As it happened: Lone rider from early breakaway survives ahead of GC group to take Tour de Suisse stage 3

Hello and welcome back to Cyclingnews' live coverage of the 2025 Tour de Suisse!

Onto stage 3 now and it's another tricky stage on offer, with three short, sharp climbs towards the finale in Heiden set to shake things up.

195k to go

After a neutralised start, racing is underway on stage 3, with the flag drop in Aarau starting the riders on their route east.

A look at the current race leader Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ), alongside yesterday's stage winner Vincenzo Albanese (EF Education-EasyPost) at a relaxed start line.

The first attacks are, of course, being launched on stage 3, with Nans Peters (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Max Walker (EF Education-EasyPost) and Jasper De Buyst (Lotto) the first to try. They were joined by Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) before being caught back by the bunch.

A group of six riders are now in front trying to form the break of the day.

Peters, Walker, and Simmons are all present again, joined this time by Emiel Verstrynge (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Brent Van Moer (Lotto) and Samuele Battistella (EF Education-EasyPost).

The gap to the six in front is growing, already out to 1:20.

180km to go

As the holders of the race leader's yellow jersey, Groupama-FDJ are on the front now controlling the gap. It's out to 1:45.

A look at the early breakaway on stage 3 of the Tour de Suisse, led by Simmons in the US national champion's jersey.

Early mechanical issue for Nairo Quintana (Movistar), but there's no stress in the bunch as of yet. He'll quickly be back in.

Gap to the break now approaching the two-minute mark.

170km to go

The first half of today's route is the easiest, with the second 100km containing the majority of categorised and uncategorised climbing en route to Heiden.

With a chance now, make sure you catch up with yesterday's action from stage 2 with our full race report:

Tour de Suisse: Vincenzo Albanese wins stage 2 uphill sprint ahead of Fabio Christen

The peloton is keeping things tight on stage 3, with the gap staying at just 1:50 for now.

A look at Groupama-FDJ lining things out behind. Arkéa-B&B Hotels and Visma-Lease a Bike are just behind them in the bunch.

The six breakaway riders in front have extended their lead slightly to 2:10.

160km to go

Today is cycling legend Eddy Merckx's 80th birthday. We'll have lots up on his legacy and impact as the greatest rider of all time, so look out for reactions throughout the day:

'I could have easily seen myself at UAE, like Pogačar' - All-time great Eddy Merckx reveals his team of choice in modern-day peloton

Gap to the break now out to 2:30 after the peloton calmed down going through a feed zone.

We've had a change at the front of the peloton, with Tudor now coming up to pace at their home race.

150km to go

While the sport's biggest GC stars aren't here, take a look at what they are up to altitude, with the final build-up to the Tour de France now underway:

Pogačar, Vingegaard, Evenepoel and Roglič head into final Tour de France preparation at altitude camp

The race is just north of Zürich now, host of last year's World Championships, with the stage set to pass Winterthur, where the men's road race – won by Pogačar – started, back in September.

The gap to the six-man break of Verstrynge, Peters, Battistella, Walker, Simmonds and Van Moer is continuing to fall, now at only 1:55.

140km to go

More news here on one of the peloton's brightest young talents. Find out what the 18-year-old super talent Paul Seixas is up to next, below:

He finished eighth at the Dauphiné, but here's why Paul Seixas won't be racing the Tour de France

Average speed on stage 3 after almost an hour and a half of racing is up at 43kph.

Gap to the breakaway continues to fluctuate around the two-minute mark, now back at 2:05.

Another look at the breakaway leading stage 3 of the Tour de Suisse, led here by Van Moer.

130km to go

Still just 1:50 separating the break and the peloton.

120km to go

With several climbs lining the finale, here's a reminder of how the GC standings currently sit:
– Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) 6:46:01
– Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) +0:25
– Bart Lemmen (Visma-Lease a Bike) +0:27
– Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) st
– Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla) +1:18
– Felix Großschartner (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) st
– Lennard Kämna (Lidl-Trek) st
– Pablo Castrillo (Movistar) st
– Rainer Kepplinger (Bahrain Victorious) st
– Ben Swift (Ineos Grenadiers) +1:33

Gap to breakaway really falling now, down to 1:25.

110km to go

Groupama-FDJ continue to lead the bunch for race leader Grégoire.

A look at the stretched out peloton on stage 3.

Gap to the breakaway down to 1:10, with Groupama continuing to pace on the front of the peloton.

We're into a section of uncategorised climbing now, with attacks being launched from the peloton.

Four riders have made a counter move: Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), Alessandor Verre (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), James Sknox (Soudal-QuickStep) and Marco Haller (Tudor).

That particular move was short-lived, with them now back in the bunch.

Rider are dropping on the uncategorised climb, and the series of attacks has seen the break's advantage reduced to less than a minute for the first time. Now just 45 seconds separates the leaders and the peloton on the road.

100km to go

Just under half of stage 3 completed now, and lots more action still to come.

