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Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Tour de France Stage 3 results, standings: Tim Merlier wins race featuring serious crash
Stage 3 of the 2025 Tour de France featured a gruesome crash by one Belgian cyclist and came down to a massive sprint to the finish line won by one of his countrymen. Tim Merlier edged out Italian Jonathan Milan to win Monday's stage, which ended with a dramatic sprint that was extended from 3 km to 5km with a large peloton throughout the mostly flat terrain over the more than 178 km between Valenciennes and Dunkirk. Advertisement Belgian cyclist Jasper Philipsen, who began Monday wearing the green jersey and ranked seventh in the overall chase for the yellow jersey, suffered a serious crash that forced him to withdraw from the Tour de France two days after winning its opening stage. He fell hard from his bike after contact with Bryan Coquard during the intermediate sprint portion of the stage won by Milan, who replaced Philipsen as the green jersey leader with 81 points. Philipsen had his jersey ripped in several places, suffered bloody scrapes and was attended to by the race doctor shortly afterward, according to Reuters. Mathieu Van der Poel of the Netherlands, who won the sprint to end stage 2 on Sunday, kept the yellow jersey. Tim Wellons of Germany claimed the polka dot jersey and the only available climbing point during stage 3 when he finished first over to the summit of Mont Cassel. Here's a look at the complete stage 3 results and 2025 Tour de France standings after Monday, July 7, as well as what's coming up for cycling's biggest race: 2025 TOUR DE FRANCE: How to watch, schedule, stages for cycling's top race Advertisement Stage 3 results Finals results of the 175.5-kilometer Stage 3 from Valenciennes to Dunkirk at the 2025 Tour de France from Monday, July 7. Pos. Rider Team Time Gap B 1 Tim Merlier Soudal Quick-Step 04h 16' 55'' - B : 10'' 2 Jonathan Milan Lidl-Trek 04h 16' 55'' - B : 6'' 3 Phil Bauhaus Bahrain Victorious 04h 16' 55'' - B : 4'' 4 Sohren Waerenskjold Uno-X Mobility 04h 16' 55'' - - 5 Pavel Bittner Team Picnic Postnl 04h 16' 55'' - - 6 Biniam Girmay Intermarché-Wanty 04h 16' 55'' - - 7 Kaden Groves Alpecin-Deceuninck 04h 16' 55'' - - 8 Pascal Ackermann Israel-Premier Tech 04h 16' 55'' - - 9 Amaury Capiot Arkea-B&B Hotels 04h 16' 55'' - - 10 Alberto Dainese Tudor Pro Cycling Team 04h 16' 55'' - - Tour de France 2025 standings Mathieu Van der Poel, Netherlands: 12h 55' 37'' Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia: 12h 55' 41'' (4 seconds behind) Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark: 12h 55' 43'' (6 seconds) Kevin Vauquelin, France: 12h 55' 47'' (10 seconds) Matteo Jorgenson, USA: 12h 55' 47'' (10 seconds) Enric Mas, Spain: 12h 55' 47'' (10 seconds) Joseph Blackmore, Great Britain: 12h 56' 18'' (41 seconds) Tobias Johannessen, Norway: 12h 56' 18'' (41 seconds) Ben O'Connor: Australia: 12h 56' 18'' (41 seconds) Emanuel Buchmann, Germany: 12h 56' 26 (49 seconds) 2025 Tour de France jersey leaders Yellow (overall race leader): Mathieu Van der Poel, Netherlands Green (points): Jonathan Milan, Italy Polka dot (mountains): Tim Wellens, Germany White (young rider): Kevin Vauquelin, France Who's wearing the rainbow jersey at 2025 Tour de France? In addition to the four traditional colored jerseys at the Tour de France, the reigning world road race champion wears a rainbow-colored jersey. It's white with five colored stripes – blue, red, black, yellow and green (same as the colors of the Olympic rings) – and is currently worn by Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia. Advertisement 2025 Tour de France next stage Stage 4 is a 174.2-kilometer route over hilly terrain from Amiens to Rouen on Tuesday, July 8. Contributing: Steve Gardner, USA TODAY Sports, Reuters This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tour de France stage 3: Tim Merlier wins, Jasper Philipsen crash
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Merlier pips Milan in crash-marred stage three of Tour
Tim Merlier won his only other stage at the Tour in 2021 [Getty Images] Tim Merlier pipped Jonathan Milan on the line in a sprint finish to win a crash-marred stage three of the Tour de France. The Belgian edged the Italian by the slenderest of margins with Germany's Phil Bauhaus in third on a day when Mathieu van der Poel retained the race leader's yellow jersey and stage one winner Jasper Philipsen was forced to abandon. Advertisement "It was difficult to be in position in the battle before the last corner and I must say, my team did an incredible job to the last 5km and then the real battle started," said Merlier. "I was able to get some slipstream next to Milan. It's always difficult to beat him but I'm happy I can take today my second win in the Tour de France. "At first I was sure [I had won] and put my hands in the air but then I was not sure anymore so I was waiting until I was." Belgian Philipsen, who would almost certainly have contested the race to the finish line, fell heavily around 60km from the end of the 178.3km route from Valenciennes to Dunkirk when Frenchman Bryan Coquard unintentionally diverted into his