Vingegaard falls and loses yellow jersey at Paris-Nice!

Vingegaard falls and loses yellow jersey at Paris-Nice!

On the fifth stage of the prestigious Paris-Nizza bike race, a dramatic event occurred when the top favorite Jonas Vingegaard fell and lost his yellow jersey of the overall leader. The Dane complained on Thursday at the crunchy climb to the Côte-Saint-André about pain on the wrist and a laceration on the lip. During the demanding increase of 1.7 kilometers with an average slope of 10.8 percent, he lost 26 seconds to the French stage winner Lenny Martinez. As a result, Vingegaard's teammate Matteo Jorgenson took over the overall lead and is 22 seconds ahead of him, while the German Florian Lipowitz finished 36 seconds behind Jorgenson, as the krone reported.

The Vingegaard defeat was the highlight of a week full of challenges for the Danish professional. Already in the fourth stage, which was interrupted due to snowfall and hail, he showed weaknesses. Despite a second place behind the Portuguese João Almeida, Vingegaard was dissatisfied with his performance and expressed: "I am extremely disappointed because I also targeted the stage victory." The weather -related difficulties led the race to be stopped at short notice, which also strained the driver's reserves while waiting for the resumption. Almeida took the chance and overtook Vingegaard shortly before the finish. These events not only ensured chaos in the race, but also a clear reader in the overall ranking, such as the Tageblatt reported.

With the new setback, the Dane is now forced to rethink its tactics for the upcoming stages, while the field continues to fight hard for the best places. The sixth stage could be the key to show whether Vingegaard is on the way back to the top or whether he will suffer further setbacks. The competition is strong and the time ticks against him.