HE DESTROYED EVERYBODY 👏 | Men's Elite Stage 5 Paris-Nice 2026 Race Highlights | TNT Sports Cycling

At Paris-Nice it was the morning after the day before and it was all change. Bright sunshine, a change in the lead too after Jonas Vingegaard had battled the weather and the rest of the peloton to take the lead on day four. A big lead it was as well in Paris-Nice between first and third, the biggest margin over three minutes since 1956. 70 long years. 52 seconds was the lead that Vingegaard had going into this fifth stage over second-placed Dani Martínez. Stage five would follow the Rhône river all the way south. Excursions late on, 3 000 meters of climbing and the longest day of the whole Paris-Nice at 206 kilometers. This was going to be a difficult one finishing in Colombier-Le Vieux. Would it be for breakaway? Well there would be a break getaway. It takes 75 k's for it to happen though. After three non-starters, 75 k's ridden at 48 kilometers per hour, an hour and a half before five riders got up the road. Three joined them but when they got to the finale, beginning with around 38 k's to go, three classified climbs after each other, it began to break up. Cepeda from Movistar attacking, Vlasov and Prodome, other members of the break, were behind and then the peloton led by Visma Lisabike weren't too far behind. Just a minute of a gap with 36 k's to go for the Ecuadorian from Movistar. Brunar Mirai was putting in a brilliant shift in his first race with his new leader Jornas Vingegaard and the man in the yellow jersey looks set to try and do something else. The bunch was thinning out and with the gap at that minute going over the top, things were poised to happen. Cepeda was dreaming of Movistar's first Paris-Nice stage win for, well, 14 years. 2012, the last time they won. Alejandro Valverde, the man to take that but Visma had other ideas, bringing down the gap and bringing back the two other riders in Vlasov and Prodome. Then Ineos began to ride, Tarling giving his all, just one man out in front and the penultimate climb, the most difficult with 22 k's to go. It wouldn't take long, in fact not even half the climb, before Victor Campenaerts began his lead out after catching the main man up the front. Just over a kilometer from the top of the only first category climb of the day and Campenaerts leading out Jornas Vingegaard and yet again the same story. One attack and straight away there'd be a gap. That attack would put Dani Martinez in a bit of trouble. Was Jornas Vingegaard on his way to definitively winning Paris-Nice? It certainly looked like that way straight up. That gap opening up, nobody able to keep the pace with Vingegaard, the two-time Tour de France winner. The gap continued to grow. Kevin Vauquelin had tried to keep pace but couldn't. He was eyeing a spot on third, 19 seconds off the podium at the start of the day. With Steinhauser behind, he was looking good for it but Steinhauser and Dani Martinez would come back. One classified climb still remaining at this point but once he began it, with the rest looking at each other behind, Vingegaard was able to put more time into his rivals. This would be the biggest day out so far in terms of distance and climbing. The longest stage of the week and the longest attack for a while from Vingegaard. He'd gone 20 k's from the line and here with nine kilometers to go over the top, had just a descent and a climb to the finish to go. He was almost two minutes ahead by this point. Valentin Paripante would try and go ahead. He would get ahead and get well ahead of the white jersey group but ahead of the rest and on his way to victory was Vingegaard. A few strugglers and stragglers would make their way back on and that would give Oscar only an opportunity to work for Kevin Vauquelin but they weren't going to catch Paripante. This man out of the GC but looking to be best of the rest. Meanwhile at the front, the damage had been done quite a way before. Carrying a sticker of his family on his bars, thanking them in his own way and after victory in the rain the day before. Come rain or shine at Paris Nice this year, it's all about Jonas Vingegaard. Celebrations with his mates. Paripante bringing home a good second place for and an opportunity maybe for bonus seconds for Vauquelin, Steinhauser and the rest. Dani Martinez would try but not succeed. Tejada taking third place. Martinez not losing time on those behind him in the GC but everybody losing over two minutes more time to Jonas Vingegaard. Those already huge gaps growing after five days. Vingegaard winning comfortably. The top 10 looking like this. Another of those lions and a yellow jersey. The kids have got one each now to take home and Vingegaard just three days away from securing what looks like, barring incident, accident or any strange occurrence, a Barini's title. Three minutes 22 seconds the lead from first to second over five minutes. Almost six now to third place. Stage six surely one for the breakaway. Well we thought that yesterday. Who knows? It's certainly a day to repeat the route that takes them to Abt. That's where Tispinot won in 2020. Another 2 000 meters of climbing. A difficult finale again. This time 179 kilometers. Paris Nice continues on TNT Sports and Discovery Plus. Stage six will be live and on demand. We'll look forward to your company then.