path. Advertisement There were three more crashes including two in the final 5km of the stage with Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel and Geraint Thomas seemingly involved. The two main general classification favourites, Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, finished safely in the main pack and remain in second and third place overall behind Van der Poel. Meanwhile, the 11 bikes stolen from the Cofidis team truck on Sunday morning were all found before the stage concluded. Five of them had been abandoned in a forest with the others being located by the police later on Monday. Tuesday's fourth stage is a rolling 174.2km run from Amiens Metropole to Rouen, with five categorised climbs in a demanding finale. Advertisement Stage three results 1. Tim Merlier (Bel/Soudal Quick-Step) 4hrs 16mins 55secs 2. Jonathan Milan (Ita/Lidl-Trek) Same time 3. Phil Bauhaus (Ger/Bahrain Victorious) " 4. Soren Waerenskjold (Nor/Uno-X Mobility) " 5. Pavel Bittner (Cze/Picnic PostNL) " 6. Biniam Girmay (Eri/Intermarche-Wanty) " 7. Kaden Groves (Aus/Alpecin - Deceuninck) " 8. Danny van Poppel (Ned/Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe) " 9. Pascal Ackermann (Ger/Israel - Premier Tech) " 10. Amaury Capiot (Bel/Arkwa - B&B Hotels) " General classification after stage three 1. Mathieu Van der Poel (Ned - Alpecin-Deceuninck) 12hrs 55mins 37secs Advertisement 2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +4secs 3. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) +6secs 4. Kevin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) +10secs 5. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) Same time 6. Enric Mas (Spa-Movistar), Same time 7. Joseph Blackmore (GB - Israel - Premier Tech) +41secs 8. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor - Uno-X Mobility) Same time 9. Ben O'Connor (Aus - Jayco AlUla) " 10. Emanuel Buchmann (Ger/Cofidis) +49secs
The National
4 hours ago
- Sport
- The National
Tour de France 2025: Tadej Pogacar avoids crash chaos as Tim Merlier wins sprint finish
Belgian Tim Merlier pipped Italian Jonathan Milan right at the line to win Stage 3 of the Tour de France at Dunkirk on Monday, as Mathieu van der Poel retained the race lead. The stage was marred by a series of falls, but the two favourites for the title Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) finished safely in the main pack and remain in second and third place overall a few seconds behind Van der Poel. The flat 179km run from Valenciennes along the Belgian border was marked above all by a nasty fall that caused Stage 1 winner Jasper Philipsen to quit with severe grazing and a suspected fracture. The fall ripped the green best sprinter's jersey from Philipsen's back two days after he won the opening day sprint, as he slid along the road in the 70kph crash. There were three more falls, including two nasty looking ones in the finale with Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel, Merlier's teammate, involved. Merlier, 32, grew up just over the border from Dunkirk and had been hoping to win the opening stage on Sunday. 'That was a mess,' Merlier said of the falls. 'I lost a great deal of energy getting in position but it was a good bike throw. 'I was able to get some slipstream next to Milan. It's always difficult to beat him but I'm happy I can take today my second win in the Tour de France. 'At first I was sure (I had won) and put my hands in the air but then I was not sure any more so I was waiting until I was.' Lidl-Trek's Milan led over most of the final 150m, but even without sealing the stage win his efforts were still rewarded as he inherited the green sprint points jersey from the stricken Philipsen. Van der Poel in the leader's yellow jersey is the grandson of French cycling legend Raymond Poulidor, who came second in the Tour de France seven times, but never won and also never got to don the yellow tunic. Another Belgian, the national champion Tim Wellens and teammate of Pogacar, gave cross-border fans even more to celebrate as he won the day's only climb, the 2.3km ascent of Mont Cassel at 31km from the finish line. The 34-year-old will now hold the king of the mountains polka dot jersey overnight. Frenchman Kevin Vauquelin is in the best under-25's rider's white jersey afer staying in the finishing mix in all three stages. Regional police said one million spectators had lined the roadsides on the opening day, and while rain dissuaded that kind of turnout for Stage 2, huge crowds turned out again for the run to Dunkirk. The eleven bikes stolen from outside the Cofidis team hotel early Sunday were all found before the stage's end – five of them were recovered abandoned in a forest early Monday with the others being tracked down by the police later in the day. Tuesday's Stage 4 is a 174km run from Amiens, as the Tour leaves the North region, to Rouen in Normandy, with five hills in the final 25km designed to spark a series of race-splitting attacks. The first section of the Tour is raced through the north and west of France. The volcanic landscape of the Puy de Dome presents the first mountains as late as Stage 10, with two more colossal climb days in the Pyrenees before the blockbuster final week in the Alps.
