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Tuesday, July 7, 2026

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Nothing endures but change. - Heraclitus

Stoic philosopher Epictetus' Golden Sayings is available in both audiobook & Kindle eBook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

July 4 - 26: Tour de France

Upcoming racing:

July 8 - 12: Tour of Austria
July 26: Vuelta a Castilla y Leon

Latest completed racing:

Tour de France stage three reports

We posted the race organizer's report with the results.

Here's the report from stage winner & new GC leader Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG:

For the second time in as many days, UAE Team Emirates-XRG came out on top at the Tour de France, with Tadej Pogačar picking up his first victory of the race on Monday afternoon.

The four-time defending champion packed the biggest punch on the uphill finish to Les Angles, earning him the stage 3 victory. For UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Pogačar was finishing off an all-round team job, with the eight-man squad all contributing to the day’s success.

Tadej Pogacar wins stage three. Sirotti photo

Earlier in the day, a strong and large breakaway had gone up the road, with the likes of Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) all involved. Tasked with setting up a shot at the day’s victory for Pogačar, his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates rallied to bring this breakaway under control.

One by one, the Emirati squad buried itself in pursuit of the break. Florian Vermeersch, Nils Politt, Tim Wellens, Felix Großschartner, Brandon McNulty, and Adam Yates – each to a man gave everything to guide Pogačar to the head of the race. As the Les Angles climb (1.7km at 6.7%) entered its final kilometre, it was time for the stage 2 winner, Isaac del Toro, to take charge.

Without hesitation, the Mexican stomped on the pedals and unleashed a vicious turn of pace at the front of proceedings. In his wheel, Pogačar simply bided his time as their rivals felt the pressure. Inside the final few hundred metres, the Slovenian responded to his cue and came around Del Toro in his burst for the line.

Almost immediately, a gap opened up behind Pogačar as the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man roared to his first stage victory of this year’s race. For the Slovenian, Monday’s success was the 22nd Tour de France stage win of his career. This latest victory also brings the sweet satisfaction of moving into the lead of the general classification.

With his 22nd Tour stage win came the 55th Yellow Jersey of his career, and the four-time Tour de France champion looks in fine condition to chase a record-equalling fifth crown. First, though, there is time for Pogačar and his teammates to celebrate a job well done. They will head into stage 4 with Pogačar at the top of the standings and Del Toro in fourth overall.

Pogačar: “It’s because of him, it’s because of Isaac today. I get some extra power in the final [because of him], he committed more than 100% in the final climb, and all the team, actually. In the middle of the stage we decided that it was possible to go for the stage win. I am really happy that we start the Tour like this. It was an incredible finish today.

“If we can win, like we did today, and the team feels super good, then we have to take the opportunity. We tried and we gave it our all, and we win.

“Of course, to take the Yellow Jersey is the dream for any cyclist of any age. So for me, every time I can get it again on my shoulders, it feels really special. I don’t know for how long this will last, but we will try to enjoy every moment.”

Here's the Tour report from second-place Jonas Vingegaard's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Jonas Vingegaard finished second on the climb to Les Angles in the third stage of the Tour de France. The Dane was beaten only by winner Tadej Pogačar, who finished two seconds ahead of him and thereby took over the yellow jersey.

On Monday afternoon, the peloton set off from Spain into French territory. From the start in Catalonia, the third stage was animated throughout. With four categorized climbs on the route, the parcours invited early attacks. Although numerous breakaway attempts failed, a group of eighteen riders eventually managed to establish the day's break. Their advantage, however, never grew very large. Meanwhile, Bruno Armirail was involved in a crash but was able to continue.

With around ten kilometers remaining, and the climb to Les Angles looming, the final attacker was caught. That left the battle for the stage victory in the Pyrenees to the general classification contenders. Thanks to strong teamwork, Team Visma | Lease a Bike put Vingegaard into an ideal position heading into the final corner. In the uphill sprint, Pogačar proved to be the strongest. The Slovenian gained two seconds, meaning Vingegaard now sits second in the general classification.

Jonas Vingegaard finishes second in stage three. Sirotti photo.

“We would have been perfectly happy if the breakaway had fought for the stage win today. It became clear quite early in the stage that UAE Team Emirates wanted to go for the victory. In a sprint like that, it's always difficult to beat Tadej. In the general classification, we’re now exactly even. I’m satisfied with that", Vingegaard says afterward.

