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2026 Le Tour de la Provence (2.1), France

February 13 - 15, 2026

Tour de la Provence podium history | 2025 edition | Start list
Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3

Overall map of the 2026 Tour of Provence.

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Sunday, February 15: 3rd & Final Stage, Rognac - Arles, 205.1 km

Stage 3 map & profile

Stage winner Axel Laurance solos across the finish line.

Bill & Carol McGann’s book The Story of the 2024 Tour de France: The Happy Warrior Triumphs is available print, Kindle eBook and audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the link on the right.

Weather at the finish city of Arles at 2:30 PM, local time: 10C (50F), sunny, with the wind from the north-northwest at 16 km/hr (11 mph). There is just a 4% chance of rain.

The race: Here's the report from stage winner Axel Laurence's Team INEOS Grenadiers.

Axel Laurance claimed a rousing solo victory on the final day of Tour de La Provence, as Carlos Rodriguez and Brandon Rivera secured overall podium finishes.

Laurance finished off a gutsy breakaway ride in fine style, powering clear in the final kilometre to secure his first win as an INEOS Grenadiers rider.

Part of an initial nine-man move, Laurance kept his cool on the run-in to go clear alongside Daniel Arnes (Van Rysel Roubaix), before launching a well-timed acceleration on the final roundabout. With a four-second victory margin, the Frenchman was able to enjoy the moment on home soil.

The peloton arrived 14 seconds later, with Rodriguez and Rivera finishing safely to cement second and third overall. The foundations were laid on Saturday’s queen stage, with Carlos finishing just four bonus seconds back on victor Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM). For Rivera, third represents one of the best GC results of his career as he continues a strong start to 2026.

For Laurance, the stage victory arrived following a tense run into Arles, which saw the peloton get close, but ultimately fall short in its chase. Not only did Laurance, Rodriguez and Rivera visit the podium, they were also joined by the rest of their teammates following a commanding victory in the Team Classification.

The final GC podium, from left: Carlos Rodriguez (2nd), Matthew Riccitello (1st), & Brandon Rivera (3rd).

After his victory, Laurance said: "It's really nice. It's been a really long time since my last win. Last year I think I was close a lot of times but it never happened. This year it was really my goal to raise the hand again. To do it in my first race is really nice, and especially also for the team. I feel really good here and I'm really happy to get this win.

"Already everybody in the breakaway was telling me that I was the strongest and the fastest. Nobody wanted to finish with me, so I was like okay, it's going to be a really hard one to win. But I just believed in myself and I waited and went more at the back. I saw an attack and I just went as hard as I could from the back.

"In the final I went left for the roundabout and then I saw that the group was coming back. So I let [Arnes] go first and then I went on the right side. I made my attack there, so it was really a surprise for him I think. I just went all-in until the finish. I think in this kind of breakaway everybody thinks I'm the fastest, but I need to find another solution to win."

Complete results:

