Anglais before getting on the team buses to reach the new start.
As soon as the flag drops, Visma-Lease a Bike drive the bunch. Victor Campenaerts, Bruno Armirail, Edoardo Affini and Wilco Kelderman take turns at the front, while Axel Zingle follows Jonas Vingegaard’s wheel. After a dozen kilometres of racing, Tim Marsman (Alpecin-Premier Tech) sets off.
The tall Dutchman pushes his advantage to a maximum of 15 kilometres, halfway through the stage, before being reeled in by the bunch just inside the last 10 kilometres. Nicolya Vinokurov (XDS Astana) counter-attacks with 7 kilometres to go but he’s rapidly reeled in as the peloton set a bunch sprint in Isola.
A couple of crashes disrupt the finale, but not the Ineos Grenadiers train. French national champion Dorian Godon takes off inside the last 200 metres and powers to his first victory with the British team, ahead of Biniam Girmay (NSN) and Cees Bol (Decathlon CMA CGM).
