Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) heavily criticised the opening stage of Paris-Nice on Sunday, describing it as "unworthy" of WorldTour level after multiple late-race crashes marred the finale. Luke Lamperti (EF Education-EasyPost), meanwhile, sprinted to victory and claimed the first yellow jersey of the 84th edition.
“It was stressful, I would say. There was a lot of stress out there, and luckily, we made it through safely out there," said the two-time Tour de France winner in an interview with Danish TV channel TV2 after the stage. "There were a lot of crashes today. I just hope everyone is okay. It was my first race day this year, and I’m thinking a little bit that I hope that all race days aren’t going to be like this, because then it would be terrible.”
The opening stage of the 'race to the sun' followed the usual pattern of a breakaway forming, while tricky roads of Northern France causing issues for the riders. It is not uncommon to see multiple crashes in Paris-Nice's early stages, but some of the biggest names found themselves caught out, including Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) and Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious).
Vingegaard finished safely in the peloton, avoiding time losses. The Dane's post-race criticism centred on poor road surfaces and dangerous urban obstacles in the closing kilometres, conditions he argued should not feature in the highest tier of professional racing. His teammate Axel Zingle placed ninth, though Vingegaard's public criticism suggested frustration within the Visma camp.
The Dane went on to say “Maybe I’m getting old. I don’t know. But I talked to some people out there, and they said that fortunately not all races have been like this. I hope the rest of the week won’t be like that either.”
Vingegaard's comments feed into a broader pattern of rider complaints about finish design and safety standards in early-season WorldTour racing, where urban circuits can introduce hazards that riders believe organisers and the UCI should design out before ratifying a course.
Neither ASO, the race organiser, nor the UCI had publicly responded to the criticism by Monday morning.
Cover image credit: A.S.O./Billy Ceusters
