The 2026 Paris-Nice route was unveiled on December 17, with eight days of racing featuring 1,245km of racing and 16,460 metres of elevation gain.
The route will take the peloton from Achères to Nice and features 27 classified climbs as well as a 23.5km team time trial in the middle of the race. The race runs between March 8, 2026 and March 15, 2026.
Stage 1: Achères – Carrières-sous-Poissy, 171.2km
The race opens with a hilly 171.2km challenge – a tribute to the historic French cycling race, the Polymultipliée de Chanteloup – which begins in Achères to the north-west of Paris. 1,950 metres of elevation fill out the stage, with four third-category climbs coming in the second half of the day.
The peloton will face two laps of a challenging finishing circuit in Carrières-sous-Poissy, each featuring the 1.1km, 8.3% ascent of the Côte de Chanteloupe-les-Vignes. The last of the two climbs comes 11km from the finish line, meaning a puncheur or Classics man could well use the hill to launch a bid for victory.
Stage 2: Epône – Montargis, 187km
After the tough start to the week, stage 2 offers up a chance for the sprinters to make their mark with a flat finish to the 187km stage in Montargis.
Once again, there’s climbing to be done as the race heads south. Three third-category climbs offer up more mountain classification points, though none of them are close to the finish, leaving a clear and flat run to the line for the fast finishers.
Stage 3: Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire – Pouilly-sur-Loire TTT, 23.5km
The third stage of the race figures to be the first main GC sort-out with a 23.5km team time trial, something of a rarity in modern cycling and a chance for the top teams to get some practice in ahead of the opening stage of the Tour de France in the summer.
The stage is mostly flat, but does feature 240 metres of climbing across the two small hills on the route. The run to the line is uphill, too, though only measures in at at 2.5% gradient.
Stage 4: Bourges – Uchon, 195km
Stage 4 brings the toughest day of racing yet on the road to Uchon in eastern France. 2,520 metres of climbing pack the 195km route, with much of it coming in the final 65km.
Along the way, riders will face the…
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