Colombian climber Harold Tejada attacked 4.5 kilometres from the finish in Apt on Friday to win the sixth stage of the Paris-Nice cycling race as Jonas Vingegaard retained a comfortable lead.
Vingegaard, who rides for Visma-Lease a Bike, holds a 3min 22sec lead over Colombian Dani Martinez of Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe heading into the last two days, but Saturday’s stage to Auron in the Alps could be curtailed by bad weather.
“They’re forecasting a lot of snow. We’d all like to reach the summit, but maybe it’s just not possible,” said Vingegaard.
On Friday, Lenny Martinez attacked on the final climb, but Tejada, who had chased on after mechanical issues, counter-attacked over the summit.
He held off the Frenchman on the descent to the finish line in Apt at the end of a 179.3 km stage from Berbentane, south of Avignon.
“I’m very grateful to my teammates because I had a lot of problems with my bike,” Tejada said at the finish.
He said Astana team manager Alexander Vinokourov, a former Paris-Nice winner, “advised me to be ready to jump over the top of the climb and on the downhill that followed and that’s exactly what I did”.
The 28-year-old gained only his second career win as he finished six seconds clear of Frenchman Dorian Godon of Ineos at the head of a charging pack of sprinters.
Tejada’s only previous victory was in the Tour of Colombia two years ago.
“It’s my first WorldTour win and it’s taken a lot of patience and perseverance to get here,” he said. “I even had time to give a proper victory salute.”
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Vingegaard has the race won before the final two stages. The weather could help him by drawing the teeth from Saturday’s stage, a 138.7km run from Nice planned to end with a climb to the ski station at Auron.
Paris-Nice is nicknamed the “Race to the Sun” but regularly transforms into the “Race to the Rain”.
In 2023, a stage was cancelled due to wind. The following year, the Saturday finish in Auron was moved to the Madone d’Utelle. For last year’s stage to Auron, won in the snow by Australian Michael Storer, a climb of the Col de la Colmiane was removed at the last minute.
For the past two days, the sun has warmed the peloton. But on Wednesday, riders had to contend with appalling conditions on the road to Uchon, with torrential rain, temperatures barely above freezing, and a terrible crosswind.
“It’s part of cycling, you have to accept it even if it’s difficult,” said Vingegaard, who seized control in Wednesday’s rain, swaddled in extra layers of clothing.
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