Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar wins Paris-Nice in dominant style

Tadej Pogacar won a third stage of the Paris-Nice race on Sunday to take a crushing overall victory in his first entry to the prestigious stage race

The Slovenian got his second victory in a row at Paris-Nice and seals overall victory ahead of Gaudu and Vingegaard after an incredible solo performance on Col d’Eze.

The Slovenian, a double Tour de France winner, finished alone on the Riviera town's iconic Promenade des Anglais on stage 8, bowing to the crowds as he crossed the line, with Frenchman David Gaudu ending second overall and Jonas Vingegaard in third.

Two-time former Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar climbed to the overall lead of Paris-Nice after an impressive performance in Wednesday's stage 4. Last year's Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard was dropped by Pogacar on the final climb up to La Loge des Gardes ski resort.

In calmer conditions on the penultimate day on stage 7, Pogacar made another statement on the race and the season as he fought off Frenchman Gaudu and Dane Vingegaard on the final climb. Riding up Col de la Couilloule, with a summit finish at 1 678m, Pogacar edged his two closest rivals with Gaudu ending two seconds behind and Jumbo-Visma's Vingegaard a further six.

Pogacar's final result on Sunday is a 53 second lead over David Gaudu in second place. He takes 1m 39s over Jonas Vinegaard in third.

VIDEO: 2023 Paris-Nice Stage 7

2023 Paris-Nice Final Classification

1  POGACAR Tadej UAE Team Emirates 24:01:38
2  GAUDU David Groupama - FDJ 0:53
3  VINGEGAARD Jonas Jumbo-Visma 1:39
4  YATES Simon Team Jayco AlUla 2:14
5  MÄDER Gino Bahrain - Victorious 2:56
6  POWLESS Neilson EF Education-EasyPost 3:17
7  BARDET Romain Team DSM 3:19
8  JORGENSON Matteo Movistar Team ,,
9  SIVAKOV Pavel INEOS Grenadiers 4:05
10  HAIG Jack Bahrain - Victorious 4:56

2023 Paris-Nice Stage 7 Top 10

1  POGACAR Tadej UAE Team Emirates 2:51:02
2  VINGEGAARD Jonas Jumbo-Visma 0:33
3  GAUDU David Groupama - FDJ 0:33
4  YATES Simon Team Jayco AlUla 0:33
5  JORGENSON Matteo Movistar Team 0:33
6  POWLESS Neilson EF Education-EasyPost 0:43
7  SIVAKOV Pavel INEOS Grenadiers 0:43
8  BARDET Romain Team DSM 0:43
9  HAIG Jack Bahrain - Victorious 0:43
10  MÄDER Gino Bahrain - Victorious 0:43