Alex Baudin raced into polka dots and fulfilled a childhood dream at the finish of Stage 3 of the Tour de France.

The Frenchman took the lead in the Tour's King of the Mountains competition and won the prize for most combative rider after a heroic effort over the race's first Pyrenean cols. Alex jumped straight into the fight to make the break and got away with a powerful group after over an hour and a half of furious racing. He led the move over the Col de Toses and Col du Calvaire to seize mountain points and earn the right to wear the polka dot jersey on the podium this evening and during tomorrow's stage. After cresting the final summit, Alex didn't relent and made a solo dash for the finish, which won him the red number for most aggressive rider. The group of GC favorites were chasing hard behind him and they caught him on the run in to the final ascent to Les Angles. Alex let Sean Quinn and Richard Carapaz take over then.

With a huge show of form, Richie rode forward on Sean's wheel and matched every attack on the ascent. Our Olympic gold medalist sprinted to third up the final steep ramp.

There are bigger mountains coming.

Tomorrow, Alex and his teammates will race to defend their King of the Mountains lead on the four categorized climbs that shape the lumpy Stage 4 between Carcassonne and Foix. Then, there is just the flat run from Lannemezan to Pau before the monster Pyrenean stage that crosses the Col du Tourmalet, where our boys will show their strength.

"We had guys attacking for 1 hour 40 or something. There were times when I almost gave up, but I saw a move going and just went for it. I thought it would be possible to take the yellow jersey today, so I really had to try. I felt really good, but it didn't work, but to be in the polka dot jersey now is really special. I remember watching the Tour when I was a kid and it was a dream to wear it one day. I saw guys like Barguil, Bardet, and Pierre Rolland wear this jersey -- I was a kid with stars in my eyes, so it's really cool.

"This jersey is a reward for my efforts today. It wasn't my main objective. I wanted to win the stage and take the yellow jersey. With the legs I had, I really believed I could do it. I felt really good — that's a good sign for the days ahead. But UAE wanted to win the stage. And when I saw the gap closing on the final stretch along those wide roads, with a headwind, I had my doubts… But the polka dot jersey is a great prize.

"I can picture myself watching the Tour as a child, dreaming of that jersey. Along with the yellow jersey, it's the one I've always wanted to wear one day. Now, you have to fight to keep a jersey. I'm going to try to recover and hold on to it for as long as possible." – Alex Baudin

"We knew it could be a good finish for the main group. At the beginning, I also tried to be up front, but I think I have very little margin to get into the breakaway. But, anyway, in the end, the legs responded well. I think we did really well.

"I think that after all the problems earlier this year, I was able to train well at home and this is the result now. I hope to keep going along this line, keeping up the growth, and we'll see. We know we can get a good result on a stage, and that is going to be the main objective for me and the whole team." – Richard Carapaz

"We raced with full commitment to try and get someone into the break, and we got Alex in there, which seemed like the right move since he secured the polka dot jersey. We're happy with that.

"The rest of us were really just trying to survive. The heat was extreme today — probably some of the worst conditions I've ever raced in, to be honest. But we managed. Kasper did a heck of a job, and after that I just took care of Richie and dropped him off on the last climb. He did a good job, so we're happy." – Sean Quinn

"It was a good day for the team. The guys all did really well.

"It was a really hard start, but all of our riders were there when it mattered, and we got Alex into the breakaway, which was exactly what we wanted. The goal wasn't just to take the yellow jersey, but also to win the stage. I think Alex was the strongest rider in the break, and we saw that in the final, even though it didn't quite work out.

"It's another confirmation of the good form Alex has shown all year. He's been going well since Paris-Nice, the Tour of the Basque Country, and the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, he's been consistently strong.

"He's in a really good place, but in situations like that, it's never entirely in your hands. You can do everything right, and then the other teams choose how they want to race. Sometimes it works out that way, and there's not much you can do about it.

"I think we should be happy with the effort, and Alex should be proud of how he rode. At the end of the day, every team is here to race for its own objectives and get everything it can out of the Tour. That's bike racing." – Tom Southam, sports director

Alex Baudin did 4,959 kilojoules of work on the road from Granollers to Les Angles. That effort requires close to 5,000 calories of fuel. One food calorie (kcal) is equivalent to 4.184 kJ of chemical energy. That energy isn't converted into mechanical work with 100% efficiency, though. When you are cycling, most of it is lost as heat. You can only push about 25% of it into your pedals. Multiply those together: 4.184 kJ of chemical energy per calorie × about 24% efficiency equals about 1 kJ of usable mechanical work per calorie burned. Human muscular efficiency basically cancels out the kJ-to-calorie conversion factor. Alex will eat a lot of rice and pasta tonight.

We had this whole plan to do the Homer Simpson thing and jump back and forth across the border, but Alex beat us to it, driving the breakaway into France.

Rice Krispie squares are Ben Healy's favorite pre-race treat. Our soigneurs make them before every stage to put in our riders' musettes. They are packed full of easy-to-digest carbs and are super tasty.

Ingredients

250 g marshmallow

300 g Rice Krispies

1 tbsp coconut oil

1½ tbsp speculoos or peanut butter

3 tbsp water

1 tsp salt

Method

Melt the coconut oil in a large pot over low heat.

Add the marshmallows and water, stirring until fully melted and smooth.

Stir in the speculoos or peanut butter and salt until combined.

Remove from heat, then fold in the Rice Krispies until evenly coated.

Press the mixture into a greased or lined pan, packing it down firmly and evenly.

Let cool at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours before cutting into squares.

Stage 3 was the 2026 Tour de France's first mountain test, with 3,906 meters of elevation gain on the route from Granollers in central Catalonia to Les Angles in the French Pyrenees. The French word for elevation gain is dénivelé positif. Its root is the Latin nivellus, which means level. The French equivalent is niveau. The verb to level is niveler. Its reverse, to unlevel, is déniveler. The resulting difference in height is dénivelé. Dénivelé positif describes total elevation gain, while dénivelé négatif describes elevation loss. From the coastal plain just outside of Barcelona to the heights of the Pyrenees, Stage 3 of the Tour was almost all up and Alex Baudin was king of the heights.