Doubts among the men, but Visma | Lease a Bike prepares for the battle with Ferrand-Prévot: "It's quite easy to train"

First up is Verhaeren, who, as Head of Coaching, appeared satisfied with the route the organization rolled out for 2026. The Tour starts in Switzerland, lasts nine days, offers opportunities for sprinters and punchers, includes a 21-kilometer time trial, and the climb up Mont Ventoux. We are familiar with the final day of Paris-Nice, which starts and finishes in the southern French coastal city.

“It’s a super nice route,” exclaimed Ferrand-Prévot, who spectacularly won the overall classification last summer. “It’s going to be beautiful, and I really like it. I’m already excited to work hard towards defending my title. Finishing in Nice is fantastic. It means a lot to me, since I live in the area. I know the roads extremely well, which is an advantage.”

Where the Frenchwoman laid the groundwork for her 2025 Tour victory with a perfectly prepared attack on the Madeleine, Ferrand-Prévot predicts a similar run-up to 2026. You can bet she will be familiar with every inch of Mont Ventoux, which will be climbed on day seven. “Mont Ventoux is also climb I’ve done many times” she added.

“It’s actually quite easy for me to train there and to get to know the climb even better,” she continued. “I think it’s great to have a time trial, especially in this region. I know the area quite well, riding through the vineyards is amazing. I’m really happy about that stage and looking forward to it. I’m ready to put in the work on the time trial.”

Team manager Rutger Tijssen calls it a “complete Tour,” which, with 19,000 meters of climbing, is tougher than ever. The Ventoux will make the difference, according to Thijssen, perhaps even tougher than this year's Madeleine. "We need to take a step forward here, also with Pauline. It’s very trainable, and Pauline has shown that she can make great strides when she sets her mind to something.”

That was also Verhaeren's opinion. "Pauline is definitely going for second place. She is French and a real star here. She also really enjoyed the Tour this year, so she is hungry for more. She never doubted whether she wanted to do the whole thing a second or maybe even a third time. Pauline is very good at choosing her goals, as we have seen this year."