Norway's Sigrid Haugset produced the most remarkable ride of this year's Tour de France Femmes on Tuesday, winning stage three in Poligny with a solo breakaway and moving into the race leader's yellow jersey.
The 27-year-old Uno-X Mobility rider, racing in the Norwegian champion's jersey, attacked from the day's breakaway on the 156.5km run from Geneva to Poligny and rode the final 88.5 kilometres alone. Despite a long pursuit from two-time world champion Lotte Kopecky, Haugset held on to win by one minute 24 seconds, with Marianne Vos taking third, two minutes 28 seconds behind the winner.
It was the first WorldTour victory of Haugset's career — her only previous professional win came at the Norwegian national championships in June — and few had given her any chance before the start.
The stage began with a brutal first-category climb up the Col de la Faucille, which immediately shredded the peloton and distanced Lorena Wiebes, the yellow jersey holder after the opening two stages, exactly as expected. Haugset slipped into the breakaway and, between the second climb and the Col de la Savine, left the group behind.
Kopecky, one of the most decorated riders in the women's peloton, gave chase and cut the gap to around 15 seconds, only to lose ground when crosswinds swept across the harvested fields near Arbois. The SD Worx-Protime rider eventually conceded, finishing 84 seconds down.
Haugset, who now leads the general classification by two minutes two seconds from Kim le Court, admitted afterwards she never believed she could hold on. "I never thought it was possible. It's unreal," she said. "When I went I thought: 'Yeah, she will catch me — shall I drop down to her? Second is good.' But I kept on going and the car was amazing, pushing me on... I can't believe she didn't catch me. I was so dizzy at the end — I couldn't lift my arms off the bike."
Behind the drama, the overall favourites kept their powder dry: Demi Vollering, defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and Kasia Niewiadoma finished 2:48 behind Kopecky in a reduced peloton, leaving the general classification wide open ahead of the mountains. Haugset is expected to surrender the jersey once the race reaches the high passes, with stage four a 21km time trial to Dijon.
Sources
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/articles/c78gzdv8x7go
- https://www.letourfemmes.fr/en/news/2026/stage-3/sigrid-haugsets-yellow-breakthrough/1298806