Leading Race Coach Marc Reef described it as a strong day for the team. “It was a very demanding stage with high temperatures. A long battle for the breakaway was a favorable scenario for us, but the race unfolded differently. After that, we did a good job of keeping Jonas in position, with Matteo and Sepp doing an excellent job deep into the finale. Jonas then produced a very strong sprint. We're very pleased with that.”

Here’s the Tour news from new King of the Mountains Alex Baudin’s Team EF Education-EasyPost:

Alex Baudin raced his way into the King of the Mountains jersey on the first day the Tour de France entered its home country.

It took nearly 60 kilometers before the breakaway was able to ride clear of the peloton. Alex rode diligently, taking his pulls and resting when he was able. While the kilometers ticked by and the break crested the Col des Toses, Alex sensed his companions fatiguing. After nabbing maximum points on the Col du Calvaire, Alex attacked the break, ultimately racing solo for over 20 kilometers on rolling French terrain, getting caught only with 11 kilometers remaining.

For his effort, Alex will wear the polka dotted KOM jersey tomorrow as well as a red race number, signifying his work as the most aggressive rider of stage 3. Teammate Richard Carapaz then took over in the group of favorites and sprinted to third on the stage.

Alex Baudin after stage one of this year's Tour Auvergne-Rhone-alps. That's Bernard Thevenet with him on the podium.

The Frenchman is enjoying a phenomenal season. He finished ninth on GC at both Paris-Nice and Itzulia Basque Country and placed third at GP Miguel Indurain. Most recently, he won the opening stage of the Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alps and held the yellow jersey through the first five stages.

Here's the Tour report from the Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team:

Egan Bernal and Thymen Arensman claimed top-20 finishes on stage three of the Tour de France as the race returned to French soil.

Bernal was full of riding in the stage's early going, attacking as part of multiple breakaway attempts, before finally going clear in a group of 19 riders with 120 kilometres to go. Sadly luck deserted the Colombian champion as he suffered a puncture just as the move was establishing itself.

Filtering back into the peloton, Bernal and Arensman formed part of a reduced peloton which tackled a pair of late climbs, before accelerations stretched the group out late on.

Thymen Arensman finishing stage 16 of the 2026 Giro d'Italia. Sirotti photo

Crossing the line 17th (Bernal) and 19th (Arensman) respectively, Arensman jumped up four places on the GC to 16th overall. Bernal sits five places further back in 21st.

Early on the team saw four riders go down as a crash occurred directly in front of them. Arensman, Josh Tarling, Tobias Foss and Michal Kwiatkowski were all able to quickly remount, but encountered a fractured race situation when they returned to the peloton.

At the line it was Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) who claimed the stage win with a late acceleration, and with it moved into the yellow jersey.

And here's the Tour de France stage three report from Team Soudal Quick-Step:

The race said goodbye to Spain and headed to France through the Pyrenees for an unusually hard stage 3, the combination of high temperatures and 4000 vertical meters making it really difficult for many riders, including the sprinters, who were dropped on the first climb of the day and formed a gruppetto that concluded the day around half an hour behind winner Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates).

Louis Vervaeke was one of the 18 riders to animate the stage from a breakaway that opened a gap after more than two hours. It was an intense start, with dozens of riders - including Valentin Paret-Peintre - attacking in the hope of being part of the lead group. Vervaeke did a good effort, but the peloton allowed them to open a gap of just three minutes, and as a result, most of the escapees were reeled in on Collada de Toses, the hardest and longest climb of the stage.

The peloton on the Col de Toses. Photo: ASO/Charly Lopez

Just like on the Montjuic, it came down to an uphill sprint from a reduced GC group, and despite the last 200 meters being too explosive for his taste, Ilan Van Wilder rode a strong finish. Thanks to this, he continued to gain places in the overall standings and jump to tenth after three stages.

“It was an incredibly hard start to the stage. Very hot and a fierce battle that went on for two hours before a breakaway was formed. The finale was a punchy one and really difficult for me to fight for a good result, but I’m happy now that another stage is behind us and I’ve managed to climb to tenth on the general classification”, Ilan said at the finish.

Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

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