Cycling: Tim Merlier won the third stage. It was a bitter day for Jasper Philipsen, among others. The man in the green jersey crashed and was forced to abandon the Tour de France.
Tim Merlier wins ahead of Jonathan Milan
Day victory for Tim Merlier (Soudal – Quick-Step). The Belgian won the extremely slow third stage of the Tour de France after 178,3 kilometers from Valenciennes to Dunkirk. In the bunch sprint, the European champion prevailed over the Italian. jonathan milan (Lidl – Trek) and the German Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain – Victorious). The yellow jersey remains Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin – Deceuninck). The new man in green is Milan. However, the results were overlooked due to the numerous crashes. Several riders were caught in the final kilometers, including Remco Evenepoel (Soudal – Quick-Step). Shortly before the finish line, several riders crashed into the barriers – it is still unclear which of the riders were professionals and what injuries they sustained.
Jasper Philipsen falls heavily and gives up
The leisurely stage was overshadowed by a serious fall during the intermediate sprint. Jasper Phillipsen (Alpecin – Deceuninck) collided with Bryan coquard (Cofidis) and slammed his right shoulder and back onto the asphalt. It was immediately clear: The man in the green jersey would be out of contention. This meant that the Belgian unfortunately had to leave the Tour de France with his victory on the first stage and could not achieve any further success. After the crash, TV cameras captured an angry rider from the Alpecin-Deceuninck team talking to Coquard. The small Frenchman first touched a rider from the Intermarché-Wanty team with his right shoulder before slipping off the pedals and then striking Philipsen with his left side. Incidentally, the intermediate sprint ultimately went to jonathan milan (Lidl – Trek), but that suddenly became a minor issue for everyone involved.
Curious: Wellens takes over the mountain jersey from Pogacar
At the only mountain classification of the day, the spectators were treated to something quite curious. A few kilometers before the classification, Tim Wellens (UAE – XRG) to secure the only point in the fourth-category mountain classification. The Belgian champion had previously radioed his sports director, who gave the OK. This means he takes the lead from his teammate. Tadej pogacar (UAE – XRG) took the points. Experts subsequently puzzled over why the sports directorate might have decided on this move. Possible explanations: Pogacar doesn't want to waste unnecessary time after the finish line with interviews and the award ceremony. Eurosport commentators also suspected that the Slovenian wanted to wear his own jersey in the time trial, which is naturally more aerodynamic and perfectly tailored to him. However, the race against the clock doesn't begin until the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow, Pogacar could "accidentally" take over the mountain jersey again when he fights for the day's victory.
Very hard crash and Tour de France over for the green jersey man Jasper Philipsen… dream that turned into a nightmare #TDF2025 pic.twitter.com/323aIDvIcw
— Lukáš Ronald Lukács (@lucasaganronald) July 7, 2025
Tim Merlier wins a chaotic sprint on Stage 3 of the Tour de France! pic.twitter.com/pRJnsSDZaF
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) July 7, 2025