Place Name: Avenue De La Tuilerie
Address: 37 Avenue De La Tuilerie, 58150 Pouilly-sur-Loire, France
Details: March 10, 2026
This edition of Paris-Nice doesn't have the defining summit finish that will split the GC wide open, so today's Team Time Trial may end up being the most important stage of the week. At 23.5KM, the course runs along the Loire River Valley, heading upstream, through the wine growing AOC of Pouilly sur Loire. There is an intermediate time check after 14KM in Saint-Laurent l'Abbaye. The route is very flat but there is a 1KM gentle slope a few kilometers after the time check that rises at around 4%. It may not sound like a lot, but at this point in their effort, the riders will be on their limit and if someone pulls a little too hard on the front, it could ripple through the group and cohesion could be lost. With a TTT in the Tour de France this year, the rehearsal today is critical in dialing in the fine details before the big show in July. A key change to the rules for this TTT as well as the Tour de France is that the first person from each team to cross the line will set the time for the team and themselves. They no longer need four riders to be present which will make the pacing plan slightly different than historical TTT's.
The first team off the ramp to watch closely was UAE-XRG. They started well but shortly after the time check, they had broken apart and were ragged as riders were yelling to get reorganized. Near the finish, they were down to just Marc Soler and Brandon McNulty. The pair managed to cross the line together to set the best time at 27 minutes 17 seconds but there were still more than half of teams yet to finish.
Visma-Lease a Bike were first to beat UAE-XRG at the intermediate check, setting the best provisional time at that point by 3 seconds. By the finish, they had extended their margin to 21 seconds to take the hot seat with Jonas Vingegaard crossing the line first.
The first team to beat Visma-Lease a Bike at the intermediate check was Decathlon CMA CGM who raised the benchmark by 7 seconds. The French squad lost all but Daan Hoole with 5KM still to go and their effort looked to be completely miscalculated. Hoole has been on incredible form lately but his ride in the last 5KM was incredible. As Hoole crossed the line, the ticker was still green by 4 seconds, giving Decathlon CMA CGM the provisional stage lead.
Lidl-Trek started hot and came into the intermediate check 2 seconds quicker than Decathlon CMA CGM. As with many of the teams, the second half of the stage for Lidl-Trek was attritional with numerous riders dropping off in quick succession. They had Mathias Vacek however in the last kilometer and he was pivotal for Juan Ayuso. Ayuso sprinted to the line in the saddle for the last 400M to set the fastest time by over 8 seconds.
The last of the stage contenders to set off was Ineos. Carlos Rodríguez was the first to drop, just 7 minutes into their effort, which ended any hope the Spaniard had of riding GC this week. They arrived at the intermediate check 12 seconds faster than Lidl-Trek. Josh Tarling was the powerhouse and hauled Oscar Onley and Kévin Vauquelin through the final few kilometers. Onley started to lose the wheel but Vauquelin had just enough energy left to accelerate to the line and stop the clock 2 seconds quicker than Lidl-Trek to take the top spot.
After EF-Education EasyPost crossed the line to wrap up the stage, times were calculated and the win went to Ineos with an average speed of 52.875KM/HR. Lidl-Trek finished with the second best time 2 seconds down with Decathlon CMA CGM in third at 11 seconds.
As expected, the GC got a major shake-up. Courtesy of the bonus seconds Juan Ayuso has picked up, he now leads the GC by 2 seconds on Kévin Vauquelin and 3 seconds to Oscar Onley of Ineos. Here is the standing of pre-race GC favorites further down the board:
Jonas Vingegaard at 17 seconds, Aleksandr Vlasov at 22 seconds, Alex Baudin at 25 seconds, Brandon McNulty at 39 seconds, Ewen Costiou at 43 seconds, Nicolas Prodhomme at 51 seconds, and Lenny Martinez at 1 minute 6 seconds.
Tags: Paris-Nice, 2026, Paris-Nice 2026, Stage 3, March, TTT, Cosne-Cours-Sur-Loire, Pouilly-Sur-Loire, Daan Hoole, Juan Ayuso, Josh Tarling, Oscar Onley, Kévin Vauquelin