Matteo Jorgenson has claimed overall victory at Paris-Nice for the second consecutive year. The American rider from Team Visma | Lease a Bike finished second in the final stage, which ended in his hometown Nice—more than enough to secure his grip on the yellow jersey. With this victory, Jorgenson delivered his team’s seventh win of the season.
Ahead of the French stage race, Jorgenson shared team leadership with Jonas Vingegaard. However, the Dane crashed in Stage 5 and was forced to abandon the race the following day.
Jorgenson first took control of the general classification in Tuesday’s team time trial, which was won by Team Visma | Lease a Bike. The next day, he temporarily handed over the yellow jersey to teammate Vingegaard, but on Thursday, it returned to Jorgenson. Over the final weekend, the American proved he was the rightful winner of this edition of Paris-Nice.
“This is a huge relief,” Jorgenson said after sealing his overall victory. “A lot of stress has lifted off my shoulders. I’ve been focused on this race for four months, giving everything and sacrificing a lot, so it’s amazing to see it all come together.”
Jorgenson expressed pride of both himself and his team. “I have to thank my teammates for all the work they put in for me this past week. They supported me in the best way possible. We made full use of the strengths we have in this team, and I’m so happy to be part of Team Visma | Lease a Bike. I realize that every single day. To be able to say that I’ve won Paris-Nice for the second year in a row is incredible. This race means a lot to me. It’s been a fantastic week.”
“I’m really proud of the team,” said sports director Grischa Niermann. “Losing Jonas was a big disappointment, but I think we responded in the best way possible. In my opinion, Matteo is a more than deserved winner of this edition of Paris-Nice. Winning this race twice is an incredible achievement. On the flat stages, we delivered some outstanding performances, and the team gave Matteo the best possible support. He showed that he was the strongest rider in the race, and his form is clearly where it needs to be. That’s a great sign for the rest of the spring.”
