Key events
Stage three report
That’s all from me, thanks for reading and for your messages. You can join me tomorrow morning for live text coverage from stage 4 of the Tour de France.
Jeremy Whittle’s report from stage three is coming soon, so hold tight for that.
Last but not least, another shout-out to Alex Baudin. The EF Education-EasyPost looked like the prime candidate to wear the yellow jersey after making it into the day’s big break. It did not quite work out that way, but he still shwoed his qualities, tried his damndest to stave off the UAE chase and came away with the King of the Mountains maillot instead.
He had a very good Critérium du Dauphiné Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Tour, I would not be surprised if he makes a definitive breakthrough with a stage win this July.
epa13091983 French cyclist Alex Baudin of EF Education – EasyPost celebrates on the podium wearing the best climber’s polka dot jersey after Stage 3 of the Tour de France, a 195.9 km route from Granollers, Spain to Les Angles, France, 06 July 2026. EPA/YOAN VALAT Photograph: Yoan Valat/EPA
Tomorrow’s stage, then, ought to be one for the breakaway now His Pogship has gotten off the mark. It covers 181.9km from dreamy Carcassonne to Foix, covering four categorised climbs.
At the other end of the race, Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Intermarché) abandons the Tour. Last I heard he was alone with the broom wagon on his tail, crossing the French border 40 minutes down.
Rotten luck for the barrel-chested Belgian, who has been weakened by illness. Perhaps his team should not even have kept him in the race and had him go through all that pain today.
It is testament to Pogacar and his team’s strength that they can change their plan mid-stage, control a very game breakaway and make a Tour de France stage win look inevitable.
We can get into it more tomorrow, but I don’t find his dominance boring. (Well, it is only day three and ensuring his teammate won yesterday was a classy touch). He is meant to win this kind of stage, it is right in his wheelhouse. What is he meant to do, give gifts to the others? Feel free to email in with your thoughts on the latest “Pogcineration”.
Starting to wonder whether Pogacar could even challenge for the green jersey this year, but that kind of talk is very premature. There are a spate of sprinter’s stages, starting with day five into Pau.
Points classification after stage 3
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 55 points
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) 44
3. Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 39
4. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) 37
5. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) 33
King of the Mountains classification
1. Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) 12 points
2. Nicholas Prodhomme (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) 9
3. Raul Garcia Pierna (Movistar Team) 6
Youth classification
1. Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
2. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) at 3 secs
3. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CGA CGM Team) at 24 secs
A familiar sight: Pogacar in yellow.
Stage three results and GC standings
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 4 hours 45 minutes 11 seconds
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) at 2 seconds
3. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost)
4. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM Team)
5. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) at 4 seconds
6. Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto Intermarché)
7. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
8. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
9. Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
10. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek)
General classification after stage three
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) 8 hours 46 minutes 55 seconds
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) at same time
3. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) at 23 secs
4. Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) at 24 secs
5. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) at 27 secs
6. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) at 48 secs
7. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) at 53 secs
8. Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) at 1min 9secs
9. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) at 1min 11secs
10. Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step) at 1min 17secs
Tadej Pogacar reacts: ‘I don’t know how long this will last’
It’s because of Isaac [del Toro], I got some extra power in the finale. He committed, actually all the team, we decided in the middle of the stage it was possible to go for the stage win.
I’m really happy we start the Tour like ths, incredible finish today … if we can win like we did today and the team feels super good, we have to take the opportunity. We tried, we gave it all and we win.
To take the yellow jersey is a dream for any cyclist of any age. For me, I don’t know how many times it’s been but every time it’s on my shoulders, it’s really special. I don’t know how long this will last, but we try to enjoy every moment.
Third for Richard Carapaz, fourth for 19-year-old Paul Seixas. More to come from the teenager, no doubt.
That Pogacar win felt inevitable, like PlayStation cycling. UAE took the race by the scruff of the neck, rode all day and their Slovenian superstar won incredibly comfortably. Demoralising for his rivals.
