EasyPost rally to defend Baudin’s lead in Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes TTT
Team finish a highly credible third to keep the yellow jersey
June 9, 2026
EF Education-EasyPost delivered a gutsy and determined ride on stage 3 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes to retain Alex Baudin’s overall lead in the race.
The decisive team time trial, a dress rehearsal for the Grand Départ at this year’s Tour de France, saw teams compete over a 28.4km course in Perreux.
Alex and his EF Education-EasyPost teammates were the last to leave the start house, with the Frenchman still wearing the yellow jersey after his stage 1 win.
The team was third-quickest at the first two time checks, with Alex well protected by his teammates, who limited their losses superbly over the flatter sections of the course.
With times taken on the first rider over the line for each team, Alex was perfectly dropped off on the lower slopes of the final climb by Ben Healy and Georg Steinhauser, and he rounded out an excellent team performance by crossing the line in third place, 29 seconds off the stage-winning time, to retain the yellow jersey by 12 seconds going into stage 4.
“I just had to empty myself on the final climb,” the French rider said upon keeping the leader’s jersey after the TTT. Five stages remain in the key stage race.
“We really thought we could do it,” Alex said after the stage.
“We have a really good team for the TTT, and the guys did a really good job for me. They put me in a perfect position for the final kilometer. I just had to empty myself on the final climb. So it’s thanks to the team today,” he said.
“The goal is to keep the yellow jersey for as long as we can. Everything is a bonus; we won a stage, have the yellow jersey, and we don’t have any pressure. The pressure is on the others to catch us now. We’ll enjoy this and try our best,” he added.
Following one of the team’s best collective efforts against the clock in years, attention turns to stage 4, and Alex is looking forward to the challenge of keeping the jersey for as long as possible.
“It’s not going to be easy, but it’s definitely doable. We did it for today, so why not for two or three more days? We’re going to try our best,” Alex said.