205.1 kilometers raced at an average speed of 45.858 km/hr

1	Axel Laurance	INEOS Grenadiers	4hr 28:min 21sec
2	Maxime Jarnet	Van Rysel-Roubaix	@ 4sec
3	Lorrenzo Manzin	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
4	Victor Loulergue	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
5	Simon Carr	Cofidis	s.t.
6	Clément Davy	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
7	Sam Oomen	Lidl-Trek	s.t.
8	Jannis Peter	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
9	Daniel Årnes	Van Rysel-Roubaix	0:14
10	Tobias Müller	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
11	Mathias Vacek	Lidl-Trek	s.t.
12	Anthony Turgis	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
13	Jérémy Lecroq	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
14	Luke Lamperti	EF Education-EasyPost	s.t.
15	Alexander Konijn	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
16	Clément Champoussin	XDS Astana Development	s.t.
17	Aurélien Paret-Peintre	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
18	Alexis Renard	Cofidis	s.t.
19	Dorian Godon	INEOS Grenadiers	s.t.
20	Cedrik Bakke Christophersen	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
21	Filippo Ridolfo	Team Novo Nordisk	s.t.
22	Matteo Scalco	XDS Astana Development	s.t.
23	Tommaso Bessega	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
24	Nicolas Breuillard	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
25	Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
26	Tom Mainguenaud	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
27	Axel Mariault	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
28	Artem Fofonov	XDS Astana Development	s.t.
29	Julien Bernard	Lidl-Trek	s.t.
30	Gustav Wang	XDS Astana Development	s.t.
31	Francisco Muñoz	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
32	Kévin Avoine	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
33	Baptiste Gillet	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
34	Matthew Riccitello	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
35	Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
36	Victor Langellotti	INEOS Grenadiers	s.t.
37	Edoardo Zamperini	Cofidis	s.t.
38	Brandon Rivera	INEOS Grenadiers	s.t.
39	Wout Poels	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
40	Nicola Marcerou	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
41	Alessandro Verre	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	s.t.
42	Oliver Naesen	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
43	Jamie Meehan	Cofidis	s.t.
44	Carlos Rodriguez	INEOS Grenadiers	s.t.
45	Colin Savioz	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
46	Mathis Le Berre	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
47	Mathias Sunekær Norsgaard	Lidl-Trek	s.t.
48	Victor Papon	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
49	Jaakko Hänninen	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
50	Rémi Capron	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
51	Thomas Pesenti	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
52	Pierre-Henry Basset	XDS Astana Development	s.t.
53	Rémi Daumas	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
54	Esteban Foucher	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
55	Arnaud Tendon	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
56	Lucas Bénéteau	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
57	Michael Leonard	EF Education-EasyPost	s.t.
58	Titouan Fontaine	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
59	Laurens Huys	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
60	Laurens De Plus	INEOS Grenadiers	s.t.
61	Jelle Johannink	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
62	Stan Dewulf	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
63	Eivind Broholt Fougner	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
64	Ludovico Crescioli	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
65	AJ August	INEOS Grenadiers	s.t.
66	Simon Guglielmi	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
67	Liam Van Bylen	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	1:15
68	Marius Innhaug Dahl	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	1:15
69	Diego Sevilla	Team Polti-VisitMalta	1:15
70	Antoine Berger	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	2:10
71	Kenny Molly	Van Rysel-Roubaix	@ 14sec
72	Joris Chaussinand	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	@ 14sec
73	Blake Agnoletto	Groupama-FDJ United	@ 14sec
74	Tomos Pattinson	EF Education-EasyPost	9:34
75	Gavin Hlady	EF Education-EasyPost	s.t.
76	Lorenzo Germani	Groupama-FDJ United	@ 14sec

 

Final GC after stage 3:

• GC winner: Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM)
• Mountains classification winner: Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM)
• Points classification winner: Arnaud Tendon (Van Rysel-Roubaix)
• Best young rider: Rémi Daumas (Groupama-FDJ United)
• Teams classification winner: INEOS Grenadiers

