Soudal – Quick – Step has just concluded its first winter training camp of the season, after ten days based around Calpe, Spain. For Valentin Paret-Peintre, who is preparing for his second season with the Belgian team in 2026, the camp provided a productive start to the year.“Everything went pretty well, with good weather apart from this Tuesday and, above all, no crashes,” Paret-Peintre said in an interview to Le Dauphiné. “I’m happy with my camp. I arrived a bit less fit than last year because I started training later, but the foundations and endurance work are done.”
The 24-year-old also revealed his plans for the last offseason weeks before the start of the season. “Now we’re going to take a few days off, enjoy the holidays, before returning to Calpe twice in January (from January 5 to 16 and then from January 24 to 31) to work more on intensity.”
A start in Oman once againBeyond training rides and sponsor obligations, the camp also served to finalise riders’ race calendars. According to Paret-Peintre, his programme is “almost entirely finalised.” His season is expected to begin at the Tour of Oman from February 7 to 11, where he claimed his first victory with Soudal in 2025 and finished second in the overall GC behind Adam Yates. 
Paret-Peintre’s first professional victory came at the Giro d’Italia 2024
His schedule, subject to change obviously, includes Paris-Nice from March 9 to 16 and the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (formerly the Critérium du Dauphiné) from June 8 to 15. And after that, barring unforeseen circumstances, he will return to La Grande Boucle.
“Our role will be to go for stage wins and, if the opportunity arises, to position ourselves in the general classification. And after that, I hope I can do the Vuelta,” he said, explaining his ambition to “complete the trilogy.”
Having already won stages at the Giro d’Italia in 2024 and the Tour de France 2025, Paret-Peintre could join the select group of 114 riders who have claimed stage victories in all three Grand Tours. His previous Vuelta appearance ended early in 2025, when illness forced him to abandon after stage four.Valentin Paret-Peintre’s schedule (so far)Tour of Oman (7-11 February)Paris-Nice (9-16 March)Tour Auvergne Rhône-Alpes (8-15 June)Tour de France (5-27 July)Vuelta a España (to be confirmed, 22 August-13 September)