Georg Steinhauser finished Paris-Nice in third place overall and won the white jersey in the well-staffed race. Although the 24-year-old from the EF Education-EasyPost team had a considerable gap to the winner Jonas Vingegaard, he also seemed to be out of reach for the other riders. In difficult conditions on the fourth stage to Uchon, Steinhauser proved his strength and gained the decisive time on his rivals. You could say that the young German rider was very lucky that day. On the other hand: once is chance, twice is luck and three times is skill.
Decision under extreme conditions
The fourth stage laid the foundation for Steinhauser's podium finish. In pouring rain, the peloton split at a wind edge and the German was in the front group. After Juan Ayuso crashed, Steinhauser dropped back to the rear of the peloton. On the penultimate climb, he set off alone in pursuit of a Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe quintet, Jonas Vingegaard and Mathias Vacek. He rode solo for 30 kilometres, finished fifth on the day and took third place overall.
Sixth place was enough for Steinhauser on the 129.2 kilometre final stage with start and finish in Nice. Frenchman Lenny Martinez won ahead of overall winner Vingegaard. Kévin Vauquelin, the first chaser in the battle for the podium and the white jersey, could no longer pose a threat to the German.
Return after a year of illness
For Steinhauser, the podium represents the greatest stage race success since his stage win at the Giro d'Italia 2024 on the Passo Brocon. Last year, the Giro stage winner suffered a drop in performance due to a long unrecognised Lyme disease as a result of a tick bite. Knee problems set him back in the early stages of the season and he had to end the Tour of Austria prematurely. This was followed by a month-long break due to Lyme disease. Mental problems added to this.
"There are always a lot of ups and downs in cycling," said Steinhauser during the Eurosport broadcast after the final stage. "Last year I was very far down, now I'm very far up. I'm going to enjoy this as long as I can. I'm just happy." After several top ten finishes at the start of the season in Mallorca and a 22nd place in the overall standings of the UAE Tour, he celebrated his first real sense of achievement in 2026.
Prospects for the season and beyond
This almost begs the question: could there be a second German general classification rider alongside Florian Lipowitz? Steinhauser is on his team's longlist for the Tour de France. He made a strong bid at the Race to the Sun to be at the start of the Grand Boucle for the first time. A good omen in any case. Lipowitz also rode to a strong result at Paris-Nice before his magnificent result at the Tour of France, where he finished second.
The question of whether Germany has a second overall class rider in Steinhauser for the grand tours will probably be answered in the coming months. At just 24 years old, the rider from the Allgäu still has enormous development potential. He has already proven his climbing abilities at the Giro 2024, and at Paris-Nice he also showed strength in time trials and in adverse conditions. If Steinhauser takes part in the Tour de France, this could be the next step in his development. Steinhauser has what it takes to become a real asset in the battle for the overall classification in tours from a German perspective. His podium finish at Paris-Nice is more than just a comeback after a serious illness - it could be the start of a new era for German cycling.
The coming months will show whether the 24-year-old can take the next step and establish himself as a serious candidate for overall classifications in tours. He impressively demonstrated the prerequisites for this at Paris-Nice. Now Steinhauser has to prove this once again. Once is chance, twice is luck and three times is skill...
Leon Weidner
Working student
