Early in the race, a six-rider leading group formed. They got a maximum lead of about five minutes. When the finish line approached, the six were quickly caught and a depleted peloton seemed to be heading for a sprint in Aubagne.

There were several attack attempts in the last ten kilometres, including one by Christophe Laporte. In the end, Burgaudeau was the only one who succeeded in creating a gap. After an exciting last kilometre, the chasers came too late and Van Aert had to settle for third.

For Van Aert, this third place meant his fifth podium finish in six stages at Paris-Nice. “We didn’t expect this scenario. We thought we would go to a sprint in a controlled way. The last little climb caused some chaos with the other teams, so there were some gaps. I felt good. It was a tough ride with a lot of wind and altimetres. I don’t think it was the legs today, but it can’t always run perfectly.”

With the final weekend approaching, Team Jumbo-Visma will do everything it can to keep classification leader Roglic in the yellow leader’s jersey. The Slovenian remains level-headed about it. “It’s the start of the season and every day is tough here. Tomorrow a tough stage awaits with a difficult climb. Hopefully, I have the legs to go with the best. I’m confident and will do my best.”