Tour de France 20-26 Tour de France: goals and highlights — France in Les Angles — as it happened

These were the standings after Stage 3 of the 2026 Tour de France:

1. Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia / UAE Emirates-XRG) - 4h 45'11"

2. Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark / Visma-Lease a Bike) at 00'02"

3. Richard Carapaz (Ecuador / EF Education-EasyPost) at 00'02"

4. Paul Seixas (France / Decathlon-CMA CGM) at 00'02"

5. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Norway / Uno-X Mobility) at 00'04"

6. Lennert van Eetvelt (Belgium / Lotto-Intermarché) at 00'04"

7. Florian Lipowitz (Germany / Red Bull-Bora) at 00'04"

8. Remco Evenepoel (Belgium / Red Bull-Bora) at 00'04"

9. Isaac del Toro (Mexico / UAE Emirates-XRG) at 00'04"

10. Juan Ayuso (Spain / Lidl-Trek) at 00'04"

The final mountain pass began! The riders in the peloton were tackling the short, third-category climb that led us to the finish line. The group hadn't been whittled down yet, so we were in for a very close battle for the win.

The final five kilometers of the stage! The peloton was approaching the final stretch of the course at a steady pace. Further back, about 15 minutes behind, came another group of 15 riders. Far behind them was a group of 31 riders, including the red-polka-dot jersey wearer, who was 26 minutes behind. Arnaud De Lie was 40 minutes behind; he had come down with gastroenteritis just before the start of the Tour de France and was hoping to make it through these early stages.

The breakaway was over! Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) was caught by the peloton. The French rider won the day’s combativity award. We were now entering the final stretch of the stage... We started climbing, and the most explosive part of the race—leading up to the finish line—took place in the last 2 kilometers.

Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) broke away on his own. After crossing the Col du Calvaire first, the French rider set off alone in search of some excitement in the final moments of the stage...

The climb up Col du Calvaire was coming to an end! Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) made his final surge and crossed the line in first place, while Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon CMA CGM) stayed right on his wheel and finished second. Both riders were 45 seconds ahead of the peloton.

The final kilometer of the climb to Col du Calvaire! Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) and Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon CMA CGM) continued to maintain a strong pace, although now the main chasers were the riders from the main group, who had caught up with Vlad Van Mechelen (Bahrain Victorious), Raúl García (Movistar), and George Bennett (NSN). Only these two, as members of the original breakaway, were still holding on up front.

We continued with the climb up to the Col du Calvaire; Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) and Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon CMA CGM) were still maintaining a good pace and now had a 35-second lead over Vlad Van Mechelen (Bahrain Victorious), Raúl García (Movistar), and George Bennett (NSN).

Matteo Vercher (Total Energies) had been unable to keep up and was caught by the peloton shortly after.

In the first few kilometers of the climb up to the Col du Calvaire, Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) and Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon CMA CGM) opened up a 25-second lead over the other four riders. The peloton was 1'16 behind, and UAE Team Emirates continued to set the pace for the group.

The climb to Col du Calvaire began! The race leaders were tackling the opening stages of a climb that spanned 11.4 kilometers with an average gradient of 4.1%. Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) and Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon CMA CGM) quickly launched an attack and broke away on their own.

We had left Spanish territory behind and were now entering French soil. The riders had crossed the border between Spain and France through the town of Ur, and the route was about to take us to the start of the climb up the Col du Calvaire.

There wasn't much new to report in the final moments of the stage. UAE Team Emirates was setting the pace for the peloton, which was 1'25" behind the leading group, and in a few moments we would begin the climb up the Col du Calvaire.

There were 50 kilometers left until the end of the stage. The riders at the front of the race had finished the descent and were maintaining the same lead over the peloton. Now there were about 15 kilometers of flat terrain ahead, followed by the climb up to the Col du Calvaire.

The six riders leading the race were now descending. Their lead over the peloton was 1'30" at this point in the stage. The main group was descending at high speed and was closing the gap by several seconds.

There were 66 kilometers left in the stage. Far from being an easy stretch, the route featured a flat section lasting more than a kilometer before the descent began. There were about 30 km left before the next climb began.

The climb up Collada de Toses was coming to an end! Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) crossed the line in first place and took the 10 points. Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Raúl García (Movistar) rounded out the top 3.

Three new riders joined the breakaway at the front of the race. The group was now made up of the following riders: Vlad Van Mechelen (Bahrain Victorious) and Matteo Vercher (Total Energies), Raúl García (Movistar), Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost), Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon CMA CGM), and George Bennett (NSN).

With five kilometers remaining on the climb to Collada de Toses, Vlad Van Mechelen (Bahrain Victorious) and Matteo Vercher (Total Energies) caught up to Raúl García. The rest of the breakaway group fell apart, and some riders also set off in an attempt to catch up with them.

Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Alex Aranburu (Cofidis) dropped back from the original breakaway group and were caught by the peloton, while Vlad Van Mechelen (Bahrain Victorious) and Matteo Vercher (Total Energies) set off in pursuit of Raúl García, who was leading the race.