RACE REPORT: There are breakaways… and then there are rides that become career-defining.
Sigrid Haugset (EF Education-Oatly) produced one of the performances of this year’s Tour de France Femmes, surviving an astonishing 86-kilometre solo escape – the longest in this race’s history – to claim Stage 3 and pull on the Maillot Jaune after holding off a determined late chase from Lotte Kopecky.
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The Norwegian national champion looked destined to be caught as Kopecky steadily closed to within seconds inside the final 10 kilometres, but Haugset somehow found another gear, dug deeper than anyone thought possible, and rode alone into France’s first Tour stage finish ahead of the former world champion.
The general classification favourites rolled home nearly three minutes later after a surprisingly passive finale.
The Tour Finally Reaches France
After two days in Switzerland, Stage 3 finally carried the peloton across the border into France—and straight into the mountains.
The opening obstacle was the formidable Col de la Faucille, an 11.4-kilometre climb averaging 6.3%, topping out at 1,323 metres and ranking among the highest points of this year’s Tour. Riders still had to tackle the Côte de la Lajoux (3.6km at 5.6%), Col de la Savine (5.6km at 5.1%) and the late Côte de Chaux-Champagny (1.8km at 6.4%) before reaching the finish.
The tension before the start was obvious.
Many riders warmed up on trainers, fully aware that the race would explode as soon as the road tilted upward.
Early Crashes, Immediate Selection
Even before the first major climb began, both Demi Vollering and Puck Pieterse hit the ground in separate incidents.
Fortunately neither rider was injured, and both quickly regained contact before the Col de la Faucille.
Once the climbing started, however, the selection was immediate.
Early race leader Lorena Wiebes said goodbye to the maillot jaune
Yellow jersey Lorena Wiebes and nearly all of the remaining sprinters were dropped within the opening ascent, conceding more than five minutes and effectively ending any hopes of another sprint victory.
Pieterse bounced back impressively from her earlier crash, climbing strongly enough to collect mountain classification points at the summit.
Haugset Seizes the Opportunity
While the peloton splintered, a fierce battle developed to establish the day’s breakaway.
An elite group briefly threatened to escape featuring Femke de Vries, Nienke Vinke, Yara Kastelijn, Lucinda Brand, Justine Ghekiere, Célia Gery, Liane Lippert—and even Lotte Kopecky.
That immediately caught the attention of EF Education-Oatly, who helped bring the move back under control.
Only one rider refused to surrender.
Sigrid Haugset kept pressing alone.
The Norwegian champion quickly built a lead, and when Kopecky launched a solo pursuit behind her, it appeared the race would become a fascinating two-rider battle.
Instead, the opposite happened.
The peloton eased considerably, content to let the move develop, and before anyone fully appreciated the danger Haugset’s advantage had ballooned to nearly five minutes.
Kopecky Gives Chase
With nobody else close enough to challenge, Kopecky committed fully to the pursuit.
For kilometre after kilometre she hovered just over one minute behind, but Haugset simply refused to crack.
The Norwegian knew exactly what kind of effort she was capable of. Only weeks earlier she had claimed the Norwegian national championship with another lengthy solo attack, and she appeared determined to repeat the feat on an even bigger stage.
Everything would come down to the final ascent of the Côte de Chaux-Champagny.
The Race Ignites Behind
The final climb finally woke up the favourites.
Kim Le Court accelerated first, reducing the lead group to roughly ten riders.
Then Kasia Niewiadoma attacked, thinning the contenders even further.
Perhaps the biggest surprise came when defending Tour champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot briefly lost contact, appearing to struggle as the pace intensified. Fortunately for the Frenchwoman, hesitation among the attackers allowed her to regain the group before any real damage was done.
Anna van der Breggen was the notable casualty, unable to follow the accelerations, while Le Court collected valuable bonus seconds over the summit.
Despite the attacks, the favourites never truly organized a committed chase.
With few domestiques remaining, cooperation quickly evaporated and the time gap stabilized at around two-and-a-half minutes.
The stage victory would come from the riders already ahead.
Haugset Finds One More Gear
Kopecky continued her relentless pursuit after the climb.
Inside the final 10 kilometres, the gap shrank dramatically to only a handful of seconds. It looked inevitable that the Belgian would complete the catch.
But just when Haugset appeared to be fading, she somehow rediscovered her rhythm.
On several exposed roads she also benefited from brief shelter behind race motorcycles—something Kopecky never enjoyed—and every small advantage helped preserve her slender lead.
Meanwhile Kopecky’s enormous effort finally caught up with her.
Over the final five kilometres, the Belgian’s pursuit began to fade as Haugset steadily rode away once more.
After more than 86 kilometres alone at the front, the Norwegian crossed the finish line with just enough left to celebrate the biggest victory of her career.
The reward was even sweeter.
Not only did Sigrid Haugset earn a spectacular solo victory, she also replaced Lorena Wiebes as the new leader of the Tour de France Femmes, pulling on the yellow jersey after one of the most memorable long-range attacks of the season.
Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift 2026 Stage 3 Results
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