Allow Instagram content?
This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.
Pogacar moves into the race lead
It is confirmed: he opened up a two-second gap with his monstrous speed, the two seconds he needed to usurp Vingegaard, thanks to his bonus seconds and countback, given they are on the same time.
Hugs for yesterday’s winner Isaac del Toro, who gave him an armchair ride with his speed in the final kilometre.
Tadej Pogacar wins stage three!
The world champion wins his 22nd Tour de France stage after a devastating acceleration, punching the air as he crosses the line in Les Angles. Nobody could match him. Jonas Vingegaard is second but there was a gap between hm and Pogacar, it will be very tight for the yellow jersey.
Still Del Toro lining them out, showing his thanks to Pogacar for his favour yesterday. Three hundred metres left, they won’t go too early in this uphill sprint…
Del Toro lights it up on the front with world champion Pogacar on his wheel, then Vingegaard, Seixas, Evenepoel and Carapaz. This is going to be a sprint of favourites, smart money is on Pogacar. 500 metres to go…
1km to go. Vacek peels off after setting the pace and Jai Hindley takes it over. Vingegaard and Del Toro ride side-by-side behind him, the lead pack is down to just 20 riders. Nobody wants to take it up too early and burn themselves out.
Seixas moves up ont the wheel of Pogacar…
2km to go. Into Les Arcs, the road is about to pitch up to the finish. Matteo Jorgenson leads the bunch, with his team leader Vingegaard sat pretty in third wheel. Paul Seixas flicks out into the wind, he will want to test himself here.
3km to go. Quinn Simmons sets the pace on the right-hand side of the road, he and Vacek ahead of leader Juan Ayuso. The bunch is fanned across the road, waiting for another injection of pace – and Sepp Kuss takes over for Visma-Lease a Bike before Britain’s Adam Yates comes over the top of him.
5km to go. Vacek is there for Lidl-Trek and he can sprint, but he will do well to keep his kick when the pace shoots up. Can a rival capitalise on the UAE work and pick their pocket in this finale?
7km to go. The reduced bunch are off the descent and onto the long drag up to Les Angles, with a 1,800-metre, 6.5% incline to the finish.
Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) is visible just behind the UAE train, as is the Red Bull helmet of Tom Pidcock. I wonder whether fast-finishing Sergio Higuita could do something at this finish too, he’s not had the best form this season, mind.
Breakaway caught
10km to go. Alex Baudin is caught and passed by the bunch, still paced by UAE Team Emirates-XRG. Heck of a ride though and he comes away with the polka-dot jersey for his troubles. The sport’s dominant team has three helpers on the front, protecting Del Toro and Pogacar and chasing another stage win – and maybe the yellow jersey – after 3,800-odd metres of climbing.
13km to go. We are into the endgame and Baudin still has his pride. He is just seven seconds up on the bunch who can see him. There are only about 40 riders left in the peloton.
18km to go. Then there was one leader as Nicolas Prodhomme sits up and waits for the bunch. What was the point of riding so hard with Baudin up that last climb then?
Black shorts streaked with lost salt from sweat, Baudin has a lead of 23 seconds as the bunch zips towards the long drag to Les Angles. It looks like UAE’s stage to lose, but wonder what Evenepoel or Pidcock could do on this finish.
24km to go. The rest of the break is caught, just Baudin and Prodhomme out in front, the EF Education-EasyPost man leading over the Col du Calvaire. King of the Mountains jersey in the bag for him.
Pogacar could be in yellow jersey by the end of the day, the short uphill finish suits him (or Del Toro again). Keeping the break on a tight leash gives them the opportunity of contesting the stage win and if Vingegaard stays in yellow, expending energy today and ensuring Baudin does not take yellow means Visma will have to fire a few more figurative bullets to control the bunch tomorrow.
At the other end of the race, the Arnaud De Lie group is over 32 minutes down. I fear the former Belgian champion might be time cut, along with teammate Veistroffer, crash victim Robbe Dhondt (Picnic PostNL) and Arvid De Kleijn (Tudor).
