Preview Faun-Ardéche Classic 2026 - Will Paul Seixas come out victorious in a race with Ben Healy, Christian Scaroni and Matteo Jorgenson?
Cycling
On the 28th of February the peloton will take on the Faun-Ardèche Classic; the first of two weekend races in the Ardèche area where the races favour the climbers and the classics specialists. We preview the race, which is expected to start and finish at 11:45 and 16:35CET.
The race was created back in 2001 and throughout its first years had winners from countries such as Algeria and Moldova, quickly capturing an unusual international reputation. However it quickly began to build a strong reputation with winners such as Jean-Christophe Peraud, Christophe Riblon and Arthur Vichot...
Many of France's best are present in the race's palmarès in recent years such as Romain Bardet, Lilian Calmejane, Rémo Cavagna, Davis Gaudu, Julian Alaphilippe and most recently in 2025 Romain Grégoire - the Frenchman won the sprint after several riders went the wrong way in a roundabout.
Profile: Guilherand-Granges - Guilherand-Granges
Guilherand-Granges - Guilherand-Granges, 188.5 kilometers
The 188.5 kilometers feature over 3400 meters of climbing. This starts right from the start line, the riders tackle an initial circuit with several ascents. This is the very same course in which Tadej Pogacar has won the 2025 European Championships over Remco Evenepoel and Paul Seixas.
Later the race can decided in a 6.3-kilometers ascent at 7.6% which summits with 39.5 kilometers to go, Saint-Roman-de-Lerps; And the brutally steep Val d'Enfer which is 1.5 kilometers at over 10%. This ascent is tackled twice at the end of the day making for a total of four times throughou8t the entire race. It summits with 25.5 and 6 kilometers to go; and is where the race is most likely to be decided.
Prediction Faun-Ardèche Classic 2026:
*** Paul Seixas, Christian Scaroni, Romain Grégoire
** Jan Christen, Matteo Jorgenson, Mattias Skjelmose, Ben Healy
* António Morgado, Pavel Sivakov, Ben Tulett, Quinn Simmons, Clément Champoussin, Lenny Martínez, Egan Bernal, Axel Laurance, Javier Romo, Diego Pescador, Aurélien Paret-Peintre, Harry Sweeny, Jarno Widar, Marc HIrschi
** Jan Christen, Matteo Jorgenson, Mattias Skjelmose, Ben Healy
* António Morgado, Pavel Sivakov, Ben Tulett, Quinn Simmons, Clément Champoussin, Lenny Martínez, Egan Bernal, Axel Laurance, Javier Romo, Diego Pescador, Aurélien Paret-Peintre, Harry Sweeny, Jarno Widar, Marc HIrschi
Pick: Romain Grégoire
How: Small group sprint
Original: Rúben Silva
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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