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
Tim Merlier (Soudal – Quick-Step) won the stage . The Belgian triumphed in the extremely slow-paced third stage of the Tour de France, a 178,3-kilometer ride from Valenciennes to Dunkirk. In the mass sprint, the European champion edged out Italian Jonathan Milan (Lidl – Trek) and German Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain – Victorious). Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin – Deceuninck) retains the yellow jersey , while Milan is the new green-clad rider. However, the results were overshadowed by the numerous crashes. Several riders went down in the final kilometers, including Remco Evenepoel (Soudal – Quick-Step). Just before the finish line, several riders slammed into the barriers – it remains unclear which riders were involved and what injuries they sustained.
Jasper Philipsen falls heavily and gives up
The leisurely stage was overshadowed by a serious crash during the intermediate sprint. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) collided with Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) and slammed his right shoulder and back hard onto the asphalt. It was immediately clear: the man in the green jersey would not be able to continue. This means the Belgian unfortunately has to leave the Tour de France with his victory on the first stage and cannot achieve any further success. After the crash, TV cameras captured an angry Alpecin-Deceuninck rider arguing with Coquard. The diminutive Frenchman initially clipped an Intermarché-Wanty rider with his right shoulder before slipping out of his pedals and then taking Philipsen out with his left side. Incidentally, the intermediate sprint was ultimately won by Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), but that suddenly became a secondary matter for everyone involved.
Curious: Wellens takes over the mountain jersey from Pogacar
The spectators witnessed something quite curious at the day's only categorized climb. Several kilometers before the sprint, Tim Wellens (UAE-XRG) attacked to secure the sole point in the category 4 mountain classification. The Belgian champion had previously radioed his sports director, who gave his approval. This effectively snatched the polka dot jersey from his teammate Tadej Pogacar (UAE-XRG). Experts subsequently speculated about why the sports director might have opted for this move. Possible explanations included Pogacar not wanting to waste time after the finish with interviews and the awards ceremony. Eurosport commentators also suggested 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 time trial doesn't take place until the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow, Pogacar could "accidentally" reclaim the polka dot jersey when he battles for the stage win.
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