Laurance wins Provence finale as duo land GC podiums

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.

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."