Tour de Suisse 2026 stage 3 preview | Will an 'easier' day end in a sprint for the men and women?

Two grueling days are behind us, but on Friday, the riders—both men and women—will have it a little easier. Around Bad Ragaz, the sprinters seem to have a chance. But, especially among the men, breakaway riders could throw a spanner in the works. IDL Pro Cycling brings you everything you need to know about Tour de Suisse stage 3.

The course for the women’s race is a bit different from the men’s. It’s an uphill climb right from the start — 3-kilometers at just over 10 percent. After that, there’s only one short (and equally steep) climb on the course, but the rest is flat, flat, flat—and that’s in Switzerland, a country known for its Alps.

So we can expect a sprint finish. The final stretch is flat and has virtually no turns: the last turn is about seven kilometers from the finish line. Bad Ragaz will therefore really be for the fast women.

Times
Start: 9:18 a.m CET
Finish: around 12:15 p.m CET

In 2026, the Tour de Suisse will feature the same start and finish locations for the first time ever. Bad Ragaz has been selected to host Stage 3. The race last finished there in 2013, when Peter Sagan claimed victory. Just one of the eighteen stages the Slovak has won at this race!

In 2026, the stage in the eastern part of the Alpine country will look like this: we’ll start almost immediately with the Sankt Luzistieg, a 2-kilometer climb with an average gradient of 10.1 percent. Interestingly, no mountain points are even awarded for that climb.

That will happen a little later on the two toughest climbs of the day. After 28 kilometers, the riders will tackle the Wildhaus from Gams, a 9.1-kilometer climb with an average gradient of 6.7 percent. Following a short descent, the Schwägalp adds another layer of difficulty with its 4.0-kilometer climb at an average gradient of 8.5 percent.

We’ll be at an elevation of 1,303 meters at that point, while the finish line is at 517 meters above sea level. That means the second half of the course is mostly downhill: the final 58 kilometers leading to the finish in Bad Ragaz are completely flat. The final stretch has few turns, but it does wind a bit until the 400-meter marker.

Times
Start: 1:45 p.m CET
Finish: 5:45 p.m CET

It’s hot in Europe these days, and eastern Switzerland is no exception. Temperatures there are reaching 29 degrees Celsius, and the wind isn’t going to provide much relief either: it’s blowing at just 3 kilometers per hour in the afternoon.

Since the Tour de Suisse route is mainly dotted with hills and mountains, there aren’t too many pure sprinters at the start. The question is: who will seize her chance in the third stage? For Belgium, Shari Bossuyt is one of the top contenders. The AG Insurance–Soudal rider excels especially in tough finishes, but with a field like this, she could also shine in a flat finish.

But there’s competition. From our own country, we have to watch out for Julie De Wilde (Fenix-Premier Tech), who can really go all out on a good day. Another rider with strong legs is Lily Williams (Human Powered Health). She sprinted behind Elisa Balsamo to take second place in the Giro d’Italia.

FDJ-SUEZ will be counting on German champion Franziska Koch. Or will they go with Marie Le Net, or Sofia Bertizzolo? The French team has plenty of trump cards up its sleeve. Canyon//SRAM has Agnieszka Skalniak-Sojka, but Zoe Bäckstedt can also finish strong. Marta Lach will be the sprinter for SD Worx-Protime, while Liv AlUla Jayco has Letizia Paternoster on the team.

It remains to be seen whether we’ll see sprinters like Sarah van Dam (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Liane Lippert (Movistar). The Spanish team might opt for the young Lucia Ruiz Perez instead.

Top Favorite: Shari Bossuyt (AG Insurance - Soudal)
Dark horses: Marta Lach (SD Worx-Protime), Julie De Wilde (Fenix-Premier Tech), Lily Williams (Human Powered Health), and Franziska Koch (FDJ-SUEZ)
Long shots: Agnieska Skalniak-Sojka, Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon//SRAM), Letizia Paternoster (Liv AlUla Jayco), Lucia Ruiz Perez (Movistar), Marie Le Net, Sofia Bertizzolo (FDJ-SUEZ), and Sarah van Dam (Visma | Lease a Bike)

Just like in the women’s race, there aren’t too many top sprinters in the Tour de Suisse: most have opted for the Baloise Belgium Tour. In this field, Kaden Groves appears to be the top favorite. The Australian has already won stages in all the major tours, and with Mathieu van der Poel, he may well have the best lead-out man.

But there are plenty of fast riders who see this as their chance to snag a major victory. Casper van Uden (Picnic PostNL) hasn’t quite found the form he had at the 2025 Giro d’Italia yet, but this could be his moment. Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike) will also be eager to win in Switzerland. He’ll have to do it without his lead-out man, Owain Doull, though.

Alberto Dainese hasn’t won yet for his new team, Soudal Quick-Step, but he could make up for it here. Corbin Strong is in better form and has already won the Circuit de Wallonie. On a flat finish, his chances are slightly reduced, but with this field, he could still pull off a win. The same goes for Orluis Aular (Movistar), Pau Miquel (Bahrain Victorious), Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), and Axel Laurance (Netcompany INEOS).

EF Education-EasyPost has two riders to watch: Marijn van den Berg and Luke Lamperti. Jayco AlUla will be hoping that Michael Matthews can rejoin the sprint battle after his serious crash in training. The young Felix Ørn-Kristoff might get his chance with Lotto-Intermarché; otherwise, they still have Cedric Beullens. For XDS Astana, we expect Yevgeniy Fedorov.

Top Favorites: Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Dark horses: Alberto Dainese (Soudal Quick-Step), Casper van Uden (Picnic PostNL), Orluis Aular (Movistar), and Corbin Strong (NSN)
Long shots: Marijn van den Berg, Luke Lamperti (EF Education-EasyPost), Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla), Axel Laurance (Netcompany INEOS), Yevgeniy Fedorov (XDS Astana), Felix Ørn-Kristoff (Lotto-Intermarché), Pau Miquel (Bahrain Victorious), and Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)