After that hard-fought section of attacking, Groupama-FDJ have regained control of the peloton, allowing the break's lead to grow back out to 1:25.

While that particular moment of attacking has ended, the next 60km or so is full of more uncategorised climbs and the two Tissot KMs, so that's far from the end of the attacks.

A look back at the attacks on one of several uncategorised climbs on today's route.

More respite in the bunch. Gap to the breakaway back out to 1:50.

90km to go

Tudor are back on the front with one rider, with the race leader's Groupama-FDJ team just behind them.

Crash

There's been a crash in the feed zone involving Junior Lecerf (Soudal-QuickStep) and runner-up on yesterday's stage Fabio Christen (Q36.5).

The crash has split the main bunch into two groups, with the first now 2:10 behind the break.

Here's the overall leader, Romain Grégoire, who will be trying to stay safe throughout the day before he takes aim at a second stage win on a finale that should suit him.

80km to go

Tudor are continuing to lead the peloton, with 2:25 to make up on the six riders in front.

Both Christen and Lecerf are back in the peloton after crashing, albeit with some visible wounds.

70km to go

In the break itself, EF Education EasyPost are doing the pacing on the front for the moment, with Walker working for Battistella.

The stage is into the Tissot bonus sprints, but there isn't much of a fight for the seconds on offer, with Verstrynge starting stage 3 as the closest on GC, 3:39 off of Grégeoire's lead.

There is a watch on offer for the Tissot prize; however. Verstrynge won the first of two sprints, showing his punchy talents as one of the top cyclocross prospects at the moment.

Stefan Küng is now pulling on the front of the peloton, but the gap to the break appears to be stable at 2:35.

60km to go

James Knox (Soudal-QuickStep) has abandoned the race.

Crash for Geraint Thomas

Geraint Thomas has gone down in a crash. The peloton squeezed around a left hand corner and he went down holding his knee. After some checks, he's back on his bike.

Thomas appears to be in good spirits as he gets some treatment from the race doctor's car. Will update if his condition worsens. For now, total disaster in his last season looks to have been avoided.

The breakaway's advantage is down to the two-minute mark once again, with several teams committing to helping on the front of the peloton.

Thomas has Lucas Hamilton with him now to help him get back into the peloton.

Two more Ineos riders also with the former Tour de France winner. Should hopefully be back in the group in no time.

50km to go

The break are still pressing on nicely with Simmons currently on the front. They've got a good shot at fighting for victory as it stands.

Continued pressure has brought the breakaway's gap down to 1:40.

Arkéa are now pushing on the front, with a Tudor rider and one from Groupama close behind.

Thomas and his teammates are reportedly close to a minute behind the main peloton, working their way through the race convoy.

40km to go

The break is through the intermediate sprint in Hundwil, and into the final 40km, with all of the hardest climbs approaching.

Max Walker is the first to drop from the break, as the race heads onto another sector of uncategorised climbing.

Nans Peters is also dropping now. It's US national champion Simmons pushing on the most up front.

A closer look at Simmons' stars and stripes jersey. He looks very strong again today, after coming close to the victory yesterday with a late attack.

Thomas is yo-yoing on and off of his teammates wheels, and of the team cars in front of him. He's still not back in yet after that crash.

Reminder of the now four leaders on stage 3, remnants of the original six who got up the road earlier today: Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), Brent Van Moer (Lotto), Emiel Verstrynge (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Samuele Battistella (EF Education-EasyPost).

More teams coming to the front as the pace picks up ahead of the final 30km, including UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale.

Advantage in the breakaway back under one minute now. They are close to a long section of descending, though, so should be able to hand on until the foot of the first categorised climb.

30km to go

Rapid speeds on this descent now. Just 34 seconds separating the four leaders from the peloton.

The climb that will greet the riders at the bottom of this descent is a 2nd category ascent to Knolhusen, which is 5.1km in length with an average gradient of 6.4%.

Four Tudor riders are in control on the front of the peloton. They've nearly finished the breakaway's day in front, pulling the gap down to just 21 seconds with 23km to ride.

Geraint Thomas is still not back in the peloton. He has Bob Jungels with him, but they remain 1:07 behind the leaders.

Groupama-FDJ now take over on the front, with Grégoire looking strong in the leader's yellow jersey.

20km to go

There's an attack from Simmons, who pushes away from his fellow escapees on the Knolhusen climb. He's got a gap and is reaching out for glory on stage 3 now.

Simmons' attack has built him a 44-second lead over the peloton. The trio behind him are at 14 seconds.

Verstrynge, Battistella and Van Moer are now caught by the peloton. That's five of the original six-man breakaway back in, and only Simmons left up the road.

Picnic PostNL are committing riders to the chase, working for Oscar Onley on today's finish.

A look back at the moment Simmons set off in search of the stage victory. He's got 38 seconds of a lead to defend with more climbing still to come en route to Heiden.

Israel-Premier Tech are coming to the front now as well. They'll likely be working for former Tour de l'Avenir winner Joe Blackmore on a final that should suit him.