New York Times
4 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Tour de France stage three: Tim Merlier victorious on crash-marred day as green jersey Philipsen abandons
A three-week Grand Tour will always contain natural ebbs and flows, and, for much of Monday's stage between Valenciennes and Dunkirk, it looked as if the peloton had declared an unofficial rest day, with the riders happy to cruise back towards the coast after a weekend of wind, rain and intensity. But everything changed with just under 60 kilometres remaining. As the race's fastmen readied themselves for the intermediate sprint there was a hugely consequential crash, with Jasper Philipsen — clad in the green jersey — sent into the ground, and out of the race. Advertisement And the incidents did not end there. As the race reached a closing five kilometres that many had been concerned about when the route was revealed, first a group of riders including Remco Evenepoel went down, and then, on a bend with less than 500 metres to go, Emilien Jeanniere was sent into the barriers in a nasty-looking crash involving several riders. Amid the mayhem, Quickstep's European champion Tim Merlier pipped Jonathan Milan to the stage win by millimetres. The 'relaxed' stage ended up being anything but. Jacob Whitehead and Chris Waugh look back at the key moments from Monday's stage. Find all of The Athletic's Tour de France coverage here: The word 'chaos' has been used too frequently during this tour and we are only three stages in. Across four hours and 15 minutes of racing, barely anything happened. Unfortunately, when the action did liven up, it resulted in crashes. And lots of them. If the general classification riders were relieved to pass through the extended 5km-to-go safety zone, then any comfort they felt quickly dissipated. With around 3.1km left, the peloton narrowed and on the right-hand side of the road, as riders attempted to cut inside the curb, three hit the ground. Primoz Roglic somehow avoided it, but Remco Evenepoel, one of the race favorites, did fall, as did Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe's Jordi Meeus and 2018 Tour winner Geraint Thomas. With the peloton now split, a select group continued towards the line and, as the final right-hand corner swung round with 350m to go, several riders collided with one another at high speed. Team TotalEnergies' Emilien Jeanniere came out by far the worst, catapulted across the road and into the barriers on the left-hand side. Somehow he managed to get back on his bike and crossed the line, eight minutes and 45 seconds after the stage winner. ▶️ Relive an hectic last km that brings @MerlierTim to victory on stage 3. ▶️ Revivez un dernier km chaotique qui mène @MerlierTim à la victoire sur l'étape 3.#TDF2025 — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 7, 2025 That winner was Merlier, who claimed a photo-finish victory by a matter of millimetres ahead of Milan. The latter's Lidl-Trek train dissipated during the final kilometre, with Team Picnic PostNL overtaking them, leaving the tall Italian to freewheel up the field. Milan appeared to do that successfully and launched his sprint early, only for Merlier to surpass him. A counter punch brought Milan level, but at the last Merlier threw his bike marginally ahead of the Italian and sheepishly lifted his arm into the air in celebration, only to pull it back down as he sought clarification that he had won. Advertisement 'It was a really hard battle,' Merlier told broadcasters afterwards. 'It was difficult to be in position and in the last two kilometres I fought back from behind. All the time I was in the wind and a headwind is really difficult. I managed to get in the slipsteam and I know next to Milan it is always difficult to beat him. At first I was sure (I won) and I put my hand in the air, but then I wasn't so sure anymore.' 🗣️'[Jonathan] Milan is always difficult to beat, but I'm happy I can take my second win here in the #TDF2025.' 🇧🇪 @MerlierTim breaks down how the stage was won ⤵️ 🗣️« [Jonathan] Milan est toujours difficile à battre, mais je suis heureux de pouvoir remporter ma deuxième… — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 7, 2025 The European champion soon discovered that he had indeed won his second Tour stage, four years after his first. A consolation for Milan was that he has assumed ownership of the green jersey, having risen to 81 points, four ahead of Biniam Girmay. With the next pure sprint opportunity unlikely to come until stage eight on Saturday, Merlier and Milan will be satisfied with their respective prizes. Chris Waugh The final serious bend on the run-in to Dunkirk came with 1.7km to go, but the tiny chicane with 350m remaining created the real chaos. Then, to take the fastest route to the line on the final bend, riders had to move laterally across sprint lanes — a