Description
April 9, 2026
72nd Région Pays de la Loire Tour 2026 🇫🇷 (2.Pro) ME – Stage 3 – Avrillé – Sainte-Suzanne-et-Chammes : 199 km
Classified as a 2.Pro event by the UCI,
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April 9, 2026
72nd Région Pays de la Loire Tour 2026 🇫🇷 (2.Pro) ME – Stage 3 – Avrillé – Sainte-Suzanne-et-Chammes : 199 km
Classified as a 2.Pro event by the UCI, the Région Pays de la Loire Tour is a prominent multi-day stage race held in the western region of France. The competition typically unfolds over several days of racing across a variety of terrains, ranging from windswept coastal roads to undulating inland sections and technical urban circuits. While often favoring sprinters and punchy finishers, the race’s overall classification is frequently decided by tactical breakaways and the high-intensity nature of the finishing circuits in major regional cities. Known for its strong field of professional teams and its role as a key early-season objective for versatile riders, the event serves as a significant showcase of the region’s diverse landscape and a rigorous test of endurance and team strategy.
Alexander Kamp (Uno-X Mobility) sped to victory on stage 3 of the Pays de la Loire Tour, outpowering a breakaway of six on the fast uphill finish.
Gabriele Bessega (Polti VisitMalta) finished second, whilst Antoine L’Hote (Decathlon CMA CGM), the instigator of the late breakaway, settled for third.
It was a hilly, punchy finish set on laps around Sainte-Suzanne-et-Chammes, which made for an attacking finale, and a reduced group battled for the win after forming in the final 5km.
Race leader and winner of the first two stages, Ethan Vernon (NSN) was dropped on the tough final lap and ceded the leader’s jersey.
Kamp now leads the GC by two seconds over Bessega and four over L’Hote, with only 14 seconds separating the top 10 with another punchy day to come to close the race on Friday.
The third stage of the Pays de la Loire Tour rolled out from Avrillé for 199km of racing, with some small climbs and a kick up to the line.
Early on, a breakaway of six riders got away: Ellande Larronde (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Maël Guégan, Similien Hamon (both CIC Pro Cycling Academy), Baptiste Gillet (Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur), Morne Van Niekerk (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93) and Kévin Avoine (Van Rysel Roubaix). They quickly built a lead of four minutes and stayed comfortably out front for the first 100km.
Going into the second 100km, the pace in the peloton started building, and therefore the gap began to shrink, and the front group started to splinter. Despite a bridge from two strong riders from the peloton, including Tom Donnenwirth (Groupama-FDJ United), the leaders were reeled back in with 40km to go.
The catch gave way for another nine-rider group to counterattack, led again by Donnenwirth and some strong companions, but they weren’t away for long either.
On the final lap, Corbin Strong (NSN) went for the bonus seconds, which strung out the peloton and saw riders like double stage winner and race leader Ethan Vernon get dropped. Antoine L’Hote (Decathlon CMA CGM) took the chance to attack and built a lead of 20 seconds with 11km to go, chased by a smaller group and the reduced peloton.
The chasers caught L’Hote with 5km to go, making it a group of six into the finale. On the final rise to the line, the peloton had them within view, but couldn’t quite make the catch. Sorarrain (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) led out the sprint, but probably started too early, as Kamp came from third wheel to fly to the win, whilst Sorarrain and Thomas missed out on the top three.
Results :
 ME - Stage 3 </strong> - Avrillé - Sainte-Suzanne-et-Chammes : 199 km
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Classified as a 2.Pro event by the UCI, the Région Pays de la Loire Tour is a prominent multi-day stage race held in the western region of France. The competition typically unfolds over several days of racing across a variety of terrains, ranging from windswept coastal roads to undulating inland sections and technical urban circuits. While often favoring sprinters and punchy finishers, the race's overall classification is frequently decided by tactical breakaways and the high-intensity nature of the finishing circuits in major regional cities. Known for its strong field of professional teams and its role as a key early-season objective for versatile riders, the event serves as a significant showcase of the region's diverse landscape and a rigorous test of endurance and team strategy.
Alexander Kamp (Uno-X Mobility) sped to victory on stage 3 of the Pays de la Loire Tour, outpowering a breakaway of six on the fast uphill finish.
Gabriele Bessega (Polti VisitMalta) finished second, whilst Antoine L'Hote (Decathlon CMA CGM), the instigator of the late breakaway, settled for third.
It was a hilly, punchy finish set on laps around Sainte-Suzanne-et-Chammes, which made for an attacking finale, and a reduced group battled for the win after forming in the final 5km.
Race leader and winner of the first two stages, Ethan Vernon (NSN) was dropped on the tough final lap and ceded the leader's jersey.
Kamp now leads the GC by two seconds over Bessega and four over L'Hote, with only 14 seconds separating the top 10 with another punchy day to come to close the race on Friday.
The third stage of the Pays de la Loire Tour rolled out from Avrillé for 199km of racing, with some small climbs and a kick up to the line.
Early on, a breakaway of six riders got away: Ellande Larronde (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Maël Guégan, Similien Hamon (both CIC Pro Cycling Academy), Baptiste Gillet (Nice Métropole Côte d'Azur), Morne Van Niekerk (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93) and Kévin Avoine (Van Rysel Roubaix). They quickly built a lead of four minutes and stayed comfortably out front for the first 100km.
Going into the second 100km, the pace in the peloton started building, and therefore the gap began to shrink, and the front group started to splinter. Despite a bridge from two strong riders from the peloton, including Tom Donnenwirth (Groupama-FDJ United), the leaders were reeled back in with 40km to go.
The catch gave way for another nine-rider group to counterattack, led again by Donnenwirth and some strong companions, but they weren't away for long either.
On the final lap, Corbin Strong (NSN) went for the bonus seconds, which strung out the peloton and saw riders like double stage winner and race leader Ethan Vernon get dropped. Antoine L'Hote (Decathlon CMA CGM) took the chance to attack and built a lead of 20 seconds with 11km to go, chased by a smaller group and the reduced peloton.
The chasers caught L'Hote with 5km to go, making it a group of six into the finale. On the final rise to the line, the peloton had them within view, but couldn't quite make the catch. Sorarrain (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) led out the sprint, but probably started too early, as Kamp came from third wheel to fly to the win, whilst Sorarrain and Thomas missed out on the top three.
<strong>Results : </strong>
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