Tour of the Basque Country 2026: Laurance outpowers Arrieta, Seixas still leader

fotobureau Cor VosIt takes a long while before a break finally forms, but eventually sixteen riders get clear. Axel Laurance and Igor Arrieta slip away on the run-up to the last climb of the day. In the streets of Basauri, Laurance outsprints Arrieta for the win, while his countryman Paul Seixas remains comfortably in the overall lead. (Slideshow route/profile)

Stage 3 Results – 2026 Tour of the Basque Country

1. Axel Laurance (fra) 3:38:33
2. Igor Arrieta (spa) + 0:02
3. Natnael Tesfatsion (eri) + 0:14
4. Ilan Van Wilder (bel) s.t.
5. Tobias Halland Johannessen (nor) + 0:18
6. James Shaw (gbr) + 0:21
7. Clément Braz Afonso (fra) + 0:24
8. Lorenzo Fortunato (ita) s.t.
9. Guillaume Martin (fra) s.t.
10. Reuben Thompson (nzl) s.t.

GC after stage 3

1. Paul Seixas (fra)
2. Primoz Roglic (slo) + 1:59
3. Florian Lipowitz (ger) + 2:08
4. Mattias Skjelmose (den) + 2:14
5. Ben Tulett (gbr) + 2:27
6. Alex Baudin (fra) + 2:31
7. Ion Izagirre (spa) + 2:36
8. Harold Tejada (col) + 2:48
9. Cian Uijtdebroeks (bel) + 3:01
10. Clément Champoussin (fra) + 3:02

Race report
It takes more than 55 kilometres before a breakaway finally forms. Only as the race approaches the Barrerilla climb does it happen, when Ilan Van Wilder, Lorenzo Fortunato, Guillaume Martin, Clément Braz Afonso, Sinuhé Fernández, Natnael Tesfatsion, Joan Bou, Jardi Christiaan van der Lee, Axel Laurance, Tobias Halland Johannessen, Reuben Thompson, Igor Arrieta, Matt Dinham and James Shaw join forces. After Isaac del Toro has to abandon following a crash, Mikkel Bizkarra and Jonathan Lastra bridge across on the climb.

The sixteen attackers stretch their lead to just over 2 minutes, and , and as they hit the Sarasola there is still well over 1:40-minute left. Arrieta and Laurance are the first to tackle the climb and the two crest 20 seconds ahead of the first chasers.

On the run-in to Basauri, the duo pulls further away from their former companions, although the chasers do get closer again in the final stages as Laurance and Arrieta start playing cat-and-mouse. The Basque stick to the Frenchman's wheel, and as the final 500 metres of the finishing straight start to rise, he tries to break away.

Without succes. Laurance follows Arrieta's move and powers past in the decisive moments to take the win with a comfortable lead.

Just over a minute later, overall leader Paul Seixas wins the peloton sprint, highlighting the fact that he is the strongest rider in the race.

Another interesting read: route 3rd stage 2026 Tour of the Basque Country.