major safety no-no. Here, they were forced to by a route design which appeared to contravene UCI regulations. The Athletic have approached ASO for comment. In a month where myriad niche rules aimed to improve safety have been controversially introduced — such as minimum handlebar and chainring sizes — it is striking that more serious issues appear to have been set to one side. Advertisement 'We're messing around on the fringes rather than tackling a big core problem,' Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's head of engineering Dan Bigham had previously told The Athletic. Intermarché-Wanty had two riders down on the day's stage, and their directeur sportif Aike Visbeek was critical of the finish design. Was it safe? 'No,' the Dutchman replied. 'And on the back of an easy stage, this is what you can expect. This is one of the last three chances you have for the sprinters, so then everybody goes blind and it's dangerous. 'The ball is in the UCI's court. It's more dangerous like that — this is how it is.' Jacob Whitehead It had been the perfect start to the 2025 Tour de France for Alpecin-Deceuninck. After back-to-back victories and with their two main riders in the yellow and green jerseys, they were looking to become the first team to win the opening three stages since 1961. But after two days of consistently positive headlines, the Belgian squad came crashing back down to earth. Unfortunately, quite literally in Philipsen's case. For almost 120km, barely anything of note had happened. That ensured that the fastmen were all prepared and ready for the intermediate sprint in Isbergues. Bunched together, with Jonathan Milan looking to break clear of the group towards the intermediate-sprint line, Cofidis' Bryan Coquard was caught behind him and changed his line, moving slightly to his right. There, Intermarche-Wanty's Laurenz Rex stopped pedalling, leaned in slightly to his left, there was a coming together of — presumably — their handlebars, which ricocheted Coquard back to his left… and right into Philipsen path. While Coquard's balance was miraculously restored by the collision and he escaped with merely a tire burn to his left calf, Philipsen was flung over the right-hand side of his handlebar, shredding the back of his jersey and causing the Belgian to immediately grip his shoulder in pain. It was soon obvious that Philipsen, the maillot vert and previous wearer of the maillot jaune as winner of the opening stage, would be unable to continue. This was his third abandonment out of eight Grand Tour starts and denies Philipsen the opportunity to win the points classification for the second time at the Tour, having previously done so in 2023. He also becomes the first jersey-wearer to abandon the Tour since former green jersey-wearer Marcel Kittel in 2017. On the opening stage, there were suggestions that Philipsen had actually attempted to push Coquard in the run-up to that intermediate sprint, but this latest incident appeared far more innocuous, if much more consequential. 😟 @JasperPhilipsen crashed hard as he approached the intermediate sprint. The green jersey was forced to retire ❌ 😟 @JasperPhilipsen a chuté violemment à l'approche du sprint intermédiaire. Le maillot vert est durement touché et doit abandonner ❌#TDF2025 — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 7, 2025 Nonetheless, Coquard apologized after the stage, saying: 'Tough day, yes, you can imagine that causing Philipsen to abandon doesn't feel good. It wasn't my intention to cause a crash, I didn't want to take any risks. It wasn't deliberate, but I want to apologize to Philipsen and Alpecin.' After a dream opening weekend, Alpecin must now reassess their plans for the remainder of the Tour. Philipsen departing is a huge blow not only for the team, but also for the entire race. Chris Waugh The last 30 kilometres of Sunday's stage two brought thrilling racing. The first 100km of Monday's stage three? Not so much. It was flat in gradient, speed and mood. There were no attacks, with the peloton ambling its way through the northern French countryside as one long snake, while the average speed for the first hour was just 36kph —slower than a casual cafe ride to the professional peloton. Why? One reason was the breakaway's slim chances of success — as one of only a handful of opportunities for the sprinters all race, each of their teams would be highly motivated to chase down any break. Alpecin-Deceuninck, going their third successive stage win until Philipsen crashed, had the peloton controlled with a long string of riders. Advertisement Throw in the pancake gradient of the stage, plus the likelihood of headwinds during the run-in to Dunkirk, and the chances of any breakaway rider staying away were infinitesimally small. Nevertheless, the lack of one is still unusual — historically, smaller teams have encouraged a