Keep your questions and musings coming in to andy.mcgrath.casual@guardian.co.uk by the way.
28km to go. 36 seconds for Baudin and Prodhomme on the four chasers, 1 min 3secs to the bunch.
I was wrong: I reckoned it would be a day for the break, especially after the long salvo of attacks to form it. Not the case, I am surprised at UAE-Emirates XRG keeping the hurt on. Three dynamite domestiques shepherding green jersey Del Toro and world champion Pogacar. They will take some beating. On that note, 24 hours on, read all about their one-two.
32km to go. Onto the aptly-named Col du Calvaire then, which means calvary/ordeal, and Alex Baudin is off, rocketing away from his breakaway companions, going for the stage win and the King of the Mountains jersey.
His compatriot Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon CGA CGM Team) joins him. 1min 18secs on the bunch, lined out and marshalled by UAE. Slight crosswind gusting into them.
36km to go. There are fans on the course, just fewer: some tourists from Norway and Germany on the day’s penultimate climb of the third-cat Col du Calvaire (11.5km at 4%, a real grind) spotted on the telly broadcast. The break’s lead is holding steady at 1min 22secs, they have held out well.
Nils Politt is gtting the last bit of energy out of his long legs; UAE Team Emirates-XRG have more firepower to call on.
41km to go. The Tour enters France, still a fair few fans though so far. The helicopter pans to show a giant, resplendent blue EU flag being held by 40 people in a field. “Why would anyone want to leave it?” Robbie McEwen asks on the TNT Sports commentary. Quite.
Yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard tips a bidon over his head. We have not seen so much of the race leader, but he is there and keeping cool. The Dane is riding behind six UAE Team Emirates-XRG riders leading the bunch, 1min 33secs behind. Tim Wellens is beating out a decent pace.
46km to go. The break is about to go from Spain into France, from cheering roadside fans to borderline emptiness and silence Per the extraordinary measures taken by the Tour organisers in tandem with the regional authorities, locals can support from the roadside, but nobody can travel to spectate. TNT Sports observed an hour or so ago that police were stopped at every junction, discouraging any travelling fans.
What’s going on? The French portion of the route – the last 44 or so kilometres, including the third-category Col du Calvaire and third-category climb to the finish at Les Angles – will be virtually without fans. That is because of wildfires raging in the eastern Pyrenees
The measures taken are aiming to limit the mobilisation of public resources to what is strictly necessary, so that priority can be given to rescue and firefighting operations.
56km to go. Baudin went into the lead of the King of the Mountains classification by leading the group over the Col de Toses. Polka-dot would be a nice consolation, but he could yet wear the yellow jersey if this break gets a decent margin, being 1 min 7secs down on Vingegaard, but I reckon that is unlikely. I’m expecting UAE to keep the pace high behind.
I know what you’re wondering too: where is Arnaud De Lie? Lotto’s sick sprinter is in a four-man group, 19 minutes behind the six leaders. Their mission? Make the time cut.
64km to go. Baudin leads his companions over the col through a tunnel of fans, cheering and in polka-dot jerseys, many waving Catalan flags. The last portion in France, with no fans allowed to travel to spectate on the roadside (precautionary measures due to wildfires), is going to feel ghostly. They have a blessed long descent (the first of the day, really) before going over the border and starting the long haul up the Col du Calvaire.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG control the pace in the bunch, 1min 36secs in arrears. Pogacar fancies this one.
Six-man break in front
69km to go. The break has, well, broken up. These are the leaders forging clear who are within a kilometre of the col: virtual yellow jersey Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost), Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon CGA CGM Team), George Bennett (NSN), Raul Garcia (Movistar), Matteo Vercher (TotalEnergies) and Vlad Van Mechelen (Bahrain Victorious). They have just passed someone dressed up like a T-rex with a Catalan flag as a cape.
