this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2026
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After the Marseillaise and the Star of Bessèges, we stay on the French Mediterranean border with the Tour of (the) Provence (the 'the' is there because 'the Provence' is the name of the newspaper which sponsors the race). It is again a class 1 race, but the startlist gets a bit better, and the 3 foreign WT Ineos, EF and Lidl-Trek will be there. Does it mean that the party is over for Pro Teams and Contis?
This year the format is still reduced to 3 stages but mountain comes back, with the final climb of the Mountain of Lure on stage 2 (on Saturday). It is not a very steep climb but it is long.
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Stages
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Last year, the first stage was similar (with one big climb more in the first half, and one small climb less in the second half). I thought Pedersen would do big things on that stage, but nothing happened and it ended with a rather large group sprint. And Pedersen did his big thing on the day after, on a much flatter stage which I believed would 100% end in a sprint...
So I don't know about this year 😀
Well, the 3^rd^ stage will normally be a sprint, either a mass sprint, or a group sprint if the wind creates echelons in the Rhône valley (last 50 km).
The 2^nd^ is a mountain finish, so it shall determine the GC winner among climbers and rouleurs-climbers.
Remains the 1^st^ one. If I repeat my thoughts like last year, I would say it is either for a breakaway of small riders (here, small == without a chance for GC == cannot climb at all), or for punchers. But having learned my lesson, I will add that unless some big rider/team is really wanting to make a mess of this stage, as it is the first stage and all sprinters and their teams will be fresh, they have the ressource to neutralise the race in order to have a sprint in the end.