DISCUSSION - Tour de France Stage 3 - Who can stop Pogacar and Del Toro? Where does Visma go from here?

Tadej Pogacar secured a perfect day at the Tour de France by winning Stage 3 in Les Angles and moving into the overall race lead. The UAE Emirates - XRG leader proved the strongest on the steep uphill finish, powering clear of Jonas Vingegaard in the final metres. Although both riders are on the same overall time, Pogacar takes over the yellow jersey.

The first Pyrenean stage produced aggressive racing from the start. Riders including Quinn Simmons, Mads Pedersen, Jonas Abrahamsen, Mathieu van der Poel and Richard Carapaz all launched attacks, but none managed to break clear.

The relentless pace quickly split the peloton. Several sprinters, including Arnaud De Lie, were dropped early, while a crash involving around twenty riders left more contenders chasing.

After nearly 70 kilometres of attacks, an 18-rider breakaway finally established itself. The group included Mads Pedersen, Alex Baudin, Nicolas Prodhomme, Harold Tejada, Vlad Van Mechelen, Luke Plapp, Mauro Schmid, Magnus Cort, George Bennett, Nelson Oliveira and Michael Storer among others.

The break built a lead of around two minutes as Team Visma | Lease a Bike controlled the peloton, but UAE Emirates - XRG had different ambitions.

Following the intermediate sprint, where Mads Pedersen collected maximum points to move into the green jersey, UAE increased the pace dramatically. The gap to the breakaway quickly disappeared as the race reached the Col de Toses.

Baudin claimed the mountain summit first to secure the polka-dot jersey, but the escape never looked safe. The relentless tempo from UAE shattered both the breakaway and the peloton, with riders such as Mathieu van der Poel, Ben Healy and Romain Grégoire losing contact.

Alex Baudin was the final survivor, been caught inside the last 11 kilometres. The general classification contenders then prepared for the decisive climb into Les Angles.

Isaac Del Toro delivered another outstanding lead-out for UAE, setting a brutal pace that discouraged attacks. When the road kicked up, Pogacar launched a decisive acceleration that only Jonas Vingegaard briefly tried to follow.

The Slovenian quickly opened a gap and crossed the line alone, sealing both the stage victory and the yellow jersey after another dominant display from UAE Emirates XRG.

Carlos Silva from CyclingUpToDate closely followed the third stage of the world's biggest cycling race and shared his thoughts after the finish.

The second longest stage of this year's Tour marked the peloton's arrival in France. Before the stage, the organizers urged cycling fans and the general public to stay away from the day's final climbs because of the wildfires burning in the Pyrenees. Despite those warnings, many people ignored the appeal and gathered along the roadside. It was a clear lack of respect and civic responsibility. A yellow card for the cycling fans.

As for the race itself, it took almost two hours before the day's breakaway was finally established. Those opening two hours were packed with adrenaline and excitement, with relentless attacks and counterattacks. But once Tadej Pogacar's team took control of the peloton, one thing became clear: the breakaway was never going to succeed.

Although Lidl-Trek and Visma showed their intentions to fight for the stage win by moving to the front of the bunch, the reality was that UAE Team Emirates never truly surrendered control. They remained firmly in command throughout.

The approach to the final climb was highly technical, with narrow roads creating an extra spectacle as teams battled fiercely for position. Once the riders hit the final ascent, Isaac del Toro set a fierce pace, thinning out the group and perfectly preparing the ground for the world champion's attack.

With 200 metres to go, Pogacar once again proved that he has no equal. He accelerated explosively, immediately opening a significant gap over Jonas Vingegaard and the rest of the favourites before sealing both the stage victory and the yellow jersey.

One thing is certain: Pogacar is in outstanding form. Driven by both his performances and his results, he may well be beginning his march towards a fifth Tour de France title. I would even go a step further and say that he could already hold a bigger advantage over the Visma leader than many people are expecting.

We're only three days into the race, but... I have a feeling.

Javier Rampe from CiclismoAlDia followed all the action as the Tour de France crossed from Spain into France today, and at the end of the day shared his thoughts on everything that unfolded on the road.

There is no Tour anymore. That's it. The 113th edition of the Tour de France is effectively over. Tadej Pogacar put Jonas Vingegaard in his place to claim his first stage win, which also earned him the yellow jersey.

The Visma leader was left sitting on his bike, nervously looking over his shoulder to make sure nobody would snatch second place from him. A position the Dutch team believes belongs to them, but one their leader is beginning to fear losing after running out of breath on the slopes of Les Angles.

When Tadej Pogacar races, the cycling world waits in anticipation for his attack. This time it didn't come 100 kilometres from the finish, but only in the final metres, after a superb team effort from UAE Team. The Emirati squad reached the first finish on French soil almost entirely intact, while Visma had only two riders left alongside Vingegaard.

Two road stages, both explosive, with the first real mountain test, and nearly 200 kilometres across a Pyrenean route scarred by wildfires have also left the Dane physically and mentally devastated. At the first real challenge of the race, he has already opened up an ocean of doubts.

Tadej Pogacar and Isaac del Toro have become the Tour de France's defining duo, and they are already the nightmare of the Dutch team. But perhaps that is simply tradition now, one the Slovenian has upheld ever since the summer he turned Primoz Roglic's world upside down at La Planche des Belles Filles.

