Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates XRG) has won stage 3 of the 2026 Tour de Suisse. The Ecuadorian came out on top in the sprint on the 157.9-kilometre circuit around Bad Ragaz, beating Xandro Meurisse (Pinarello – Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team). Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility) won the bunch sprint for 3rd place.
The stage began with an intense opening. After several attacks, a breakaway first formed, picking up additional riders on the climb to Wildhaus. Shortly afterwards the race was effectively relaunched. On the 11-kilometre climb to the Schwägalp, Jhonatan Narváez and Xandro Meurisse broke clear. A chase group formed behind them, while the peloton, led by overall leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG), initially trailed by more than a minute.
Over the 90 kilometres from the Schwägalp to the finish, Narváez and Meurisse worked well together at the front and at times extended their lead to over three minutes. In the peloton, several teams with fast finishers later took up the chase, among them Visma | Lease a Bike, Team Jayco AlUla, EF Education-EasyPost and Movistar. Rain, wet roads and intermittent crosswinds made the pursuit even harder.
In the final kilometres the peloton once again closed in dangerously on the leading duo. The gap shrank steadily, but Narváez and Meurisse defended their lead all the way to the finishing straight. In the sprint Narváez was clearly the stronger and celebrated the stage win in Bad Ragaz. Magnus Cort took the bunch sprint, ahead of Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech).
In the general classification, Pogačar remains unchallenged in yellow. After three stages the Slovenian leads Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) by 2:50. Andrea Bagioli (Lidl-Trek) sits 3rd at 3:07. Thanks to his stage win and bonus seconds, Narváez moved up one place and is now 9th at 4:57.
Marc Hirschi (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) is, after three stages, the best-placed Swiss rider, 23rd overall and 8:34 behind Pogačar. On stage 3, the Swiss riders played no part in the battle for the day’s victory.