Nils Politt went from pacing domestique work to dropping his chain but the man with the brightest teeth in the peloton has fought his way back to the bunch.
73km to go. Some very pleasing TV shots of bimbling deer on the higher mountain slopes. In this (human) race, Garcia Pierna leads Vercher by 14 seconds, with ther former companions 37 seconds back. Pedersen has been dropped and the peloton is 1min 50secs in arrears.
In other “news”, the viral Norwegian viral row has made it to the Tour.
Allow Instagram content?
This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.
77km to go. We are into the mountains: the break starts the Col de Toses, the first of 16 first-category climbs on the route, 9.3km at 6.5% taking the race to over 1,750 metres. With their lead down to 1min 17secs on the bunch, there is a feeling that they need to go faster. It is hard to have good cohesion with so many riders.
Raul Garcia Pierna (Movistar) attacks and tries to go it alone.
Jeremy Whittle
Les Angles is a remote elevated village, on the edge of a high plateau, but there is a very poignant vibe with very few fans here and that rarity on the Tour, empty cafes and brasseries where you can easily walk in and get a table for lunch. Just as well, as the press buffet is ‘minimal’ at best, which may be the mayor’s revenge on the media. No signs of smoke or fires, even in the far distance.
Pedersen wins intermediate sprint
86km to go. Yes, the Dane was first over the line in Campdevanol ahead of Joris Delbove, adding 25 handy points to his tally for the green jersey. He is the kind of strongman sprinter who could be coming away with it in Paris.
However, the bunch are keeping them in check, their lead down to 1min 43secs. Visma are off the front, UAE and Red Bull have taken up the slack. No guarantee the break will make it today. Meanwhile, the Guardian’s Jeremy Whittle is at the finish…
116km to go. Gutting for Egan Bernal, who was up the road with that escape but suffered a puncture. He is chasing hard, 45 seconds off the back. A stage win for him would be very popular, given the life-threatening (let alone career-threatening crash) he suffered in 2022.
The leaders are climbing north towards the Pyrenees and the border, the road ticking up in a long false flat for the next hour or so from 500 metres above sea level to 1,100 metres.
Who do you fancy to take the win from this breakaway, then? What has surprised you from the Tour’s opening weekend? Let me know here. I’m off out for a spot of lunch, my meal deal not as healthy or energy-packed as the grub in the riders’ musettes.
119km to go. Ah, looks like Visma-Lease a Bike and the peloton are letting them go, content there are no GC riders up the road. Another group linked up with the frontrunners, swelling their numbers.
Our 19 breakaway riders then. Quite a group, we have a former world road race champion in there and a grand tour stage hunter extraordinaire: Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobilty), Mauro Schmid (Jayco Alula), Luke Plapp (Jayco Alula), Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost), Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon CMA CGM Team), Louis Vervaeke (Soudal Quick-Step), George Bennett (NSN), Raul Garcia Pierna (Movistar), Nelson Oliveira (Movistar), Matteo Vercher (Total Energies), Harold Tejada (XDS Astana), Vlad Van Mechelen (Bahrain Victorious), Michael Storer (Tudor), Joris Delbove (TotalEnergies), Abel Balderstone (Caja Rural-Seguros RJA), Alex Aranburu (Cofidis) and Clément Braz Alfonso (Groupama-FDJ United).
Their lead has quickly gone out to two minutes. Baudin is only 1min 7secs behind Vingegaard on GC. Not perceived as a GC threat to the boys in yellow and black, he could well be riding himself into the yellow jersey.
127km to go. This has been an uninhibited start to the stage, averaging 47km/h despite plenty of uphill.
Eleven riders have eked out a lead of 20 seconds: Oliveira, Vervaeke, Vercher, Cort, Baudin, Van Mechelen, Bernal, Plapp, Bennett, Schmid and Pedersen. But the bunch is chasing hard.
