Eline Jansen won the third and final stage of the 2026 Tour Féminin des Pyrénées, sprinting to victory from the breakaway in Jurançon after a tense 114-kilometre stage from Nay. The VolkerWessels rider beat Léa Curinier of FDJ United-SUEZ in the final metres, with Nadia Quagliotto of Cofidis completing the podium after the day’s main move survived the punchy closing circuit.
Paula Blasi sealed overall victory for UAE Team ADQ, completing a commanding race after her solo win over the Col du Tourmalet on stage 2. The Spaniard had no need to chase stage honours on the final day, instead managing the gap to the break and marking any dangerous moves from her GC rivals before succeeding Usoa Ostolaza as winner of the Tour Féminin des Pyrénées.
The stage was shaped by an early breakaway that gradually became the race-winning move. Federica Venturelli also played an important role for UAE Team ADQ, taking points at the intermediate sprints before dropping back, securing the points classification and underlining the team’s control across the three days.
A strong breakaway goes clear
After stage 1 had gone to Martina Alzini in Mourenx and stage 2 had been transformed by Blasi’s Tourmalet attack, the final stage offered a different kind of challenge. There were no huge mountains, but the route from Nay to Jurançon was packed with short, sharp climbs and carried the feel of an Ardennes-style finale.
The Côte de Merce, just 600 metres long but averaging 13 per cent, had to be climbed three times, with the final ascent coming less than 3 kilometres from the finish. That made the stage difficult to control, especially for a peloton already shaped by two hard days and a general classification that looked strongly in Blasi’s favour.
A large breakaway formed early, initially with 11 riders before settling into a group of 10 after Venturelli dropped back. The group included Curinier, Quagliotto, Océane Mahé, Jansen, Alice Coutinho, Awen Roberts, Irati Aranguren, Agua Marina Espínola, Olha Kulynych and Fariba Hashimi.
It was a useful mix of riders. FDJ United-SUEZ had Curinier up the road, Cofidis had Quagliotto, Canyon SRAM Generation had Roberts, and VolkerWessels had Jansen, who carried a quick enough finish to be dangerous if the move reached Jurançon together.
Venturelli secures the points classification
Before leaving the move, Venturelli used the intermediate sprints perfectly. Second on stage 1 and already one of the strongest fast finishers in the race, the UAE Team ADQ rider collected another 30 points, moving well clear in the points classification.
That left her on 93 points, comfortably ahead of Alzini on 48. It was another example of how UAE Team ADQ had shaped the race beyond Blasi’s overall lead. Venturelli had been involved in the sprint stage, Blasi had dominated the mountains, Włodarczyk had taken second on stage 2, and the team now had control of another classification.
The break continued without Venturelli and gradually built a meaningful gap. With 40 kilometres remaining, the leaders still had around 2:30 on the peloton, enough to start believing in the stage win but not enough to relax. The final part of the stage was too punchy for the move to assume anything.
Behind, UAE Team ADQ kept the gap under control rather than chasing it down completely. Blasi’s overall lead was close to 2 minutes after the Tourmalet stage, and none of the riders in the break were an obvious threat to take the yellow jersey from her.
Peloton loses structure late on
With 25 kilometres to go, the gap was still around 2 minutes. That suited UAE Team ADQ, but it put other teams into a more difficult position. FDJ United-SUEZ had Curinier in front, so they had little reason to fully commit to a chase, even though Juliette Berthet still had GC ambitions behind.
The peloton became increasingly disorganised. Some teams tried to move up and raise the pace, only for the chase to lose momentum again. Attacks came and went, but there was no sustained effort strong enough to bring the break back before the final Côte de Merce.
That hesitation pushed the race towards the escape. With 10 kilometres remaining, the leaders still held around 1:35, and the stage win was beginning to look realistic. The break had worked well enough through the rolling roads, and the final climb now looked more likely to decide which rider from the front group would win rather than whether the peloton could catch them.
Jansen was in a good position. She had the sprint to finish from a small group, but the Côte de Merce was steep enough to split the break before the line. Curinier, meanwhile, had the incentive to attack early and avoid bringing a faster finisher to the final metres.
Curinier and Jansen go clear
Curinier made the first decisive move at the foot of the final climb. The FDJ United-SUEZ rider attacked on the steep slopes of the Côte de Merce and immediately broke up the leading group. Only Jansen could follow, and that pairing quickly became the stage-winning move.
Jansen then tried to go clear herself after the climb, recognising that Curinier’s attack had created the selection but also knowing she could win if the two arrived together. Curinier stayed with her, setting up a head-to-head finish in Jurançon.
Behind them, the GC group also became more active. Franziska Koch tested Blasi for FDJ United-SUEZ, but the UAE Team ADQ rider was never seriously troubled. The acceleration did have an effect elsewhere, with Clémence Latimier distanced as the fight for the final GC podium places intensified.
The stage win, though, was already out front. Curinier led into the final kilometre, but the tactical situation always favoured Jansen if she could stay close enough. The Dutch rider waited, then came past in the final sprint to take the victory.
Jansen takes fifth professional win
Jansen’s win was the fifth professional victory of her career and her second of the 2026 season, following her success at the Grand Prix du Morbihan. It was also another French victory for a rider who has made a habit of performing well on French roads.
Curinier came close to a first professional win but had to settle for second after doing much of the work in the final kilometre. Still, her ride gave FDJ United-SUEZ a strong stage result and helped shape the decisive moment of the day.
Quagliotto finished third for Cofidis, continuing a successful race for the team after Alzini’s opening-stage victory. The Italian had been part of the right move and stayed strong enough through the final selection to take a podium on a stage that rewarded positioning, repeated climbing and tactical patience.
The breakaway’s success also gave the final stage a very different feel to the previous two days. Stage 1 was a sprinter’s day, stage 2 was a pure Blasi demonstration on the Tourmalet, and stage 3 became a battle between attackers on punchy terrain.
Blasi completes overall victory
Blasi finished the final stage safely to win the Tour Féminin des Pyrénées overall, capping one of the clearest demonstrations of her 2026 season. Her race had been built on the Tourmalet, where she attacked more than 10 kilometres from the summit, crossed the top alone and extended her advantage on the descent into Bagnères-de-Bigorre.
The final day asked a different question. Rather than needing to dominate, she had to stay calm, follow the right moves and let UAE Team ADQ control the race without overcommitting. She did that comfortably, never looking under serious threat despite late accelerations from rival teams.
FDJ United-SUEZ still came away with something from the final stage and the final GC. Berthet moved back onto the overall podium, finishing third overall behind Blasi and Dominika Włodarczyk. Latimier and Ema Comte completed the top five, with Comte also taking the best young rider classification after a strong and consistent race.
For UAE Team ADQ, the race was close to ideal. Blasi won the queen stage and the overall, Włodarczyk finished second on stage 2 and second overall, and Venturelli secured the points classification. Across three days, they had the strongest climber, the deepest GC support and one of the most effective sprint options.
The Tour Féminin des Pyrénées has often rewarded riders willing to race aggressively on difficult terrain, and the 2026 edition followed that pattern. Alzini took the opening sprint, Blasi broke the race apart on the Tourmalet, and Jansen finished it with a breakaway win in Jurançon. The overall, though, belonged clearly to Blasi.
Tour Féminin des Pyrénées 2026 stage 3 result
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Tour Féminin des Pyrénées 2026 GC result
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