Sandrine Tas returned to the top step on the final day of the Bretagne Ladies Tour 2026, winning stage 3 in Laval as Jasmin Liechti secured overall victory. After opening the race with a sprint win in Plouay, Tas finished the three-day race in the same way, proving quickest again on the rising finish on Avenue Montmorency.
The final stage, held as the first Mayenne Ladies, brought the race from Cossé-le-Vivien to Laval and offered one last chance for the sprinters and late attackers to disrupt the general classification. Liechti, who had taken control of the race with her dominant time trial win in Plomodiern on stage 2, came through safely to seal the overall title.
Tas’ stage win capped an excellent race for the Belgian. She had already shown her speed on stage 1, then limited her losses well enough in the time trial to remain second overall going into the final day. Laval gave her another opportunity on terrain that suited her, with a sprint on a false-flat rise rather than a completely flat drag to the line.
Breakaway pressure before the final circuit
The day was not selective enough on paper to guarantee major GC change, but it still needed controlling. The route lacked major difficulties, and the finishing circuit was not hard enough to break the race apart by climbing alone. That made a sprint the most likely outcome, but only if the bunch could manage the breakaway and keep the fast riders in contention.
A large group did get clear during the stage, forcing the peloton to organise behind. With Liechti defending the race lead and Tas still close enough on GC to matter, there was no room for the main teams to allow too much freedom. The breakaway gave the final stage its main tactical thread, with the bunch needing to time the chase before the finale in Laval.
As the race reached the closing circuit, the gap came down. The final kilometres then became a positioning battle, with teams trying to bring their sprinters through the last bends and onto the uphill finish in the right place.
Tas launches best on the rising finish
The finish on Avenue Montmorency rewarded strength as much as pure acceleration. The slight rise meant the sprint could not simply be launched from too far back, and riders needed to carry position through the final corner before opening up towards the line.
Tas got that part right. She came into the decisive stretch with enough room to sprint properly and had the power to finish the job. After already winning the opening stage, this was further confirmation that her speed was among the strongest in the race, especially after three days of racing and a decisive time trial in the legs.
Justine Gegu gave the Laval crowd a home result to celebrate by finishing third. Racing on roads with obvious local significance, she positioned herself well into the final corner and produced a strong sprint, only beaten by two faster riders on the day.
Liechti finishes the job after time trial dominance
The overall race, though, belonged to Liechti. Her stage 2 time trial had created the winning gap, and the final stage was about defending that advantage rather than needing to attack again. With Tas dangerous in sprints and still close on GC, Liechti needed to stay alert through the run-in and avoid being caught out by late splits or bonus seconds.
She did exactly that. The final stage did not create the kind of separation needed to overturn the time trial result, leaving Liechti to confirm overall victory after three very different days of racing.
Her win was built on one outstanding performance against the clock, but it also required consistency either side of it. Stage 1 showed the sprinters had the edge in Plouay, stage 2 gave Liechti the space to make the difference herself, and stage 3 tested whether she and her team could close out the race under pressure.
Tas and Liechti define the race
The 2026 Bretagne Ladies Tour ultimately had two clear headline riders. Tas bookended the race with sprint victories, taking stages 1 and 3 and showing that she could repeat that finishing speed across the weekend. Liechti, meanwhile, won the stage that mattered most for the general classification and then defended the jersey into Laval.
That gave the race a tidy shape. Tas was the fastest finisher across the road stages, while Liechti was the rider who made the decisive GC difference in the time trial. The final day brought both storylines together, with Tas winning the stage and Liechti completing the overall victory.
For the first Mayenne Ladies, the Laval finish also gave the race a strong local moment. Gegu’s third place added a home podium on Avenue Montmorency, but the wider story was the same one that had shaped the whole race: Tas had the sprint, Liechti had the classification, and the Bretagne Ladies Tour closed with both riders confirming their strongest cards.
Bretagne Ladies Tour 2026 stage 3 result
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Bretagne Ladies Tour 2026 GC result
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