Wildfire-related measures mean finale will go ahead without fans
A reminder: the last 45 kilometres of this stage will have a very different look and feel. Once the race crosses the border int France, it will be noticeably quieter after unprecedented measures taken by the Tour de France organisation in tandem with the regional authorities because of wildfires raging in the eastern Pyrenees.
The public has been asked to not gather along the route or at the finish line and the Tour will be limited to the passage of riders and vehicles essential to the organisation. The measures have been taken aiming to limit the mobilisation of public resources to what is strictly necessary, so that priority can be given to rescue and firefighting operations. Sobering stuff.
142km to go. Still no breakaway yet, but moustachioed US champion Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) clips off the front for a few kilometres. So what will it take for the escape to go? The right composition of riders – they cannot be a threat on GC, ideally, or Visma will fly into action – working well together, combined with a bunch tired from chasing, or even Pogacar or Vingegaard wanting to knock off the all-out racing and stop for a pee.
150km to go. Who had the Offspring frontman meeting Paul Seixas on their Tour de France bingo card? Not me. Guess he’s pretty fly – for a French guy. I’m impressed the Chosen One (born 2006) even knows who he is.
Allow Instagram content?
This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.
158km to go. Forced to chase on with some backmarkers after his gear issues, Lenny Martinez’s group is 40 seconds down a whittled-down bunch. The heat is on, literally and figuratively. At the other end of the race, De Lie’s calvary continues, almost six minutes down.
On riders who could do a job at the World Cup, Robin Lynch has messaged in:
Glaringly obvious pick: Ex-Anderlecht and Belgium youth star Remco Evenepoel.
Alternate pick: Luke ‘Turbo’ Durbridge’s power and energy could pep up a deflated Socceroos team.
169km to go. The road keeps rising and Mathieu van der Poel gives it a dig, followed by Carapaz and a dozen others. It regroups and Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers Netcompany Ineos) surges in that attractive Colombian champion’s kit. Riders spread all over the road as top puncheurs try to force a break.
Bike change for Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious) after gear problems. Cannot think of a single other pro cyclist with that first name. He has hardly been out of the top ten this year at stage races, I reckon he’ll do the same at his home race.
177km to go. Up and over that climb, Richard Carapaz gave it a dig, but was marked by rivals. Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) beats Romo for the King of the Mountain points, but their freedom is brief. Attack and regroup, that will be the rhythm for a while.
Armirail is two minutes off the back in a 30-strong group, with Arnaud De Lie also in trouble off the back behind him.
180km to go. Big crash at the front of the bunch. Bruno Armirail (Visma-Lease a Bike) goes down heavily, along with Vacek and three Netcompany Ineos riders. It appears to have been caused by a rider trying to squeeze past the Frenchman on the inside. He seems to have banged his knee, this could hinder one of Jonas Vingegaard’s helpers.
Seixas super domestique Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) is back at the doctor’s car too.
184km to go. The accelerations are raining down on the third-cat climb and Lotto Intermarché sprinter Arnaud De Lie has already slid to the back of the bunch. The Belgian has had stomach issues and it was uncertain whether he would even start the Tour. It could be an interminable day fighting to make the time cut for him.
You can read more about him, his plucky Belgian team and find out his nickname in our comprehensive guide:
193km to go. Under a 35C Catalan sun, the bunch has taken a long time to pootle through the neutralised start after a puncture for Latvia’s Toms Skujins (Lidl-Trek). The racing is now on, with a Groupama-FDJ United chancing his arm with an attack.
I expect a lot of moves for the Côte de Saint Felieu de Codines, the third-category climb crossed after 17 kilometres. The road rises gradually for most of the stage’s first half before reaching the Pyrenees.
Stage three begins
195.9km to go. The peloton is rolling out of the Spanish town of Granollers, the hometown of former MotoGP racer Aleix Espargaró. Pogacar and Vingegaard are at the front of the bunch, having a natter.
Maybe they are wondering out loud which Tour cyclist could best do a job at the World Cup. Your answers on a postcard. I’d not go for any of the more fragile, lightweight GC contenders. My pick would be big Daan Hoole (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) to do a Dan Burn-esque job at the back.
