Tim Merlier Triumphs in Chaotic Stage 3 of Tour de France
Merlier Claims Victory Amidst Turmoil
Paris, France - In a dramatic turn of events during Stage 3 of the Tour de France, Tim Merlier from Soudal Quick-Step emerged victorious in a chaotic sprint, while Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Deceuninck crashed out while wearing the green jersey. Philipsen, who had won Stage 1, was caught in a high-speed incident just before the intermediate sprint at Isbergues, forcing his team to rely on Kaden Groves as a backup. Unfortunately, Groves also faced trouble, finishing in seventh place after being involved in a late crash. Merlier, however, skillfully navigated the chaos to outpace Jonathan Milan from Lidl-Trek at the finish line.
The stage itself was relatively uneventful for most of its duration, with a consensus among riders that it would end in a bunch sprint, leading to no attempts at breakaways.
For nearly 120 kilometers, the peloton maintained a leisurely pace through northern France.
As the riders approached the intermediate sprint, the competition intensified, with many top contenders vying for green jersey points, except for Merlier. Determining the cause of the crash proved challenging.
Philipsen was the last in a chain reaction, struck hard by Bryan Coquard from Cofidis, who had lost control but managed to stay upright. Although Coquard continued, Philipsen was not as fortunate, hitting the ground hard and losing much of his green skinsuit. He was subsequently taken away in an ambulance for evaluation.
The race continued in a subdued manner. Before the only categorized climb, Tim Wellens from UAE Team Emirates-XRG sought permission from the peloton to claim the single point available, which would tie him with Tadej Pogacar on points but would also strip Pogacar of the polka dot jersey.
Despite having a lead of nearly two minutes at the Cote de Cassel, Wellens chose to wait, allowing the race to unfold as planned.
As the final 10 kilometers approached, teams eager to contest the stage began to organize their trains. A safety zone was established at 5 kilometers, allowing general classification teams to drift to the back, although it could not prevent all incidents. Remco Evenepoel from Soudal-Quickstep was caught in a crash off-camera and finished visibly injured.
The final sprint was fiercely contested by teams not typically expected to challenge for the general classification, including Bahrain Victorious, Picnic-PostNL, Uno-X, Groupama FDJ, and Lidl-Trek, alongside Merlier, who maneuvered through gaps as needed.
The approach to Dunkirk featured several roundabouts, a sharp right turn, and a narrow finish straight against a headwind.
As Milan's last lead-out rider fell back before the final turn, he was left to sprint off the Picnic PostNL train. Merlier expertly positioned himself behind Milan, while Phil Bauhaus from Bahrain Victorious was also in contention. The crash occurred just behind Bauhaus as Danny van Poppel from Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Davide Ballerini from Astana XDS, and a Groupama rider attempted to squeeze into a narrow gap, resulting in a collision.
This left Milan, Merlier, Bauhaus, Soren Waerenskjold from Uno-X, and Biniam Girmay from Intermarche-Wanty in a fierce race to the finish. Milan reached speeds of 70kph, but Merlier's timing proved superior, allowing him to edge past Milan at the line. Pavel Bittner from Picnic PostNL looked promising on the left but ultimately finished fifth, while Waerenskjold secured fourth behind Bauhaus.
"Initially, I was confident I had won," Merlier stated. "I raised my hands in celebration, but then I hesitated. The headwind was challenging, draining energy, but I knew I could do it. I came here to win a stage, and I’m thrilled to have achieved that."
The general classification saw little change, although Philipsen's withdrawal moved every rider from sixth place down one position. Jonathan Milan now leads the points competition and will don the green jersey on Tuesday.
Stay tuned for live coverage of Stage 04 from Amiens Metropole to Rouen on Eurosport.