Tour de la Provence 2026 | No lavender fields yet, but a serious early-season climbing test

It is a special edition of the Tour de la Provence, as this is number ten. The event was first organised in 2016, with French hero Thomas Voeckler taking the overall win. Since then, only the 2023 edition was skipped, but the palmarès has quickly filled out with big names: Nairo Quintana, Rohan Dennis…

The last two years, Mads Pedersen was the strongest rider in Provence, but he won’t be chasing a third title this time. Not only is the 2026 route less suited to him, but more importantly, the Lidl-Trek Dane crashed heavily at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and broke his collarbone and wrist. Pedersen will now focus on rehabilitation, but there are still plenty of interesting names on the start list.

2025 Mads Pedersen
2024 Mads Pedersen
2023 Not competed
2022 Nairo Quintana
2021 Iván Ramiro Sosa
2020 Nairo Quintana
2019 Gorka Izagirre
2018 Alexandre Geniez
2017 Rohan Dennis
2016 Thomas Voeckler

For a three-day race, the Tour de la Provence follows a fairly traditional build-up. The opening stage looks like one for the fast men, but with almost 2,500 metres of climbing, it’s anything but an easy day. Even though the hardest part sits in the middle of the stage, the race could split apart early on. Game on!

Favorites
Dorian Godon (INEOS Grenadiers)
Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek)
Luke Lamperti (EF Education - EasyPost)

Times
Start: 11:30 AM
Finish: approx. 4:20 PM

If you squint a little, you might see something that looks like a trip to Mont Ventoux. But the “Giant of Provence” is skipped again this year. Montagne de Lure, however, is a very worthy alternative for the queen stage. With over 3,000 metres of elevation gain and an almost 14-kilometre final climb, this is a proper day for the lightweight climbers. A Valentine’s Day love letter to the climbers, then.

Favorites
Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM)
Laurens De Plus (INEOS Grenadiers)
Wout Poels (Unibet Rose Rockets)

Times
Start: 11:20 AM
Finish: approx. 4:20 PM

The first two stages are genuinely demanding—especially Saturday’s mountaintop finish. But the finale looks set to be a more traditional sprinters’ day again. The stage is long at 205 kilometres, yet there is not much climbing—certainly not on the run-in to Arles. In the historic city, the pure sprinters should finally get their chance.

Favorites
Alexis Renard (Cofidis)
Jason Tesson (TotalEnergies)
Dorian Godon (INEOS Grenadiers)

Times
Start: 11:30 AM
Finish: approx. 4:20 PM

So no Pedersen, who in any case would likely have struggled to survive the decisive climbing test in stage two. This year’s focus shifts to the pure climbers—and from our perspective, Matthew Riccitello stands out. The American finished fifth overall in the 2025 Vuelta a España and has since moved to Decathlon CMA CGM. With Aurélien Paret-Peintre alongside him, the 23-year-old from Tucson looks like the man to beat.

But it is far from a foregone conclusion. Laurens De Plus (INEOS Grenadiers) has strong credentials, although he hasn’t raced since the Tour de Suisse. Team-mate Carlos Rodríguez could, on paper, be even stronger, but he has been searching for form for a while. Still, if the INEOS riders hit the ground running, they can be very hard to stop. And don’t forget names like Victor Langellotti and Andrew August either.

Guillaume Martin will carry Groupama–FDJ’s hopes, but beyond him there do not appear to be many French riders who look like realistic overall contenders. That makes an international winner more likely. And why not a Dutch one? The Netherlands’ chances rely on experienced riders: what can Wout Poels (Unibet Tietema Rockets) and Bauke Mollema (Lidl-Trek) do? Mollema has Tao Geoghegan Hart as support, while Poels has a strong wildcard option at his side in Jannis Peter.

EF Education–EasyPost are likely to look at the young Darren Rafferty, while his Irish compatriot Jamie Meehan could do something interesting for Cofidis—or will it be team-mate Emanuel Buchmann? And from the continental ranks, surprises are always possible. Think Victor Guernalec (CIC Pro Cycling Academy) or Laurens Huys (Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur).

Top favorites: Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Carlos Rodríguez (INEOS Grenadiers)
Outsiders: Wout Poels (Unibet Rose Rockets), Guillaume Martin (Groupama-FDJ), Victor Langellotti (INEOS Grenadiers) and Aurélien Paret-Peintre (Decathlon CMA CGM)
Long shots: Bauke Mollema, Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek), Jannis Peter (Unibet Rose Rockets), Jamie Meehan, Emanuel Buchmann (Cofidis), Darren Rafferty (EF Education - EasyPost), Andrew August (INEOS Grenadiers), Victor Guernalec (CIC) and Laurens Huys (Nice Métropole Côte d'Azur)

Things are busy on the tube, not only with the Olympics but also the Tour of Murcia. Therefore, for the Tour de la Provence, one must switch to HBO Max. The broadcast starts every day between 2 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.