Pascal Michiels from RadsportAktuell was captivated by another thrilling day of racing at the Tour de France and, once the stage had come to an end, reflected on the key moments and talking points that shaped the day.

The Tour de France is only three days old, but Tadej Pogacar has already made one thing clear: he has not come here to wait. Stage 3 to Les Angles looked for a long time like a day for the breakaway. Alex Baudin rode courageously, collected valuable mountain points and even briefly dreamed of taking the yellow jersey. But UAE Team Emirates had other ideas.

What followed was a statement. Nils Politt, Florian Vermeersch and Tim Wellens kept the breakaway firmly under control before Isaac del Toro produced the perfect lead-out in the closing metres. Pogacar then did what he does best, unleashing one of his trademark accelerations to claim the stage victory and the yellow jersey.

The cruel twist for Jonas Vingegaard is that Pogacar takes the overall lead by the finest of margins. The pair are level on time in the general classification, but the result of the team time trial puts the Slovenian ahead by mere hundredths of a second. At this stage of the race, the gap is almost absurdly small mathematically, yet symbolically it is hugely significant. Pogacar has seized the initiative.

Vingegaard conceded only a handful of seconds on the road, but psychologically the damage may be greater than the time loss suggests. UAE Team Emirates looked completely in control throughout the finale, while Visma could do little to disrupt their rivals' plans. It was an early reminder that Pogacar and his team intend to dictate the race rather than simply respond to it.

From a German perspective, the day offered another major positive. Florian Lipowitz crossed the line in seventh place, finishing in the same group as Remco Evenepoel, Isaac del Toro and Juan Ayuso, just behind Pogacar, Vingegaard, Richard Carapaz and Paul Seixas. It was no coincidence. It was a performance that underlined both his consistency and his potential.

Of course, it is still far too early to draw definitive conclusions. But stages like this reveal who can handle the heat, the demanding terrain and the relentless pressure applied by UAE Team Emirates. Lipowitz did exactly that. While Pogacar deservedly dominates the headlines after taking yellow, the German leaves Les Angles with every reason to be encouraged after one of the strongest rides of his young Tour de France career.

Ruben Silva from CyclingUpToDate analysed what he saw on the stage that marked the race's transition from Spain into France and shared his thoughts on the day's action.

A stage that I didn't get the chance to see whole, but the average speed says it all. A lot of heat, considerable amount of climbing, and still the peloton moved so incredibly fast.

At first, it had everything for a breakaway to succeed, but Visma's incomprehensibly tight grip of the front group showed UAE that riding for a certain stage win would not be so costly. And so they did, not burning their main domestiques and in the process taking Tadej Pogacar to a victory no-one really doubted.

This was always going to be an uphill sprint stage between the GC men - not my preferred format of stage, but since it's the start of the Tour and we've had GC action already then I understand it.

UAE did not have to do too much and in the end, Isaac del Toro retributed the favour for the World Champion. He is now the race leader, fruit of a sprint where he was unmatched. It doesn't say anything about Jonas Vingegaard I think, it simply says what we know of Pogacar: He is the best puncheur in the world.

UAE have dealt their psychological blows, winning stages with their two men, above Vingegaard. The 'big two' are now tied in GC, and I think looking above the competition once again (although these days will have no impact in the overall win).

Pogacar is now in yellow and Visma are now in the position where they need to attack, not only Pogacar but to distance Del Toro. Hence, a new race begins - although tomorrow UAE may want to let a breakaway go with secondary GC men to take the jersey.

Tom Pidcock's time loss was worrying in the stage that perhaps suited him best, Cian Uijtdebroeks illness is a serious issue for a Movistar that has been having a disastrous year, and I seriously pose into question INEOS who supposedly came into the Tour with stage hunting ambitions, they are having both Thymen Arensman and Egan Bernal so far doing an all-out GC bid for no apparent reason.

Tadej Pogacar has thrown down the gauntlet. While opinions differ on whether the Tour de France is already decided, all agree that Stage 3 marked a significant psychological victory for the world champion. UAE Team Emirates - XRG controlled the race from start to finish, neutralised the breakaway with authority and delivered Pogacar to the final climb in perfect position, where a trademark acceleration secured both the stage victory and the yellow jersey.

The day's performance also exposed the growing contrast between the two main contenders. Jonas Vingegaard lost only a handful of seconds, but several observers felt the damage went far beyond the stopwatch. Visma never looked capable of disrupting UAE's control, while Isaac del Toro once again proved to be an invaluable lieutenant alongside a remarkably strong Emirati squad. Whether or not the Tour is already over remains open for debate, but there is little doubt that Pogacar has seized the initiative and placed his biggest rival under immediate pressure.

Beyond the battle for yellow, there were other encouraging stories. Alex Baudin's brave breakaway rewarded him with the polka-dot jersey after an aggressive ride through the Pyrenees, while Florian Lipowitz continued to enhance his growing reputation with another composed display among the elite favourites. Yet the lasting image of the day belongs to Pogacar. Three stages into the race, he has not only taken the yellow jersey, but also reminded the peloton that, once again, everyone else is racing on his terms.