"We're no longer going there with just one leader": Valentin Paret-Peintre looks forward to leading the stage-hunting Wolfpack at 2026 Tour

The 2026 Tour de France is rapidly approaching, and French cycling fans could not be more excited for the edition with Grand Depart in Barcelona. With that said, we're obviously referring to the supertalent Paul Seixas who carries home fans' hopes and dreams. But Valentin Paret-Peintre would like to find a place in the spotlight for himself by looking to accomplish smaller goals such as stage wins and mountain classifications.

The Frenchman's final preparation race was the Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes where he hasn't left the best of impressions with 23rd overall in a notably reduced field, but Paret-Peintre is not the least bit worried about his trajectory towards Grande Boucle.

"Right now, I'm really where I want to be. I'm at a good level here, but not yet at my peak," the Frenchman points out to IDLProCycling.

He continued: "I felt in the first stage that things were going really well, but that there was still a small something missing. We're further ahead than last year's schedule, when I was genuinely worse at the Dauphiné."

Paret-Peintre appeared at his best during the final mountain test when he climb to a 14th place from early breakaway, but he aims to have much better legs in three weeks from now: "I'm hoping to improve further in the build-up to the Tour," the climber said.

For Soudal - Quick-Step, it's a first Tour campaign without Remco Evenepoel in a while. And even though it's not always gone according to a plan, his absence is still a key point of the Belgian team's preparation: "It's certain that it changes the team's plans, as we're no longer going there with just one leader."

So what ambitions is he taking to Barcelona? "It gives me more freedom to go for stage wins, so that's quite favourable for me," he concluded.

Quick-Step's lineup for the 2026 edition appears more or less set in the stone already with a team centered around Tim Merlier for bunch sprints and Mikel Landa in the mountains. However the Basque is hardly a real contender for one of the top results in overall classification, thus allowing riders such as Ilan Van Wilder and Paret-Peintre set out in a search of own result.