May 3, 2026
They say it's wise to save the best for last and that's what the organizers have done with today's final stage from Lucens to Leysin. There are 178 km to cover, mostly in a Southerly direction passed the shores of Lac Léman, through Aigle, and into the high peaks for a total of 3,500 meters of elevation gain. There are two category three climbs in the middle of the stage, one to Sottens and the other to Vulliens but neither are much more than 4% and shouldn't cause much issue for the peloton. Things should heat up with 53 km to go through a bonus sprint in Chardonne. The road gradually climbs for the next 8 km before plunging down into Montreux. There are 16 km of flat valley roads through Villeneuve and to the final sprint of the race in Aigle. As soon as the riders reach Aigle, they start the ascent of Leysin which takes the bunch to the conclusion of the race. The final 14 km are all uphill at an average of 6%. With 3.5 km to go, the course swings off a main road and climbs steeper to the summit at an average of 7.7%. Tadej Pogačar holds a 1 minute lead on GC which seems out of reach but there are podium spots and a stage win still up for grabs which should motivate plenty.
Race Summary
Only a few clouds dotted the sky for another unbelievably beautiful Spring day. When the break went, it contained eight riders including Finn Fisher-Black and Jan Tratnik of Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe, Marco Schrettl of XDS-Astana, Jakob Söderqvist of Lidl-Trek, Lorenzo Germani of Groupama-FDJ United, Gil Gelders of Alpecin-Premier Tech, Robbie Dhondt of Picnic-PostNL, and Asbjørn Hellemose of Jayco AlUla. With 90 km to go, they were nearing the village of Moudons which they had previously visited on Stage 2, at 3 minutes ahead of the UAE-XRG led peloton.
Bahrain Victorious set their stall out for victory by adding a man to the chase with 65 km to go. The gap was down to 2 minutes by the time the break reached Lac Léman with 56 km to go. Vineyards and wine estates lined either side of the road and the view across the lake was spectacular. The race was in a holding pattern which allowed some of the riders to have a peek over their shoulders to appreciate where they were riding.
The descent into Montreux began with 41 km to go as more of a false flat and it slowly got steeper and steeper until 38 km from the line when it finally tipped down towards the lake once more. When the road flattened back out with 28 km to go, the gap was down to 1 minute 30 seconds. Bahrain Victorious continued to ride with UAE-XRG and when the break reached the sprint point in Aigle and started the final climb to Leysin, the gap had tumbled to just 40 seconds.
The break split apart with Fisher-Black going forward early on the climb to Leysin. He continued passed the terraced vines along the mountain side with the UCI head quarters disappearing from view in the valley below. The gap got as low as 17 seconds but Fisher-Black got into a solid rhythm and was able to build it back to 36 seconds through the avalanche tunnels at 10 km but it was coming back again to just 20 seconds with 8 km remaining. The catch was made 1,500 meters later with Bahrain Victorious still leading a peloton of around 30 riders.
It was status-quo until 3.2 km to go. Damiano Caruso had trimmed the group to 15 riders and it was Felix Großschartner of UAE-XRG who picked up the baton to set the pace. It was a short pull however because the kilometers were ticking by and Florian Lipowitz of Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe couldn't sit back and wait any longer. He made his move with race leader Tadej Pogačar of UAE-XRG reacting and a group of eight or nine latched on. There were a few counter moves but the real punch came from Lipowitz who hit it one more time. This time it was only Pogačar who followed and a gap formed back to the rest.
There was a bit of back and forth between Lipowitz and Pogačar with neither wanting to tow the other along. A chase group formed with Lenny Martinez of Bahrain Victorious, Jefferson Cepeda of Movistar, and Jørgen Nordhagen of Visma-Lease a Bike who were just 10 seconds back with 1,500 meters to go. The three chasers were caught by a larger group of nine who had momentum as they entered Leysin on flatter roads. Lipowitz and Pogačar were also caught with about 600 meters to go to make a large group of over ten riders. Primož Roglič was first to make contact and just as he did, Lipowitz opened up the sprint. It was way too long for him to hold and it put Roglič into difficulty. Pogačar stayed on the wheel and was able to come passed without any trouble at about 250 meters. He sailed to the line for his fourth win in six days of racing and also his eighth in just eleven days of racing this season which is an incredible string of results. Lipowitz was next in at a time gap of 3 seconds with Roglič in third at 7 seconds.
After five stages and a prologue, Tadej Pogačar took the crown as overall winner by 42 seconds to Florian Lipowitz and 2 minutes 44 seconds to Lenny Martinez in third. It may have looked like an utter domination by Pogačar but if you strip out the time bonuses across the week of racing, Lipowitz only lost 20 seconds on the road. He had a heavy Spring of week-long stage racing and with a little break and some training, he may be one of the big contenders again come July.