Tour de Suisse results: Pogačar retains huge GC lead ahead of final TT and mountain stage after sitting untroubled in the bunch.
(Photo: HAROLD CUNNINGHAM / AFP via Getty Images))
Updated June 19, 2026 10:40AM
Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Emirates XRG) beat Xandro Meurisse (Pinarello-Q36.5) to the line in a mystery-shrouded finale of stage 3 of the Tour de Suisse.
Narváez and Meurisse blazed into the final kilometers of Friday’s stage with a slim advantage over the charging peloton.
The two had been off the front for around 100km, and the stage was in the balance as the sprint teams launched a desperate late chase.
And then the broadcast feeds stopped.
Electrical storms in the area wreaked havoc on the relay systems, and the live finish went unseen.
Images only resumed seconds after the stage was won, revealing Narváez celebrating a win.
Video later emerged of the final 200 meters of the stage.
After looking like the stronger of the two breakaway riders all day, Narváez blew Meurisse away with a long sprint.
“It was a hard day, in the last part we had a headwind. I’m happy, we rode really well in the final,” Narváez said at the finish. “I’m not allowed to chase the win very often [riding on a team with Pogačar], so I’m pleased I managed to do it today.”
Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility) won the kick for third from the charging peloton, just a split second behind.
No problem for Pogačar ahead of GC weekend
Narváez’s teammate Tadej Pogačar finished safe in the bunch after he vowed to continue racing in the wake of his partner Urska Zigart’s terrible crash on Thursday.
“It was the plan to get someone today in the break. It was a flying stage, and really fast. Chapeau to Jonny and Meurisse for staying in the front,” Pogačar said at the finish.
Pogačar retains his monster GC lead ahead of the decisive time trial and mountain stage this weekend.
“It’s my first proper TT for me this year. It will be fun to test the legs and sensations,” he said.
Victory on Friday continues a phenomenal season so far for Narváez.
The merauding Ecuadorian salvaged the Giro d’Italia for UAE Emirates by winning three stages after the team’s GC contingent was decimated by crashes.
The 29-year-old will be a crucial helper for Pogačar next month at the Tour de France.
Sprinters leave it too late against strong break
Narváez and Meurisse escaped the day’s main breakaway at around 100km to go of what was a two-part 160km stage.
The first 100km of Friday’s course in and out of Bad Ragaz was littered with rolling hills. The final 60km was dead flat.
Narváez and Meurisse landed out of the final descent of the stage with more than three minutes of a gap over the bunch.
The two had worked together well since they broke away and looked to have a chance of making the finish against a peloton short of marquee sprinters.
The sprint teams left it too late to try to reel in a break they perhaps underestimated. The peloton only significantly picked up the pace at 20km to go.
It was too little too late.
Narváez and Meurisse still had one minute of a gap at 10km to go, and greasy roads on the urban final no doubt played in their favor as Narváez blasted toward an against-all-odds win.