543 kilometers raced at an average speed of 41.833 km/hr

1	Matthew Riccitello	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	12hr 58min 49sec
2	Carlos Rodriguez	INEOS Grenadiers	@ 4sec
3	Brandon Rivera	INEOS Grenadiers	0:20
4	Aurélien Paret-Peintre	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	0:24
5	Clément Champoussin	XDS Astana Development	0:38
6	Rémi Daumas	Groupama-FDJ United	0:54
7	AJ August	INEOS Grenadiers	s.t.
8	Nicolas Breuillard	Team TotalEnergies	0:57
9	Matteo Scalco	XDS Astana Development	s.t.
10	Julien Bernard	Lidl-Trek	1:12
11	Axel Mariault	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	1:15
12	Cedrik Bakke Christophersen	Unibet Rose Rockets	1:21
13	Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
14	Ludovico Crescioli	Team Polti-VisitMalta	2:05
15	Sam Oomen	Lidl-Trek	2:06
16	Wout Poels	Unibet Rose Rockets	2:09
17	Jamie Meehan	Cofidis	2:13
18	Alessandro Verre	MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	2:33
19	Michael Leonard	EF Education-EasyPost	2:47
20	Victor Papon	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	3:24
21	Victor Loulergue	Groupama-FDJ United	3:45
22	Lucas Bénéteau	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	4:26
23	Maxime Jarnet	Van Rysel-Roubaix	4:49
24	Jannis Peter	Unibet Rose Rockets	5:25
25	Francisco Muñoz	Team Polti-VisitMalta	5:28
26	Mathis Le Berre	Team TotalEnergies	6:29
27	Kenny Molly	Van Rysel-Roubaix	6:33
28	Mathias Vacek	Lidl-Trek	7:01
29	Rémi Capron	Van Rysel-Roubaix	8:33
30	Axel Laurance	INEOS Grenadiers	8:36
31	Laurens Huys	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	8:46
32	Clément Davy	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	8:50
33	Baptiste Gillet	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	8:58
34	Thomas Pesenti	Team Polti-VisitMalta	9:00
35	Oliver Naesen	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
36	Stan Dewulf	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
37	Jaakko Hänninen	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
38	Antoine Berger	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	9:27
39	Edoardo Zamperini	Cofidis	10:10
40	Arnaud Tendon	Van Rysel-Roubaix	11:00
41	Esteban Foucher	Groupama-FDJ United	11:14
42	Dorian Godon	INEOS Grenadiers	11:15
43	Tom Mainguenaud	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
44	Lorenzo Germani	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
45	Pierre-Henry Basset	XDS Astana Development	s.t.
46	Nicola Marcerou	Team TotalEnergies	11:22
47	Joris Chaussinand	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	12:56
48	Laurens De Plus	INEOS Grenadiers	13:31
49	Simon Carr	Cofidis	15:16
50	Daniel Årnes	Van Rysel-Roubaix	15:27
51	Jelle Johannink	Unibet Rose Rockets	15:30
52	Luke Lamperti	EF Education-EasyPost	15:49
53	Anthony Turgis	Team TotalEnergies	15:53
54	Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
55	Filippo Ridolfo	Team Novo Nordisk	s.t.
56	Mathias Sunekær Norsgaard	Lidl-Trek	s.t.
57	Colin Savioz	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
58	Titouan Fontaine	Groupama-FDJ United	15:57
59	Alexis Renard	Cofidis	16:40
60	Diego Sevilla	Team Polti-VisitMalta	17:04
61	Eivind Broholt Fougner	Unibet Rose Rockets	17:05
62	Blake Agnoletto	Groupama-FDJ United	17:06
63	Victor Langellotti	INEOS Grenadiers	18:00
64	Kévin Avoine	Van Rysel-Roubaix	18:24
65	Alexander Konijn	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	18:27
66	Simon Guglielmi	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	19:12
67	Artem Fofonov	XDS Astana Development	19:50
68	Gustav Wang	XDS Astana Development	21:03
69	Tobias Müller	Unibet Rose Rockets	21:44
70	Marius Innhaug Dahl	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	22:07
71	Tomos Pattinson	EF Education-EasyPost	22:39
72	Liam Van Bylen	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	24:38
73	Lorrenzo Manzin	Team TotalEnergies	25:10
74	Jérémy Lecroq	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	28:32
75	Tommaso Bessega	Team Polti-VisitMalta	29:00
76	Gavin Hlady	EF Education-EasyPost	29:42

 

Stage 3 map & profile:

Stage 3 map

Stage 3 profile

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Saturday, February 14: Stage 2, Forcalquier - Montagne de Lure, 174.9 km

Stage 2 map & profile

Matthew Riccitello (on right) beats Carlos Rodriguez for the stage win and the GC lead. Photo: X. Pereyron/LNC Cyclisme

Bill & Carol McGann’s book The Story of the 2024 Tour de France: The Happy Warrior Triumphs is available print, Kindle eBook and audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the link on the right.

Weather at Fontienne, on the route, 15 kilometers from the finish, at 2:45 PM, local time: 8C (47F), partly cloudy, with the wind from the north at 32 km/hr (20 mph). There is a 60% chance of rain, dropping to 6% at 4:00 PM.

The race: Here's the report from second-place Carlos Rodriguez's Team INEOS Grenadiers.

Carlos Rodriguez was inches away from the win on stage two of Tour de La Provence, after a strong team effort up the Station de Lure.

Rodriguez was just pinched on the line by Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) to take second place, while Brandon Rivera finished third. The two are now in second and third on GC also, with AJ August sixth overall and in the young rider’s jersey.

