The prospects for female sprinters in this Tour de Suisse Women were slim from the outset. Consequently, Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon – SRAM) can now claim to have made the most of this stage race. The British rider won the third stage – a flat 120.8-kilometre route around Ragaz – on Friday afternoon, somewhat surprisingly. Other riders had been considered the favourites.
With an early surge, 20-year-old Bäckstedt outmanoeuvred her rivals and won by several bike lengths ahead of the American Lilly Williams (Human Powered Health) and the Belgian Shari Bossuyt (AG Insurance – Soudal). German champion Franziska Koch (FDJ United – Suez) finished in tenth place.
In the general classification, Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE – ADQ) defended her yellow jersey ahead of the individual time trial on Stage 4. She is followed by Lauren Dickson (FDJ United – Suez), who is second in the general classification, 25 seconds behind. The British rider crashed shortly before the finish, crossed the line well behind the leaders, but was timed as part of the peloton. Third place went to Sarah van Dam (Visma – Lease a Bike), 35 seconds behind.
Stage 3 of the 2026 Tour de Suisse Women – Results
Here’s how Stage 3 of the 2026 Tour de Suisse Women went:
As the stage got underway, a high-calibre leading group formed, including, amongst others, Kim le Court (AG Insurance – Soudal), who was eighth in the general classification, and the winner of Liège–Bastogne–Liège, Juliette Berthet (FDJ United – Suez). Her six companions were: Alice Towers (EF Education – Oatly), Loes Adegeest (Lidl – Trek), Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Liv – AlUla – Jayco), Femke Markus (SD Worx – Protime), Katharina Sadnik (Visma – Lease a Bike) and Megan Arens (Picnic – PostNL).
The group built up a lead of around two minutes. This meant that Le Court was, for the time being, virtually at the top of the general classification. UAE-ADQ and Longo Borghini were therefore keen to do the chasing work. With the help of Movistar, however, the gap was gradually reduced.
Lauren Dickson takes a tumble in the final
The leading group then broke up over the final 20 kilometres. With 16 kilometres to go, before the last two intermediate sprints, the group was completely caught. Lauren Dickson (FDJ United – Suez) secured the three bonus seconds at the first sprint. Laura Asencio (Ma Petite Entreprise) then formed another six-rider breakaway, but this was caught nine kilometres from the finish.
Four kilometres from the finish, Dickson collided with a barrier and crashed. In the decisive stage of the race, the New Zealander had no chance of catching up again. At the front, Kasia Niewiadoma led the Canyon team’s breakaway into the final kilometre, where Bäckstedt ultimately sealed the team’s victory.
