Ineos Grenadiers Dominate in Pouilly-sur-Loire

Ineos Grenadiers delivered a commanding performance in the stage 3 team time trial at Paris-Nice, finishing in 26 minutes and 40 seconds. Lidl-Trek secured second place, trailing by a mere 2.5 seconds, while Decathlon CMA CGM completed the podium, nine seconds behind the winning team.

Ayuso Claims Yellow Jersey

The strong showing by Lidl-Trek was enough to elevate Juan Ayuso to the top of the general classification. Adding to his position, Ayuso collected four bonus seconds on stage 2, contributing to his overall lead.

Lidl-Trek’s Time Trialling Prowess

Lidl-Trek showcased a formidable time trialling lineup, featuring three national champions: Mathias Vacek (Czechia), Jakob Söderqvist (Sweden) and Toms Skujiņš (Latvia). Lennard Kämna, Julien Bernard, and Søren Kragh Andersen also contributed to the team’s effort, working to deliver Ayuso to the finish line.

Looking Ahead: Stage 4 and the Tour de France

The result holds significance beyond Paris-Nice, serving as a key preparation for the opening stage team time trial of this year’s Tour de France in Barcelona. With challenging weather conditions – including crosswinds, rain, and cold temperatures – forecast for stage 4, maintaining the race lead will require continued teamwork from Lidl-Trek.

Key Quotes

“I think it’s a bit more the first — disappointment to not win the stage. We were really motivated this morning and we really thought it was possible to win. When we’re two seconds down it hurts, the guys deserved to win today. It’s bike racing and there was just a stronger team out there, congrats to them.”

Juan Ayuso

“I think we did a really good job, we worked hard in the winter, also before coming to this race we trained a lot together for days like today. I think we have really good chemistry, we knew how to pace every moment in the course, especially on the climbs, and I think the last part we did really well — the team did a really good lead out for me.”

Juan Ayuso

“It all adds up, those four seconds are a good advantage but here in Paris-Nice things can change quickly, tomorrow I think there will be quite bad weather and it’s going to be a really hard stage. On an effort so explosive and short like this one, it’s hard to say how the legs are compared to the long stage tomorrow, and for sure it’s going to be cold, rain, crosswinds, a bit of everything. It’s a quite different type of effort, but I think my shape overall is good.”

Juan Ayuso

FAQ

• Who won stage 3 of Paris-Nice 2026? Ineos Grenadiers won the stage 3 team time trial.
• Who is the current leader of Paris-Nice 2026? Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) is the current race leader.
• How far was the team time trial? The team time trial covered a distance of 23.5 kilometers.