Victor Langellotti and Laurens De Plus did an excellent job pulling on the front of the peloton over the two ascents up the category three Col de Buire on the 175km stage.

A break of five managed to gain up to three minutes, before being caught at the base of the category one Station de Lure.

Mathis le Berre (TotalEnergies) had a last gasp effort from the break, but was caught with 12km to go. Dorian Godon did a strong effort at the start of the climb, before peeling off and allowing August to show his climbing prowess.

August set a blistering pace up the climb, swapping briefly with sprinter Axel Laurance, before taking the helm and accelerating again with 6km remaining. August did a huge effort to splinter the peloton to just 11 riders before peeling off with 5km remaining.

Brandon Rivera continued to set a great pace, reducing the group to four, before Rodriguez accelerated from the front just inside 4km remaining.

Riccitello caught his wheel, with Rodriguez looking the stronger of the two at the front. Rivera battled just behind with Aurelien Paret-Peintre (Decathlon CMA CGM Team).

A technical finish in icy conditions added obstacles to Rodriguez, with Riccitello opening up the sprint and just taking the win.

Rivera followed in behind, while August crossed the line in sixth.

Speaking afterwards, Rodriguez said:
“It was tricky with the wind. I tried my best and congrats to him [Riccitello]. I couldn’t do more in the end. The conditions were not ideal with all the headwind. It is what it is, and in the end, the smartest won.

“We still have tomorrow, and it was close in the end. Now I’m dying to recover and focus to give our best for tomorrow.

“First race back, getting the feeling, I’m obviously disappointed to not get the victory but I need to be happy and grateful for all the team for their work, for believing in me, and I’ll keep working and keep fighting tomorrow. The results will eventually come.”

Complete results:

174.9 kilometers raced at an average speed of 39.086 km/hr

GC after stage 2:

• GC leader: Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM)
• Mountains classification leader: Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM)
• Points classification leader: Arnaud Tendon (Van Rysel-Roubaix)
• Best young rider: AJ August (INEOS Grenadiers)
• Teams classification leader: INEOS Grandiers

337.9 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 38.735 km/hr

Stage 2 map & profile:

Stage 2 map

Stage 2 profile

Friday, February 13: Stage 1, Marseille - Saint-Victoret, 163 km

Stage 1 map & profile

Arnaud Tendon wins stage one in the rain. Photo: Xavier Pereyron/LNC

Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, 2021: The Little Cannibal Dominates is available in both Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Weather at the finish city of Saint-Victoret at 3:10 PM, local time: 9C (49F), light rain, with the wind from the east at 23 km/hr (14 mph). There is a 90% chance of rain through the afternoon.

The race: Here's the race organizer's stage one summary.

One week after coming within 50 meters of victory on the second stage of the Étoile de Bessèges, Arnaud Tendon took his revenge in spectacular fashion. This time, the young Swiss rider left nothing to chance, despite the challenging weather conditions. Strong, determined, and inspired in the day's breakaway, he held off the chasing peloton before dropping his last breakaway companion in the final meters.

The day's break. Photo: Billy Lebelge

Recruited this winter, Arnaud Tendon immediately justified the faith placed in him. In addition to the stage win, he claimed the leader's jersey, a well-deserved reward for a bold and combative rider. The team also secured the overall classification on this first stage. The start to the season has been nothing short of remarkable; after Joppe Heremans' victory in Bessèges on Saturday, Arnaud Tendon doubled down.

Starting tomorrow, Saturday, he and his teammates will have to defend their jersey on the demanding slopes of the Lure mountain in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, during the queen stage. Whatever happens, Van Rysel Roubaix has made an ideal start to the 2026 season, asserting its ambitions and demonstrating the strength of its team.

Complete results:

163 kilometers raced at an average speed of 40.433 km/hr

GC after stage 1:

• GC leader: Arnaud Tendon (Van Rysel-Roubaix)
• Mountains classification leader: Mattia Bais (Team Polti-VisitMalta)
• Points classification leader: Arnaud Tendon (Van Rysel-Roubaix)
• Best young rider: Victor Loulergue (Groupama-FDJ United)
• Teams classification leader: Van Rysel-Roubaix

Stage 1 map & profile:

Stage 1 map

Stage 1 profile

Start list with back numbers, February 12, 2026: