Trentin heads into the start line in Chartres with a chance to stand alone on a list he currently shares with four riders from four different generations.
The 37-year-old Italian equaled the record of three wins when he claimed a dramatic sprint on Boulevard Béranger last autumn, joining Erik Zabel, Guido Reybrouck, Paul Maye and Gustaaf Danneels in the triple-winners club. Victory in the 216.2 km race from Chartres to Tours would push him past all four.
The Tudor Pro Cycling rider is not the only story at the start line. Laporte, the 2024 winner, is back with Visma Lease a Bike and leads a Visma squad hunting the title. Alpecin-Premier Tech brings Jasper Philipsen, who has shown this season he can handle rougher roads, while Søren Wærenskjold, Dorian Godon, Tim Merlier and Mathias Vacek are among the names preview sites rate as live contenders.
Nine climbs and 10.5 km of vineyard dirt
The 2026 route keeps the formula that has reshaped the race since 2018: a long, flat opening, then a vicious final third over the Touraine vineyards. From Chartres to Tours the race covers 216.2 km, and the final third packs nine climbs and ten unpaved vineyard sectors, for a combined 10.5 km of dirt roads, slightly more than last year.
Those vineyard paths, exposed to the wind and often rutted, have broken the race open every autumn since they were introduced. A rider dropped on one of them is almost never coming back.
Rochecorbon decides it, 8.7 km out
The finale is built around one landmark. The Côte de Rochecorbon, a short, punchy climb through the vines, sits just 8.7 km from the finish line on Boulevard Béranger in Tours, and it almost always sorts the winning group from the chase.
Beyond Rochecorbon, the road drops back toward the Loire for a tight run-in to the line. A pure bunch sprint has become rare in recent editions; most have ended with a small group fighting it out, which is where Trentin thrives and where a sprinter like Philipsen has to time his effort perfectly.
Record on the line
Analysts rate Laporte and Philipsen as the two sharpest favorites, but Trentin has a habit of ignoring form guides. His 2025 win came from a six-rider sprint he was not supposed to lead out, and the Italian has made the vineyard roads of Touraine his personal reading of the race.
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The 120th edition rolls out of Chartres on Sunday, October 11, bound for the Boulevard Béranger finish line in Tours after 216.2 km.
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