Tour de France 2026 Favourites stage 3: Yellow jersey for the taking

fotobureau Cor VosThe favourites for overall victory have battled for the yellow jersey over the opening two days, but stage 3 offers the perfect opportunity to hand it over to a rider further down the pecking order. The Tour is still long, and the Pyrenean stage is demanding, but not enough to turn it into a battle among the giants. (Slideshow route/profile)

First published on 18 June - last updated 6 July: weather forecast updated

Put another way, for riders with their sights set on overall victory, there is not much to be gained on stage 3. With a podium ceremony every day – along with all the duties that come with wearing the yellow jersey – leading the Tour de France is an energy-sapping affair. So, paradoxically, the aim could be to lose cycling’s most coveted jersey, and the simplest way to do that is to allow the day’s breakaway plenty of leeway.

Given the likelihood that the attackers will get the chance to fight it out for both the stage win and the yellow jersey, there will be no shortage of interest in getting into the break. After 10 kilometres, the riders tackle a climb of 7.6 kilometres at 4.5%, and it remains to be seen whether the break will already have gone clear at the summit. From there, the riders head across flat to gently rolling roads towards the Pyrenees.

After just over 100 kilometres, the road begins to rise gradually before leading onto the Collada de Toses, a climb of 9.3 kilometres at 6.5%. From the summit, there are still almost 70 kilometres remaining, with the Col du Calvaire (11.4 kilometres at 4.1%) forming the approach to the finale. The Col de la Quillane (1.9 kilometres at 4%) offers another chance to put rivals under pressure, before the final climb to the ski resort above Les Angles: 4.7 kilometres at 4.6%, with the final 1.7 kilometres rising at 6.5%.

All in all, more than enough ammunition for an intriguing battle, with the stage win – and quite possibly a new yellow jersey – at stake.

Favourites 3rd stage - 2026 Tour de France

*** Lennert Van Eetvelt, Mathias Vacek, Alex Baudin, Harold Tejada
** Ben O'Connor, Ben Healy, George Bennett, Kévin Vauquelin, Valentin Paret-Peintre
* Warren Barguil, Ion Izagirre, Luke Plapp, Clément Braz Afonso, Einer Rubio, Pablo Castrillo

Weather forecast:
The riders will spend the entire day racing under a blazing sun. A few days ago, showers were forecast for the part of the route where the peloton crossed into France, but that is no longer the case. Almost a shame, you might say, as wildfires are burning in the area. For that reason, spectators will be kept away from the final part of the route.

Start: 34°C, sunny, south-easterly wind (11 km/h)
Finish: 25°C, sunny, northerly wind (10 km/h)

Another interesting read: route 3rd stage 2026 Tour de France.