Race leader Juan Ayuso forced to abandon Stage 4 of Paris-Nice after crash, drops yellow jersey to Jonas Vingegaard
Published 11/03/2026 at 16:02 GMT
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There was carnage during Stage 4 of the Paris-Nice race as leader Juan Ayuso was forced to withdraw after suffering a crash. In wet and windy conditions, Ayuso hit the tarmac hard and, although he tried to continue, the Spaniard was eventually seen falling to the ground by the road and receiving medical attention. Jonas Vingegaard would go on to win Stage 4 and take the yellow jersey off Ayuso.
Crash forces Ayuso to abandon after leading Stage 4 - 'He's not looking good'
Video credit: TNT Sports
Paris-Nice leader Juan Ayuso was forced to abandon Stage 4 of the race after a crash midway through.
With under 50 kilometres remaining of the race from Bourges to Uchon, Ayuso and other riders were seen tumbling to the tarmac.
And although Ayuso attempted to get back onto his bike and get back into the race, the Spaniard was in clear pain.
Minutes later, he stopped cycling and collapsed on the side of the road, and was seen receiving medical attention. The 23-year-old was ruled out shortly afterwards.
Ivan Romeo and Brandon McNulty were also involved in the crash.
Ayuso, who is riding his first Paris-Nice, was until that point enjoying the first day he started as the overall race leader.
The Lidl-Trek rider had earned the lead thanks to the Stage 3 team time trial on Tuesday, but in rainy conditions in Stage 4, Ayuso was forced to withdraw.
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Highlights: Ayuso sprints to overall victory with final stage triumph
Video credit: TNT Sports
Ahead of Stage 4, Ayuso spoke about what it meant to him to wear the yellow jersey.
"It’s nice to wear this jersey. It would have been nicer to only put it on, and not five extra layers (for the weather)," he said.
"But it is what is. There will be differences today, and that can go either way, so I hope I can defend the jersey and have an opportunity in the finale.
"The whole stage is going to be hard, starting with the rain and crosswinds. And then we head into up and down terrain. It will be a really hard finale, especially the last kilometre, so there will be differences."
This year’s Paris-Nice has been blighted by crashes so far, and Ayuso narrowly avoided his own in Stage 2, using an unconventional method to stay on his bike.
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Highlights: Tarling leads Ineos to TTT triumph
Video credit: TNT Sports
With riders falling down in front of him, Ayuso briefly went off-road to swerve the carnage and keep himself in the race.
"I went farming today, I avoided a crash by going into the grass, so I managed to save that one," Ayuso told Danish TV channel TV2.
Ayuso is seen as one of the up-and-coming stars of the cycling world, having won two individual stages in La Vuelta and a stage in the Giro d’Italia last year.
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Earlier this year, he was the general classification winner of the Volta ao Algarve.
Jonas Vingegaard would go onto win Stage 4 after a late charge saw the Dane take the lead. With the win, Vingegaard takes the yellow jersey off of Ayuso.
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