Emigrating from Belgium to France. There was a chance I'd miss the spring fever of the first races. The heroism of the Omloop, the Ronde, Paris-Roubaix. In Flanders, the excitement and animated (bar) conversations about cycling are unparalleled. Relying on the vision of experts and language virtuosos like Christophe Vandegoor. And certainly accompanied by Wannes's best cycling song. Ploughtail. Tomorrow is the Omloop: watching it in person isn't possible from here, but we'll soak up that unique atmosphere in front of the TV.
But spring and racing are of course also in abundance here in the VAR. Below is an overview of the WorldTour spring races around our BnB in Entrecasteraux in the Var department (83) and by extension the PACA region. (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) .
Below is the button to the interactive map. From here, you can export the routes to KML format and, if necessary, convert them to GPX format using the tool below.
1.Tour de Provence.
-from February 13 to 15, 2026, green on the map
-edition in harsh winter weather and without injured favorite Mads Pedersen
-highlight: ride 2 to the top Mountain of Lure, 120km north of us.
-trip 1 went via Parc Naturel Régional de la Sainte-Baume, 35 km from us.
-winner: Matthew Riccitello. Decathlon
2.Classic Var
February 21, blue on the map. Beautiful spring weather.
-through villages around Entrecasteaux (last year it went through our village). Also passing through Cotignac, 9km from our location.
-Winner:Jason Tesson (TotalEnergies)
3.Tour of the Alpes Maritimes
-22 Feb, blue on the map, nice spring weather.
-nice motorcycle ride 110km from us to Le Parc naturel des Préalpes d'Azur
-Next to this passage in Gourdon
-winner:Paul Lapeira (Decathlon CMA CGM)
4.Paris-Nice
March 13-14-15: Last three rides in the South of France. Orange on the map.
-March 13: ride through the Luberon, 85 km from us
-March 14: From Nice to Auron, alt 1600m, Mercantour Park, 120km from us, nice motorcycle ride through the pre-alpes.
-March 15: Nice hinterland final,
5.Milan-San Remo
March 21st, yellow on the map. It's just outside PACA, of course, but still accessible from our location (174km, 2 hours by car).
Summer 2026
The Tour de France Skip the VAR and Alpes Maritimes in 2026; the closest stages are stages 18-19 in the GAP region (170km from us). On July 23 and 24.
Tour of Women then comes a little closer: on 08 Aug: trip Sisteron Nice (90km from us. And 07 Aug Mont Ventoux (160km from us)
Vuelta
Strange but true: the race closest to our door this year (after the Classic Var) is the Vuelta.
Stage 2 on 23 Aug goes from Monaco to Manosque and passes 20 km from us, via Ampus – Tourtour
From here to Tourtour is a nice 20km motorcycle/bicycle ride. The video was taken in the low autumn sun.