Czech Tour 2026 – Stage 3 [FULL RACE]

August 15, 2026

Czech Tour 2026 🇨🇿 (2.Pro) ME – Stage 3 – Pardubice – Dlouhé stráně : 170,9 km

Czech Tour is a UCI 2.Pro stage race run across a varied landscape of rolling terrain, sharp climbs, and selective mountain stages. The route can move from faster transitional roads into narrower, more demanding uphill finishes, with weather and wind often influencing how the peloton stretches across open sections. Riders must balance sustained pacing with repeated accelerations on short climbs, technical descents, and exposed approaches to the key stages. Race dynamics usually include controlled team riding on flatter days, breakaway pressure on rolling terrain, and decisive attacks on the harder summit or uphill finishes. Typical stages may feature several categorized climbs, circuit-style finales, and changing gradients that keep the race from settling into one pattern. The finishing style often depends on the stage profile, ranging from bunch sprints on easier days to reduced-group sprints or solo victories when the climbs accumulate. The race rewards versatility, careful energy use, and the ability to adapt to shifting terrain.

AJ August (Netcompany-Ineos) made it back-to-back victories at the Czech Tour, taking out the hilltop finish on stage 3 to extend his overall lead.

Wearing the yellow jersey after his victory on Saturday’s stage 2 summit finish, the 20-year-old American decided that attack was the best form of defense and put himself in a strong position to clinch the overall title on Sunday.

With the stage finishing atop the category-1 climb at Dlouhé stráně, August outsprinted Alessandro Fancellu (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort) – who was also the runner-up the previous day – to the line.

In a repeat of the stage 2 podium, Domenico Pozzovivo (Solution Tech Nippo Rali) was third, trailing home several seconds down.

The stage came down to the final climb, which was relatively shallow until the steeper pitches in the final couple of kilometers. Ineos rode strongly to keep attacks under wraps until the final 2km, whereupon August decided to take matters into his own hands.

His first acceleration thinned the group to several riders, and his secondary kick reduced it to just the top three from the previous day. Pozzovivo was dropped briefly before getting back on as the finish line neared, but when August opened up the sprint he was gone again.

Fancellu put up a strong fight once again but couldn’t match August’s power and trailed home one second down.

With bonus seconds taken into account, August extends his overall lead from six seconds to 11 seconds over Fancellu, with Pozzovivo third at 23 seconds.

The race is still far from settled, however, with another hill-top finish to conclude the Czech Tour on Sunday.

“It’s great to hold onto the yellow jersey, but it’s even better to win the stage. It was similar to yesterday. The climb was tough today, but on both days it came down to the final meters,” said August, as he also continues to lead the young rider classification.

“The biggest threat to me remains Alessandro Fancellu, who was second both today and yesterday. There isn’t a big gap between us; we’re at about the same level. Tomorrow, I expect the same battle.”

Results :