Matteo Jorgenson moved past the finish line on the sun-kissed Promenade des Anglais as he captured his second consecutive overall win at Paris-Nice.
At 25, the American demonstrated his growth as an outstanding rider, confirming that he is set to become one of Visma-Lease a Bike’s main contenders in the future, possibly even in a Grand Tour.
However, a lot of his success came from his team. Jorgenson took the race lead after the stage 3 team time trial, where Visma-Lease a Bike won by 14 seconds over Jayco-AlUla. Then, on stage 6, with 60km to go, Visma launched a powerful attack in the wind, breaking up the peloton and leaving all but two of his closest rivals behind.
Only 16 riders stayed in the lead group, with João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates–XRG) struggling in the wind and finishing 1:54 behind Jorgenson, almost 4 minutes behind by the end.
Jorgenson finished 1:15 ahead of second-place Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe), with Thymen Arensman of INEOS Grenadiers in third, 1:58 seconds behind.
Moreover, INEOS’ Magnus Sheffield won the final stage, 29 seconds ahead of Jorgenson. This was Sheffield’s first World Tour win and added to a strong week for the British team, which seems to be recovering from a rough patch.
Aiming for a Grand Tour
According to Jorgenson, this win had strengthened his desire to race in and win a Grand Tour. The athlete said: “It’s something I’ve thought a lot about during the off-season… Last year, the team asked if I wanted to race a Grand Tour as a leader, and now it’s a goal in my career. Before, it felt almost impossible. I never thought I could win Paris-Nice, and now I’ve won it twice. It’s time to set the bar higher. I can’t say I’m capable of winning a Grand Tour, but I at least want to try.”
Sharing his win on social media, the athlete expressed: “2 for 2 🦅”
View this post on Instagram