Stage, jersey and all those who criticized him yesterday end up silenced: Tadej Pogacar this time makes no concessions and puts his stamp on the third stage of the Tour de France from Granollers to Les Angles over 196 km. The Slovenian put his teammates to work from a distance, controlled the day's breakaway and on the final climb, tackled at high speed, had Isaac Del Toro open the road for him before delivering his winning move, merciless for opponents forced inevitably to surrender.

Pogacar signs his 22nd victory at the Tour, his 14th of this season, beating Vingegaard, Carapaz and Seixas by 2 seconds, Johannessen, Van Eetvelt, Lipowitz and Evenepoel by 4. A display of dominance from Pogacar that snatches the yellow jersey from Vingegaard and, after having raced as master of the Tour in these two stages, officially becomes the new leader. Vingegaard defended himself as best he could on a climb for explosive riders, which he is not, conceded 2 seconds to his rival and due to the placement game - since the two are tied on time - also the yellow jersey.

THE RACE. A stage between Spain and France for the third day of racing at the Tour de France. The riders pedaled from Granollers to Les Angles for 196 km crossing the Pyrenees and facing 3,850 meters of elevation gain. A highly anticipated stage, but also much discussed since the eve: due to the vast wildfire that affected the area, authorities decided not to allow the public to stay in the final 44 km to prevent additional fires from starting.

It was immediately clear that everyone wanted to attack, also thanks to Vingegaard's statements who at the end of yesterday's stage had said he was willing to give up the jersey. A high-speed start and especially hectic, many attacks, but a group determined to keep the situation under control. The day's breakaway formed after over 50 km and featured 18 athletes: Mads Pedersen (Lidl Trek), Alex Baudin (EF Education), Vlad Van Mechelen (Bahrain Victorious), Louis Vervaeke (Soudal Quickstep), Luke Plapp and Mauro Schmid (Jayco Alula), Magnus Cort (Uno X), George Bennet (NSN Cycling), Raul Garcia Pierna and Nelson Oliveira (Team Movistar), Clement Braz Afonso (Groupama FDJ), Matteo Vercher and Joris Delbove (TotalEnergies), Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon), Harold Tejada (XDS Astana), Alex Aranburu (Cofidis), Michael Storer (Team Tudor), and Abel Balderstone (Caja Rural).

The escapees managed to gain up to a maximum of 3 minutes advantage, but shortly after the intermediate sprint at Campdevano the UAE Team Emirates XRG positioned itself at the head of the group imposing an incredible pace. On the climb towards the Col de Toses the group of leaders broke apart and Prodhomme, Van Mechelen, Bennet, Garcia Pierna, Vercher and Baudin remained ahead, with Baudin crossing first at the category 1 climb securing the polka dot jersey.

Among the escapees Alex Baudin proved to be the strongest climber and, together with Nicolas Prodhomme tackled the Col du Calvaire while the main group recovered more and more ground. The French athlete's attack however ended 13 km from the finish. Everything was decided on the final climb where, after a push from the entire UAE Team Emirates XRG, Isaac del Toro launched his captain Tadej Pogacar. The world champion needed just one acceleration to create a gap behind him, securing his 22nd victory at the Grand Boucle and returning to the yellow jersey.

After 3 stages that were anything but straightforward, the Tour will face another eventful stage. The Carcassonne - Foix measures 181.9 km and will feature 4 climbs with the last one 35 km from the finish, on paper it's perfect for a long-range breakaway, but anything could happen.

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STAGE RESULTS

1 Pogacar Tadej UAE Team Emirates-XRG 04:45:11

2 Vingegaard Jonas Team Visma | Lease a Bike + 02

3 Carapaz Richard EF Education-EasyPost + 02

4 Seixas Paul Decathlon CMA CGM Team + 02

5 Johannessen Tobias Halland Uno-X Mobility + 04

6 Van Eetvelt Lennert Lotto-Intermarché + 04

7 Lipowitz Florian Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe + 04

8 Evenepoel Remco Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe + 04

9 del Toro Isaac UAE Team Emirates-XRG + 04

10 Ayuso Juan Lidl-Trek + 04

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1 Pogacar Tadej UAE Team Emirates-XRG 08:46:55

2 Vingegaard Jonas Team Visma | Lease a Bike + 00

3 Evenepoel Remco Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe + 23

4 del Toro Isaac UAE Team Emirates-XRG + 24

5 Ayuso Juan Lidl-Trek + 27

6 Seixas Paul Decathlon CMA CGM Team + 48

7 Lipowitz Florian Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe + 53

8 Martinez Lenny Bahrain Victorious + 01:09

9 Johannessen Tobias Halland Uno-X Mobility + 01:11

10 Van Wilder Ilan Soudal Quick-Step + 01:17