PREVIEW | Mercan'Tour Classic 2024 - Lenny Martínez and David Gaudu big favourites as Chris Froome tests Tour de France legs
Cycling
The Mercan'Tour Classic is scheduled for May 29th this year. Despite being a recent addition to the peloton, it has quickly gained popularity as one of the few climber-focused one-day races of the year. Positioned just before the Criterium du Dauphine, it serves as valuable preparation. Let's delve into its profile.
The 167-kilometer long race takes place in the Alpes Maritimes and is a race that has a long sequence of climbs. The start, in Puget-Théniers, is actually flat but soon the riders begin to climb. The first ascent is long and takes the riders from 300 to 1600 meters of altitude. The categorized part of it is 20 kilometers long at over 4% but there is more climbing.
Then the Col de la Colmiane which is 15.9 kilometers long at 5.4%, it ends with 50 kilometers to go. After a descent the riders go into the main climb of the day: the Col de la Couillole; 15.8 kilometers at 7.3%. It's not the hardest of the day but it finishes rather close to the finale in Valberg and will be a decisive moment in the race. If the winning attacks did not happen there, they still can in the final 6-kilometer climb which averages around 4%.
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Puget-Théniers - Valberg, 167.5 kilometers
Prediction Mercan'Tour Classic 2024:
*** Lenny Martínez, David Gaudu
** Guillaume Martin, Iván Sosa, George Bennett
* Clément Champoussin, Cristán Rodríguez, Clément Berthet, Davide Formolo, Harold Tejada, Matthew Riccitello, Harm Vanhoucke, Jordan Jegat, Pierre Latour
** Guillaume Martin, Iván Sosa, George Bennett
* Clément Champoussin, Cristán Rodríguez, Clément Berthet, Davide Formolo, Harold Tejada, Matthew Riccitello, Harm Vanhoucke, Jordan Jegat, Pierre Latour
Pick: Lenny Martínez

Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- He will be lol, but he can still win on the climbs hahaawp04-11-2026
- I would love to have his inconsistency. How many wins this year? 2 TdF stages, a WC, a Euro championship, San Sebastian, multiple wins early year. Monument podiums. I'd take it. I don't think he has a chance in the TdF, but he is still amazing.mij04-11-2026
- He's not going to win the TdF. Maybe if they make every single stage a TT he could win. But I still believe Tadej would just sharpen his TT skills and win.mij04-11-2026
- You beat me to it. Should he make a full recovery (likely) and go light early in the year. One, two, three. Don't ask me, I don't give a damn. Should he be on a Feel-Like-He's-Fixin'-to-Die High.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- The deciding factor may be the (TBD) number of (any type of) kilometers without Pogacar.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- Unexplained chronic fatigue is an all too common bitch. The hard to find definitive answer may lie buried in gut mechanisms. A mystery of the deep.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- It's weird to say Evenepoel would be making a "serious mistake by adding the 2027 Giro d'Italia to his calendar, warning that such a decision could even be interpreted as a lack of confidence in his ability to win the Tour de France." It may well be a mistake but with so many commentators (of all sorts) continuously claiming almost everything Remco does as being a mistake, almost nobody should care what the pundits and the disparagers should say. His team may not want him to do the Giro, and that matters. But it's possibly or probably up to Remco to decide and it may not have to be decided on until a month or so ahead of the race. Yes , Remco is inconsistent much like the majority of the best riders but he's enjoying a period of not having been recently injured (or sick). Whatever he does he need not be concerned with critics who will second guess any perceived failure no matter what. I suspect he will have enough other races on his schedule so he won't be considering it. But the worst reason to not race it is because of what some will say - humorous that be.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- I'll say clean sweep all grand tourZamorano04-11-2026
- And the place he calls home is in Slovenia with his parents.RidesHills04-11-2026
- I think Tadej will be working on his new C7 TT position for the Tour de France :-)frieders304-11-2026
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➡️ Les têtes d’affiche de cette 4ème édition de la Mercan’Tour Classic @departement06 🤩 🚴♂️ ⛰️ 🔜 Rendez-vous mercredi 🔥 #MercantourClassic06
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