Jonas Vingegaard tears competitors apart on final climb to extend gap in yellow jersey

Jonas Vingegaard was in superb form on Thursday afternoon
Jonas Vingegaard was in superb form on Thursday afternoonCredit: Nico Vereecken / PsnewZ / Profimedia

Jonas Vingegaard claimed his second win in two days when he won the 5th stage of the Paris-Nice from Cormoranche-sur-Saône to Colombier-le-Vieux (205,4 km) as he broke away 21 km from the finish line to ride home alone at the 7.6% Côte de Saint-Barthelemy le Plain climb in front of Valentin Paret-Peintre and Harold Tejada.

The Dane showed impressive strength as he attacked with 21km to go en route to Colombier-le-Vieux, as he exploded away from the peloton and rode towards the summit of the second of a trio of finishing mountains. 

Vingegaard had plenty of energy to smile and wave at cameras as he approached the finish at the top of the steadier ascent of Colombier le Vieux. Vingegaard won the race with an advantage of nearly two minutes ahead of Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal-QuickStep),

Vingegaard began the day with a GC advantage of 52 seconds, and now leads the race by 3:22 ahead of Dani Martínez (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe).

"I really wanted to win today, and so did the team. They did an amazing job," said Vingegaard afterwards. 

"They made sure there was a good group out in the front, and then they kept the gap very short. We wanted to win and take as much time as possible, and once again, thanks to my teammates, they deserve the champagne tonight."

It was sweet revenge for Vingegaard as he rode to victory on the same road where he crashed dramatically last year, forcing him to abandon the race while he was in the yellow jersey. 

"It's nice to take revenge now, and to win here on such a beautiful day, the weather is beautiful, and it's been an amazing day for the team and me. For sure, it's not over; there are still three stages left, a lot can happen, but we just have to stay focused until Nice."

Friday's sixth stage will take the rides 179.2km from Barbentane to Apt, ahead of the finale at the weekend.