rider to attack so they can expose their sponsorship to the TV cameras, although that tradition is slowly fading from the sport. But amidst a tough opening week of the Tour — Sunday's bumpy stage two was the longest day of the race — this was a day that every team was content to take easy for as long as they could. Jacob Whitehead It really was the most alluring that insurance has ever been. After 28 years, AG2R-La Mondiale will no longer be in control of one of French cycling's most iconic teams, as the squad announced on Monday morning 'with profound emotion' that the team's ownership would be transferred to current co-sponsor Decathlon. The French sports retailer has set the goal of winning the Tour de France by 2030, and are seeking a new partner to increase the team's budget above €40million. Though those claims might sound grandiose, they do have possess a potential super-talent in the shape of 18-year-old Frenchman Paul Seixas. 'Our first objective is to stay in the top five in world cycling and, if possible, to climb the podium,' said general manager Dominique Serieys. 'We want to win the Tour de France by 2030 at the latest.' With GC contenders increasingly gathering super-teams around them — UAE Team Emirates and Visma-Lease a Bike are the paradigmatic examples — Decathlon are laying the groundwork early. They are expected to sign Visma-Lease a Bike pair Olav Kooij and Tiesj Benoot from next season. For the moment, their hopes will be carried by Austrian climber Felix Gall, who is aiming to better his best GC result of eighth after an impressive performance at the Tour de Suisse. Jacob Whitehead An awkward stage takes the Tour into Normandy. Another chance for the sprinters, but the likes of Merlier and Milan may be distanced over some of the short final climbs. Expect a reduced bunch at the very least.
Khaleej Times
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
Belgian Merlier wins crash-marred Tour de France dash to Dunkirk
Belgian Tim Merlier pipped Italian Jonathan Milan right at the line to win stage three of the Tour de France at Dunkirk on Monday, as Mathieu van der Poel retained the race lead. The stage was marred by a series of falls, but the two favourites for the title Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard finished safely in the main pack and remain in second and third place overall behind Van der Poel. The flat 179km run from Valenciennes along the Belgian border was marked above all by a nasty fall that caused Jasper Philipsen to quit with severe grazing and a suspected fracture. The fall ripped the green best sprinter's jersey from Philipsen's back two days after he won the opening day sprint, as he slid along the road in the 70kph crash. There were three more falls, including two nasty looking ones in the finale with Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel, Merlier's teammate, involved. Merlier, 32, grew up just over the border from Dunkirk and had been hoping to win the opening stage on Sunday. "That was a mess," Merlier said of the falls. "I lost a great deal of energy getting in position but it was a good bike throw. I knew I'd beat Milan." Lidl-Trek's Milan led over most of the final 150m, but even without sealing the stage win his efforts were still rewarded as he inherited the green sprint points jersey from the stricken Philipsen. Van der Poel in the leader's yellow jersey is the grandson of French cycling legend Raymond Poulidor, who came second in the Tour de France seven times, but never won and also never got to don the yellow tunic. Another Belgian, the national champion Tim Wellens, gave cross-border fans even more to celebrate as he won the day's only climb, the 2.3km ascent of Mont Cassel at 31km from the finish line. The 34-year-old will now hold the king of the mountains polka dot jersey overnight. Frenchman Kevin Vauquelin is in the best under-25's rider's white jersey afer staying in the finishing mix in all three stages. Regional police said one million spectators had lined the roadsides on the opening day, and while rain dissuaded that kind of turnout for stage two, huge crowds turned out again for the run to Dunkirk. The eleven bikes stolen from outside the Cofidis team hotel early Sunday were all found before the stage's end -- five of them were recovered abandoned in a forest early Monday with the others being tracked down by the police later in the day. Tuesday's fourth stage is a 174km run from Amiens, as the Tour leaves the North region, to Rouen in Normandy, with five hills in the final 25km designed to spark a series of race-splitting attacks. The first section of the Tour is raced through the north and west of France. The volcanic landscape of the Puy de Dome presents the first mountains as late as stage 10, with two more colossal climb days in the Pyrenees before the blockbuster final week in the Alps.
