Another lone rider, Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx – Protime), set out to catch the 27-year-old. Ten kilometres from the finish of the 157-kilometre stage, which had started in Geneva, Kopecky had reduced the gap to ten seconds. But the former world champion never got any closer to the Norwegian. Whilst Kopecky ran out of steam, Haugset – in her first WorldTour season – held on to the lead and, following her Norwegian national title win at the end of June, celebrated only her second victory as a professional. On top of that, she also claimed the yellow jersey, as the group containing the favourites for the general classification crossed the finish line almost three minutes behind.

“I’ve never even thought about something like a stage win on the Tour or the yellow jersey. Standing here now feels completely surreal,” said Haugset at the finish. “I kept thinking the whole time that Kopecky would catch me; second place would have been nice too. I was pushed so hard out of the car. In the end, I was so exhausted that I couldn’t even lift my arms properly to celebrate.”

Whilst Kopecky crossed the finish line 1 minute and 24 seconds behind, Demi Vollering (FDJ United – SUEZ), who had crashed at the start of the stage but remained uninjured, and her teammates took 2 minutes and 48 seconds longer than the stage winner, who now leads the general classification by 2 minutes and 2 seconds ahead of Kim Le Court (AG Insurance Soudal Team).

Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx - Protime), who had been wearing the yellow jersey until now, lost contact with the peloton on the very first tough climb and crossed the finish line with the grupetto, but can take comfort in the green jersey. The new leader in the mountains classification is Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech), whilst Paula Blasi (UAE Team L’IMAD) takes over the young rider’s jersey.

2026 Tour de France Femmes – Results of Stage 3

Here’s how Stage 3 of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes unfolded

After the climb straight from the start in Geneva, there were no attacks all the way up to the Col de la Faucille (Category 1). Whilst the sprinters around Wiebes quickly fell behind in the grupetto, nobody on the difficult climb was willing to attack. The battle for the mountain classification after 24 kilometres was therefore fought from within the peloton. Pieterse secured ten points there. On the climb to the second mountain shortly afterwards, the Côte de Lajoux (Category 3), Lucinda Brand (Lidl – Trek) then tried her luck as a breakaway rider, but Pieterse was not about to let the chance of three more mountain points slip away.

It was only after the summit that a group of eleven riders broke away, including Rosa Maria Klöser (CANYON//SRAM) and Liane Lippert (Movistar Team). Haugset was also part of this group. The Norwegian champion was subsequently the only one to really push on, breaking away from her companions on the Col de la Savine (2nd category). Whilst the rest of the group was reeled in, Haugset went solo and built up a lead of up to five minutes.

With 74 kilometres to go, Kopecky used a small rise to launch an attack from the peloton. The former world champion also found herself riding alone shortly afterwards, but was unable to close the gap to the front. With 40 kilometres to go, Kopecky was 1 minute and 5 seconds behind the leader.

Kopecky cannot close the gap

At the mountain classification (4th category), around 26 kilometres from the finish, a battle for the general classification flared up alongside the fight for the stage victory. Whilst Haugset still had a 30-second lead over Kopecky and a three-minute advantage over the peloton, Le Court attacked from the front at full throttle on the short but steep and narrow climb. A group of ten riders, including all the GC contenders, broke away there, but rejoined the peloton after the bonus sprint that followed shortly afterwards. Le Court secured the two remaining seconds there.

It wasn’t until the 12-kilometre mark that a second group, led by Blasi and Vos, caught up again, followed later by further groups. However, with the gap still at more than two minutes, the stage victory was no longer within reach. Haugset and Kopecky battled it out between themselves.

Ten kilometres from the finish, Kopecky had already closed the gap to ten seconds; four kilometres later, however, the Belgian’s deficit had doubled again. And it grew even further. Whilst Haugset rode to victory, Kopecky had to admit defeat. Vos ultimately won the sprint from the group of favourites.