Ayuso dresses as a leader in the Paris-Nice after a team time trial won by INEOS

The team time trial of the 2026 Paris-Nice left a very close duel between several of the major teams in the peloton and had a double protagonist: INEOS Grenadiers, who took the stage victory, and Juan Ayuso, who took advantage of his team's result to become the new overall leader.

INEOS triumphs in the team time trial

The third stage of the race, a team time trial of 23.5 kilometers between Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire and Pouilly-sur-Loire, was decided by minimal margins. INEOS Grenadiers recorded the best time of the day with 26:40, winning by just 2 seconds over Lidl-Trek after a very balanced effort from their team.

The British team built their advantage on the flat sections thanks to the powerful engine of Joshua Tarling, before Kévin Vauquelin and Oscar Onley finished the job in the final part of the course, where the road slightly inclined towards the finish. The difference gained before the last climb proved decisive in securing the victory.

RECOMENDADO

SCOTT Spark RC 2026 Range: updated models, prices, and weights

Scicon presents the new Pogacar glasses: the Aeroshade 2.0 Titanium

Max Kanter surprises in the sprint and takes stage 2 of the Paris-Nice 2026

Filippo Ganna dominates the opening time trial and takes the leader's jersey in the 2026 Tirreno-Adriatico

David Valero among the top favorites for the Cape Epic 2026: dates and how to watch the "Tour de France of MTB"

Del Toro, Van der Poel, Roglic, Van Aert, Tiberi... the 2026 Tirreno-Adriatico promises excitement

Behind them, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale finished third, 11 seconds back, while Visma | Lease a Bike, one of the strongest teams in this discipline in recent editions, had to settle for fourth place, 15 seconds behind.

Ayuso takes advantage of the result to wear yellow

Although Lidl-Trek fell just short of the stage victory, the result had an important reward for Juan Ayuso. The Spaniard completed the final stretch practically alone after his team's collective effort and achieved the necessary time to become the overall leader.

Thanks to the bonuses earned in previous stages and the team's performance in the time trial, Ayuso is now 17 seconds ahead of Jonas Vingegaard, one of his main rivals for the final classification.

Significant differences among the favorites

The stage also began to mark the first differences among some contenders for the final victory.
The Visma | Lease a Bike team, which launched Vingegaard in the final kilometers, failed to get close to the best times and lost time compared to the strongest teams of the day.

In contrast, INEOS Grenadiers emerged strengthened from the day, with Vauquelin and Onley well positioned in the provisional classification after being part of the winning team.

With the overall standings still very tight, the Paris-Nice now enters a more selective phase, with stages that combine wind, broken terrain, and uphill finishes that could continue to redefine the battle for the yellow jersey.

Team time trial results (Top 5)

1. INEOS Grenadiers — 26:40
2. Lidl-Trek — +2”
3. Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale — +11”
4. Visma | Lease a Bike — +15”
5. Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe — +20”

General classification after the team time trial (Top 10)

1. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) — 8:37:02
2. Kévin Vauquelin (INEOS Grenadiers) — +2
3. Oscar Onley (INEOS Grenadiers) — +3
4. Daan Hoole (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) — +13
5. Bruno Armirail (Visma | Lease a Bike) — +17
6. Davide Piganzoli (Visma | Lease a Bike) — +17
7. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) — +17
8. Aleksandr Vlasov (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe) — +22
9. Daniel Martínez (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe) — +22
10. Laurence Pithie (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe) — +24