The 171-kilometre stage from Herxheim to Bad Dürkheim through the hilly Palatinate was considered the queen stage. Major climbs totalling more than 3,100 metres of elevation gain were spread throughout the day, but the race was decided over the final 35 kilometres. Del Toro attacked on the Rotsteig and quickly pulled away from the man in the blue jersey, the overall leader Louis Barré (Team Visma | Lease a Bike).

Only Pellizzari managed to move up alongside the Mexican on the third-last climb of the day, the Rotsteig. The pair rode the rest of the day together, each with a different objective. Whilst Pellizzari was conserving his energy to win the stage, Del Toro’s main aim was to return to the top of the general classification. Both achieved their goals.

Pellizzari reacts calmly to Del Toro’s attack

With one day to go before the end of the race, the Tour de France bronze medallist now leads by 52 seconds over Barré. Third is Marc Hirschi (Tudor Pro Cycling), 1 minute and 5 seconds behind. The Swiss rider also finished third on the day’s stage behind the leading duo, having attacked from the chasing group on the final climb. He crossed the finish line 34 seconds behind, whilst the main group led by Barré finished 49 seconds later.

​“I know Isaac quite well and I know that on two-minute climbs he’s simply in a different league,” said Pellizzari after the race. “It would have been a mistake to follow him straight away. That’s why I rode at my own pace, without taking the risk of overdoing it. I rode as fast as I could up to the crest, so that I could then catch up with him again.” For the 22-year-old, it was his sixth victory as a professional, five of which have come this year. “My personal goal for this season was to win more races,” he added – mission accomplished.

Whilst Del Toro holds not only the Blue and White jerseys but also the Green Jersey, there isn’t much left for the rest of the peloton. In the battle for the mountains jersey, however, Miguel Heidemann (REMBE | rad-net) has taken another big step forward. The 28-year-old, riding as part of a breakaway, won two mountain climbs and is back in the polka-dot jersey as King of the Mountains.

Lidl Germany Tour 2026 – Results of Stage 3

Here’s how Stage 3 of the 2026 Lidl Deutschland Tour unfolded

It took a few days before the first attacks were launched. But compared to the previous days, when the Continental teams had dominated the groups, this time it was the bigger teams that threw their hats into the ring. Lidl–Trek sent Max Walscheid to the front, whilst Tobias Müller took up the role for Unibet Rose Rockets. The smaller teams, however, were not prepared to settle for that. Heidemann pressed on and also managed to break away after a good 20 kilometres.

This didn’t go down well with the peloton, so five more riders set off in pursuit, including Ben Felix Jochum (Team Lotto Kern-Haus Outlet Montabaur). Whilst the leading trio had a lead of one and a half minutes over the peloton, the chasers were 30 seconds behind them. The group came together just before the first mountain classification in Lolosruhe, but Heidemann still secured the points at the top.

However, the peloton had long since stepped up the pace. By the time they reached the Kalmit for the first time, only Heidemann and Jochum were still ahead of the peloton, and they managed to pick up some more mountain points. Shortly afterwards, however, they too were caught. The pace in the peloton remained high throughout the second ascent, but isolated breakaway riders were never able to pull away by much.

Del Toro gets the final off to an early start

Whilst heavy rain set in at times, the situation then changed on the descent from Johanniskreuz after around 100 kilometres. Nelson Oliveira (Movistar Team) took more risks than anyone else on that descent and subsequently built up a lead of up to one and a half minutes. The Portuguese rider remained at the front on his own until UAE prepared Del Toro’s attack 35 kilometres from the finish. He launched his attack on the Rotsteig.

Barré was unable to keep up with the lively attack and immediately sent his team out to chase, in an effort to keep the gap small. Pellizzari took a different approach and did not try to force his way to the front. He slowly made up ground, metre by metre, and by the end of the climb was on the back wheel of Del Toro, who had in turn caught up with Oliveira.

With 15 kilometres to go, the riders tackled the Annaberg for the first time. The leading trio – from which Oliveira soon fell behind – held a lead of more than a minute over the chasing pack. When they climbed the mountain for the second time, Hirschi broke away from the chasing group. He made up significant ground right up to the finish, but ultimately his attack came too late. Del Toro and Pellizzari battled it out for victory, though it soon became clear that the Italian was the livelier of the pair.