Tour de France Stage 3: Tim Merlier wins sprint on day marred by crashes (+ video)

Tim Merlier of Alpecin-Fenix has won Stage 3 of the Tour de France in Pontivy, a crash a couple of hundred metres from the line taking out Lotto-Soudal's Caleb Ewan and Bora Hansgrohe's Peter Sagan.

Merlier's team-mate Mathieu van der Poel retains the overall lead after a day marred by crashes - one, early on involving Geraint Thomas of Ineos Grenadiers, another just 10km from the finish leaving last year's runner-up Primoz Roglic of Jumbo-Visma cut and bruised - but according to his team, thankfully with no fractures.

The Slovenian lost more than a minute today, with defending champion Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates also losing around half a minute as he came home in a group also containing Thomas.

Another crash around 4km from the finish - so before the 3km-to-go mark after which, on flat stages, any rider involved in a crash is given the same finishing time as the group they were riding with at the time - caused further splits in the peloton.

As a result, there's been a big reshuffling of the general classification. While the top two remain unchanged, with Julian Alaphilippe who was in the group contesting the stage win remaining 8 seconds behind van der Poel, Richard Carapaz of Ineos Grenadiers, also in that group, rises to third, 31 seconds off the lead, the same as fourth-placed Wout van Aert of Jumbo Visma.

Pogacar is a further 8 seconds back in sixth place. Thomas is now 18th, 1 minute 7 seconds down on the leader, while Roglic is 1 minute 35 seconds off the yellow jersey, in 20th place.

Roglic’s crash came as the peloton was travelling at speed to reel in the break, the Jumbo-Visma rider appearing to touch wheels with another rider on the left-hand side of the peloton, resulting in him being catapulted sideways out of the bunch and landing heavily.

Despite the efforts of team mates including Tony Martin – himself on the deck earlier in the crash involving Thomas, and which also saw Jumbo-Visma’s Robert Gesink abandon – to help him rejoin the bunch, there was never a prospect of him getting back on.

Thomas’s crash came 37km into today’s 183km stage from Lorient and it briefly appeared that his race was over just three days in as he sat on the ground, looking as though he may have fractured a wrist or collarbone.

However, it later emerged that he had apparently sustained a dislocated shoulder which the race doctor put back in place for him, and with several team mates dropping back to support him he was paced back to the peloton.

Entering the last 30km, the Belgian teams Lotto-Soudal and Deceuninck-Quick Step were working together to keep the break in check, with the four escapees – Michael Schär of AG2R Citroën, the Cofidis rider Jelle Wallays and the B&B Hotels pair of Cyril Barthe and Maxime Chevalier – around a minute and a half ahead on the road.

Inside the last 20km, the temporary truce between the two rival teams at the front of the peloton ended as Wout van Aert –in the colours of Belgian national champion, but riding of course for the Dutch team Jumbo-Visma – came to the front, with the speed of the bunch ratcheted up to reel in the break but the three crashes in the closing 10km meant it was a very select group that challenged for the win.

Clearly, team medical staff are going to be busy tonight and a number of riders will require hospital treatment – Ewan is confirmed out of the race with a fractured collarbone, while Jack Haig of Bahrain Victorious has also seen his participation ended after he was caught up in one of the late crashes.

Reaction 

Marc Madiot, team manager of Groupama-FDJ

I’m a father and I don’t want my son to become a professional cyclist after what we’ve seen. This isn’t cycling any more. Something needs to change, this can’t go on. If we do nothing, we’re going to have deaths. This isn’t worthy of our sport.

Stage winner Tim Merlier

This is the biggest victory of my career so far - a dream come true. After my victory in the Giro d’Italia I was already very happy, and now I’ve won a stage at the biggest race of the world. I just can’t believe it. You saw how Mathieu [van der Poel] did the lead out? He just loves to do it.

Jasper [Philipsen] did an excellent job in the last 700 meters and I only needed to take off with 150 meters to go. I was surprised I didn’t have anyone on my wheel, but I heard there was a crash… so I guess that’s why.

This Tour has already been a success for us at Alpecin-Fenix. We are very happy with these two stages and Mathieu’s Yellow jersey. I hope to reach Paris and fight for the victory in the Champs-Elysées."

Ineos Grenadiers sports director Gabriel Rasch

G [Thomas] went down and dislocated his shoulder. The race doctor put it directly back in but obviously he was in a lot of pain. He could go back on his bike and in the end he finished off the stage. Hats off to him for getting through it.
 
Just after the crash he wanted to stay a little bit back in the peloton and find his feet again. After a while he could move a bit forward to the front of the group. We also had Castro with him the whole time just to make sure he was alright and to make sure he could do whatever we could to keep him in a good position on those tricky roads into the final.
 
I think we were well prepared for this stage as we’ve been here to have a look at it before the Dauphine. We knew the last 18km were small roads and twisty. We were ready for it. I think the guys did a super job like nobody else can do for Carapaz. He also took risks there in the final.

Mark Cavendish, caught up behind the crash 10km out

I am fortunate to be ok. I didn’t come down, but for a moment there I thought I would crash. Luckily, I managed to put my foot on the ground and avoided it, but my front wheel was destroyed as I lost several spokes. It was a very stressful day, more than it normally is at the Tour de France.

His Deceuninck-Quick-Step sports director, Tom Steels

With these narrow roads, you just knew it was going to happen. You didn’t even need a rider to do something wrong when you have road furniture and a peloton traveling at 60km/h. The first stages of the race need bigger roads to avoid this kind of situation, because everything is so nervous.

Also, a solution must be found so that the time of the peloton is taken earlier, with ten kilometers to calm things a bit and free more space in the bunch.