Results Boucles de la Mayenne 2026 Stage 3 - Olav Kooij denies Mads Pedersen in Laval as Benoit Cosnefroy seals overall victory
Cycling
Olav Kooij won the final stage of the 2026 Boucles de la Mayenne in Laval, taking his second victory of the race as Benoit Cosnefroy secured overall victory for UAE Team Emirates - XRG.
The Decathlon CMA CGM Team sprinter came through at the end of the 147.8km stage from Cosse-le-Vivien, beating Mads Pedersen and John Degenkolb after Lidl - Trek had led into the final kilometre.
Maikel Zijlaard finished fourth, with Marijn van den Berg fifth and Alberto Dainese sixth.
Cosnefroy had taken control of the race by winning Saturday’s queen stage to Pre-en-Pail-Saint-Samson and safely defended his lead on the final day. His overall win completed a strong race for UAE Team Emirates - XRG, who had also taken the opening prologue through Julius Johansen.
Kooij doubles up after late catch
Pierre Thierry, Ethan Hayter, Matthias Schwarzbacher and Edoardo Zamperini had formed the day’s main break after earlier attacks were brought back. Hayter later dropped out of the move after a mechanical and bike change, leaving Thierry, Schwarzbacher and Zamperini to continue ahead.
The remaining three riders held a narrow lead into the local circuit in Laval, but the gap was down to 19 seconds with around 20km remaining and continued to fall. Soudal Quick-Step, EF Education - EasyPost, Team Visma | Lease a Bike and Tudor Pro Cycling Team were all listed among the teams pulling in the closing kilometres.
The catch was made inside the final 5km, with Lidl - Trek then taking control of the bunch. Soren Kragh Andersen led out Pedersen, who opened the sprint, but Kooij came through to take the stage win.
Kooij’s victory was his second in three days after his stage 1 success in Chateau-Gontier-sur-Mayenne, while Cosnefroy finished the race as overall winner after reshaping the GC on the hardest stage of the week.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling forRafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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