World champion back in maillot jaune as Mathieu van der Poel can't hold GC contenders' pace

Just three days into the race, it’s clear we’re about to be treated to an epic duel between Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard for the yellow jersey.

Van Aert is an all-around rider who can sprint (won the 2022 green jersey), climb (often a key worker for Vingegaard), time trial (Olympic bronze medalist) and excel in one-day races (second in the road race at the Olympics and worlds). In 2025, van Aert was second at cyclo-cross worlds, fourth at Paris-Roubaix and then helped Yates win the Giro.

Pogačar was happy to lose the yellow jersey by a single second to Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who went deep in the breakaway of the stage, won by Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), to take back yellow.