The Danish bike star Jonas Vingegaard lost his overall lead on the long-distance trip Paris-Nizza after a fall.
The two-time Tour de France winner came to fall on Thursday (13.03.2025) on the fifth stage after a little more than 100 kilometers, had to change his bike and a check at the racing doctor. Then Vingegaard fought back with a bloody lip, but had to let the competition go at the short climb.
Lenny Martinez gets the stage
Serious injuries to Vingegaard were initially not evident, but the professional of Visma-Lease A Bike held his hand at the finish and was examined on the face. After his fall, he stayed in the back of the main field.
The 28-year-old could no longer follow the short climb. At the finish line, Vingegaard was 26 seconds behind winners Lenny Martinez (France/Bahrain Victorious), who prevailed with a lead of three seconds ahead of his compatriot Clément Champoussin (XDS Astana) and Vingegaard’s teammate Matteo Jorgenon.
Lipowitz again with top performance
Jorgenson also brought back the overall lead of Vingegaard. The American lies 22 seconds ahead of Vingegaard, behind it the German hopeful Florian Lipowitz (+0: 36) lurks in third place. The Ulmer from the German Rennstall Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe again showed a strong performance. Lipowitz crossed the finish line for six seconds behind Martinez, and he secured two bonus customers.
In the overall classification, the 24-year-old advanced from fourth to three, and he also conquered the white jersey for the best young professional.
Opportunity for the Sprinter
On the sixth, only slightly hilly stage, the sprinter get a renewed chance of winning. European champion Tim Merlier from Belgium won the first two flat pieces. After that, there are still two mountain stages at the “race to the sun”.