Tour de France Femmes stage 3 LIVE: Attacks expected on the hilly roads into France

The peloton is all together on the easier roads to the foot of the climb. We expect things to explode when the gradient kicks-in.

Victorie Guilman crashed but the Cofidis rider quickly gets back on her bike.

OFFICIAL START

They're off!

The race director has waved the flag and so the stage is officially underway.

There are 139 riders in the race and they face 156.5km of racing.

Lukas Knöfler and Matilda Price worked on this explainer why Paula Blasi is leading the best young rider competition despite being over 23.

It's all down to ASO's decision to widen the competition to older riders this year.

Why is Paula Blasi in white? - Tour de France Femmes quietly changes under-23 jersey to under-24

Dani Ostanek and Matilda Price are on the ground at the Tour for Cyclingnews, producing news, interviews and analysis.

Dani spoke to Lorena Wiebes team to write this revealing profile.

'Quite shy' and 'an absolute killer' – The two sides of Tour de France Femmes sprint dominator Lorena Wiebes

This is the view from the race director's car.

After 5km the stage leaves Switzerland and crosses into France.

The Tour has enjoyed a great Grand Depart in the last few years and it should be a similar success in 2027, when the Femmes starts in Britain.

This was the selfie vibe at the start.

STAGE START

The riders rolled out from the Plaine de Plainpalais in central Geneva and are now have a 10.2-kilometre neutralized sector before the official start of the race.

3-2-1 C'est Parti!

The speaker shouts our his usual phrase and the riders roll out of Geneva.

We can see the riders line-up at the start for the roll out, with the jersey leaders on the front of the grid.

The tension is rising as the minutes countdown. Some teams warmed-up on the rollers before the start and so we're expecting an explosive start to the racing when the flag drops.

With the climb coming soon, even positoning behind the race directors car for the long neutralised sector will be important.

La star du jour!

Lorena Wiebes spoke briefly at the sign-on.

We're 15 minutes from the roll out in Geneva and so it is time for race leader Lorena Wiebes to sign-on with her SD Worx teammates.

Listen to the cheers for Pauline Ferrand-Prévot.

The French Ma Petite Entreprise team is next on stage, with Océane Mahé wearing the polka-dot jersey.

The small team have enjoyed a superb start to the Tour but Océane Mahé faces a battle to join the break today if she is to defend her jersey. Yesterday she struggled after her stage 1 attack but seems happy to be riding into France today.

The stage includes 4 categorised climbs, with the first one, the Col de la Faucille, a category 1 and so awarding a lot of points.

That is just one reason why we expect many attacks on the Col de la Faucille.

To look back on stage 2, check out our full stage report and see our photographs and full reports.

Tour de France Femmes: Lorena Wiebes powers to stage 2 sprint victory as late-race soloist Riejanne Markus is caught close to the line

UAE Team L'IMAD sign-on with Paula Blasi in the best young rider's white jersey.

On stage 2 Blasi was asked to work on the flat, sparking more questions about her role and future in the team.

The riders will leave Geneva in 30 minutes, with the official stage start given after 10.2km, outside the city centre.

The peloton will heading north from Geneva and cross into France after 5km, the road rising from the start even before the Col de la Faucille (11.4km at 6.3%) officially starts.

The first cat. 1 climb of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes should cause splits in the peloton and may see a break of strong climbers get away.

Visma-Lease a Bike were given a huge cheer on the podium at the start. Today we could see Marianne Vos go on the attack, while GC leader Pauline Ferrand-Prévot stays in the peloton before Tuesday's 21km key time trial.

At the start in Geneva, it's time to pin-on the numbers, sign-on and prepare for another day in the saddle.

Get up to speed on what to expect today, via our detailed stage preview. Lorena Wiebes starts the stage in the leader's yellow jersey but can she keep it?

Tour de France Femmes 2026 stage 3 preview – The race heads into the hills of France and could see a breakaway succeed

Today's stage sees the Tour leave Switzerland and enter into France, via a hilly 156.5km stage from Geneva to Pologny.

It should be another great day of racing. and we will again have all the coverage with detailed updates.

Hello and welcome to the Cyclingnews live coverage of stage 3 of the Tour de France Femmes.