Racing is onto only the second categorised climb of the day to Büriswilen. It's a shorter ascent, at only 2.1km, but averages a steeper gradient that the last at 7.4%.

Hirschi is pacing for Tudor, reducing Simmons' lead to just 30 seconds now. The stage win looks unlikely for the American with a lot of uphill road left to cover.

10km to go

Here come the attacks, and it's Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates) who is off the front and pushing on. He got some stick form his team for a late attack yesterday, but this makes more sense.

Christen is caught, and the next counter comes from Lidl-Trek Juanpe López. It's cagey behind, without an instant response to the Spanish rider, who is currently chasing down his teammate Simmons.

Simmons is hanging on nicely on front, still with 33 seconds in hand. The peloton has now caught his teammate, with Vlasov pacing for Red Bull.

After a brief hesitation, the next big attack comes. They've still got 28 seconds to make up on Simmons.

It isn't categorised, but the uphill finish in Heiden should offer enough for someone behind to blast past Simmons, but this hesitation and lack of cohesion behind is working in his favour.

Big attack from Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) on the right-hand side of the road. It's a US 1-2 on the road for now, without a proper chase following Powless.

7km to go and Simmons still has 35 seconds. He's currently time trialling against his compatriot Powless for the victory, who is chasing solo behind.

5km to go

Powless is pushing on, but so is Simmons, who is looking more likely for the win as the kilometres roll on. He's still got the uphill finale to contend with, though. Peloton is now 42 seconds behind the lone leader.

Visma-Lease a Bike are now joining the chase, but the gap is going the wrong direction to Simmons. He has 47 seconds now.

Powless isn't making much of a dent into his compatriot's lead, with still 33 seconds to pull back in the final 3km.

2km to go

Simmons is on his way to the victory here. Powless is about to be caught, but the gap is still 42 seconds

It's all team leaders at the front of the peloton now, but they will fighting for the minor places come the finish. Never enough impetus in this chase to catch the US champion.

More late attacks are being launched in the bunch, but they are futile efforts, with Simmons now into the final kilometre.

Here comes Simmons to the finish line now, with his second WorldTour win of the season, and second of his career awaiting him. Quite the effort from the early breakaway, especially after also attacking late yesterday.

Tour de Suisse Stage 3 finish

Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) wins stage 3 of the Tour de Suisse solo. He flaps his wings and flies home to the finish in the jersey of the US national champion in Heiden after a stunning breakaway effort.

After his poor start to the Tour de Suisse, João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) finished second in the sprint between the GC contenders, with Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) taking third.

Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) led out the sprint 18 seconds behind Simmons, but ultimately finished fourth. He does hang onto the race leader's yellow jersey, though, and will wear it once again on Wednesday's mountain stage.

Here's Quinn Simmons' winning moment in Heiden on stage 3.

Here's what an emotional Simmons had to say after his victory on stage 3. Class words from the American:

"Oh, to be honest, in the beginning, when there was only six of us, I was doubting it a bit," said Simmons, "but the motivation was super high today.

"I really wanted to win yesterday, on the two-year anniversary of us losing Gino [Mäder], and I really wanted to dedicate that win to him.

"I do it a day late, but it was really hard for me to be here again, especially seeing his mom at the start, but now I can pay a bit of tribute, and for sure I had a bit of extra motivation today, and frustration."

Simmons was riding behind Mäder on that tragic day for cycling at this very race, and directed emergency services to him. He has spoken openly about his struggles following the incident, so this emotional tribute is very important.

He also explained his double celebration at the finish line, flapping his arms like wings and pointing to the sky past the finish:

"The first was for me, you know the eagle, in my new jersey. Last time I was in this jersey, I never won a bike race, and it was a terrible season, and it was a huge motivation to win in the American champion's jersey," he said.

"I'm not sure when the last time that happened was at WorldTour level, and the final was just to say that dedication to him [– Mäder].

The best win of the former junior world champion's career? "To win a WorldTour race in my national jersey, it's for sure up there."

Romain Grégoire maintained his overall lead at the Tour de Suisse thanks to a solid performance on stage 3. The Frenchman leads the race by 25 seconds over compatriot Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) in second, with Bart Lemmen (Visma-Lease a Bike) in third at 27 seconds. He also has control of the best young rider's white jersey.

Felix Engelhard kept hold of the KOM jersey after stage 3. He's sat on 15 points, three ahead of teammate Mauro Schmid's haul of 12 KOM points.

Emiel Verstrynge did get himself that watch after all, after picking up the Tissot prize at the two sprints.

Here's a look at the profile of Wednesday's stage to Piuro (Valchiavenna), with the highlight of the route being the category 1 climb to Splügenpass, on the Italian border. It should be a day for the GC favourites, and a chance to take back time for the likes of João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).

That wraps things up for our live coverage of stage 3 of the Tour de Suisse. Keep an eye out for more news coming out later tonight, and come back tomorrow for live coverage of stage 4, which starts at 12:10 local time in Heiden.