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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Weather forecast for stage 3 (last one):
Light wind from North-North-West, no rain, around 10°C
I suppose that Ineos will try to create echelons in the last 50 km to bring Rodriguez🇪🇸 and/or Rivera🇨🇴 to GC victory by dropping Ricitello🇺🇸.
They lead the peloton on the first day; today of course they were the strongest in the climb; I imagine they have the manpower to do it; they usually have the know-how (although I am not sure the riders present here have it). But the forecasted wind seems weak after 14:00, 10 to 20km/h – which is unusual for the area; also it looks too much in the axis of the route: it presents either as a front wind or as a tail wind, with little angle.
Anyway, I suppose that Décathlon will be nervous about protecting Ricitello🇺🇸 in the whole last 50 km.