The jersey wearers for stage three:
White jersey (for best under-25 rider): Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek), wearing it because Del Toro is in the maillot vert
Green jersey: Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
Yellow jersey: Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike)
King of the Mountains jersey: Alex Molenaar (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)
Allow Instagram content?
This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.
I fear Isaac del Toro did not pick the best day to garner the full attention of the Mexican media, given the goings-on at the Azteca.
Well, the football team is out, the 22-year-old still has three weeks to make his mark on the Tour de France. His joyous reaction to his first stage win put a smile on my face, I have to say.
The consensus seems to be that this is a glaring opportunity for the escapees and the big beasts of the bunch will sit back and let them fight it out. Who are the favourites then?
You’ve got to put breakaway whisperer Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) into the frame for a tough day like this, though he might prefer a little more difficulty and more residual fatigue.
I could see Mauro Schmid (Jayco Alula), Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) and almost any Netcompany Ineos rider featuring today, but depends which breakaway sticks. I look forward to those faint predictions/tips being proved totally wrong!
Here is ex-racer and Tour de France technical director Thierry Gouvenou with his briefing on the stage three:
It’s a long stage with a gradual climb for most of the way. The stage features a category-one climb, the Col de Toses [9.3km at 6.5%], which should prove quite challenging. But overall, there are no major challenges. It’s a perfect stage for the attackers. The finale will separate the riders, especially on the Col du Calvaire near Font-Romeu and the final 1.5-kilometre climb to Les Angles at a seven per cent gradient. So, this is a huge opportunity for attackers to seek out a stage win and why not even the yellow jersey.
While we wait for live TV coverage, here is Jeremy Whittle’s report from Barcelona.
It was an ominous day: both for UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s show of strength (could be a long Tour for anyone not called Jonas Vingegaard) and the news about the spectator-free third stage finale, with only essential vehicles aloud.
Preamble
It’s coming home. Not English football yet (well, TBD) and probably not French cycling this summer unless Paul Seixas really is the messiah, but the 2026 Tour de France – albeit with an unprecedented third stage representative of our times.
After its Barcelona grand départ, where the Montjuïc hill was the weekend centrepiece, cycling’s flagship race heads north and over the border into its home country for stage three between Granollers and Les Angles, totalling 195.9km.
The French portion of the route – the last 44 or so kilometres, including the third-category Col du Calvaire and third-category climb to the finish at Les Angles – will be entirely without fans. That is because of wildfires raging in the eastern Pyrenees.
Allow Instagram content?
This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.
Christian Prudhomme, the Tour director, said that the decision was taken on Sunday afternoon. “We agreed, given the exceptional and frightening conditions of the fire, to limit the road to only the riders and essential organisation vehicles. We ask the public not to come to roadside or to the finish. All of this was done in agreement with the state authorities.”
A Tour stage in the mountains conducted in incongruous silence and with 40 degree-temperatures expected on the road later in the week: that’s the climate crisis world we’re living in. And some people still say sport, politics and social issues are somehow all separate…
Although there is almost 4,000 metres of climbing on the menu, stage three is a rather benign medium mountain stage rather than the full shebang Pinocchio polygraph stage profile, though UAE Team Emirates-XRG may well set a punishing pace to try and set things up for Tadej Pogacar or yesterday’s stage winner Isaac del Toro after their irresistible one-two yesterday. There is no “Pogi”-proof stage in this race, after all.
On the other hand, we could see a bunfight for the breakaway and have a stage win fought out by baroudeur-grimpeurs afforded several minutes’ leeway: Visma-Lease a Bike will not want to spend unnecessary energy defending the yellow jersey for Jonas Vingegaard.
Today’s stage starts at 11:10 BST and is expected to finish at 15:54 BST. Grab a coffee and send missives, musings and Del Toro mania to me here. I’m already wondering which Tour de France cyclist could hold his own in a World Cup-winning football team…
