Jonas Vingegaard secured his first Paris-Nice title on Sunday, despite being pipped in a sprint finish by Frenchman Lenny Martinez on the final stage. The two-time Tour de France winner had already claimed two stages in the eight-day race but left his charge too late in the two-up sprint after the pair broke away on the final climb.
Vingegaard attacked 21km from the finish on the hilly 145km stage from Nice to Nice, with only Martinez able to follow. The Dane crested the final climb first to seal the king of the mountains competition, but Martinez launched his sprint early and Vingegaard could not overhaul him. 'Today was almost the perfect day,' Vingegaard said. 'Of course I would have loved to win the stage as well but Lenny was very strong so he deserves to win.'
Vingegaard's overall winning margin of 4 minutes 23 seconds was the largest since 1939, according to organisers. With three victories from his first eight racing days this season, he is in fine form ahead of his attempt at a Giro d'Italia-Tour de France double. The Colombian Harold Tejada took third on the stage, seven seconds back, while fellow Colombian Dani Martínez, who crashed 50km from the finish, limited his losses to preserve second overall.
Meanwhile, Isaac del Toro won the Tirreno-Adriatico on Sunday, his second stage-race victory of the season, as Jonathan Milan claimed another sprint win. Del Toro finished 40 seconds ahead of Matteo Jorgenson, with Giulio Pellizzari dropping to third. The 22-year-old also secured the points and youth jerseys after a tough week in central Italy.
