Latest news with #Dunkerque
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Merlier reflects on thrilling photo finish victory
Tim Merlier discusses his Stage 3 victory at Dunkerque, where he just edged out Jonathan Milan in a chaotic photo finish to earn his second career Tour de France stage win.
Washington Post
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Tour de France: Belgian rider Merlier wins third stage but Philipsen abandons
DUNKERQUE, France — Belgian rider Tim Merlier won the crash-marred third stage of the Tour de France in a photo finish and Mathieu Van der Poel kept the yellow jersey on Monday. Defending champion Tadej Pogačar and two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard — the main contenders — finished safely as they rolled in together with the main pack.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Merlier edges out Milan after crash-marred Tour stage
Tim Merlier has won the third stage of the Tour de France after a chaotic sprint finish on a crash-marred section that saw the Belgian edge just ahead of Italian rider Jonathan Milan. The Soudal Quick-Step rider needed a photo finish to confirm he ended narrowly in front of Milan at the finish line in the coastal city of Dunkerque. But the stage took a dramatic turn 60km from the end when Belgian Jasper Philipsen was forced to withdrew from the race following a brutal crash that made it impossible for him to continue the stage. Alpecin-Deceuninck rider Philipsen hit the road hard following contact with Bryan Coquard during an intermediate sprint, his fall coming just two days after winning the opening stage and his injuries making it impossible for him to continue. "Displaced fracture of the right collarbone, surgery will definitely be required. At least one broken rib, possibly two," Philipsen's Alpecin-Deceuninck team said in a statement. "He will be, as soon as possible, transferred to the hospital in Herentals, where he will undergo surgery." While Philipsen, who was also wearing the green jersey, ended his Tour on a sour note, it will give an opportunity to his Australian teammate Kaden Groves, who could step into the breach as lead sprinter for Alpecin-Deceuninck, despite this being his Tour de France debut. The winner of nine stages across the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana, the 26-year-old Queenslander played his part in helping Philipsen to victory on day one. He finished seventh in the chasing pack on Monday and now becomes his team's main sprint focus. 🇪🇺 Victory goes to the European Champion @MerlierTim !🇪🇺 La victoire revient au champion d'Europe @MerlierTim !#TDF2025 — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 7, 2025 Philipsen's manager Philip Roodhooft said: "It's clear that the other two riders collided and as a result Jasper was hit and crashed badly. There's a reason for it but we're not talking about who's to blame, it's a case of bad luck and an incident in the race," "But obviously the circumstances for us as a team and for Jasper individually are terrible," he said. "It's a blow to the mental health of the whole team and it's the worst thing for Jasper. But it goes on." Coquard was visibly emotional in the aftermath of the race. "I was clearly off balance and lost the pedal. I'd like to apologise to Philipsen and Alpecin, even if it wasn't deliberate. Even though I'm not a bad lad, it wasn't pleasant," he said. The next highest Australian stage three finishers were Robert Stannard (Bahrain-Victorious) 47th, Jarrad Drizners (Lotto) 57th, Jack Haig (Bahrain-Victorious) 103rd, Michael Storer, Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla) 130th and Harry Sweeny (EF Education) 136th. O'Connor (Jayco AlUla), Australia's main hope for the General Classification, has moved himself up one more place to ninth position overall. The peloton rode closely together for most of the 178.3 km flat stage from Valenciennes to Dunkerque. Seemingly cautious, the riders held back from making any decisive moves, with nearly the entire group staying in the peloton until the final stretch, setting up a mass sprint finish. "It was a really hard battle. It was difficult to be in position," Merlier said. "I think from two kilometres I fought back from behind to come back in position, and I was in the wind all the time, and only with 500 metres to go I found a bit of slipstream. I know next to Milan is always difficult." The messy finale saw two separate crashes within the last 3km with the first one bringing down several riders, including Geraint Thomas, Jordi Meeus and Remco Evenepoel. Just ahead of the final corner, several riders lost control and went down, including Alexis Renard, Cees Bol, and Paul Penhoet, who chose to walk his bike across the finish line. Tuesday's 174-km fourth stage starts from Amiens and ends with five consecutive small climbs to the Normandy city of Rouen.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Tour de France: Belgian rider Merlier wins third stage, Pogačar finishes safely
The pack with Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar wearing the best climber's dotted jersey rides during the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy) Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar wearing the best climber's dotted jersey, right, rides with Germany's Nils Politt, center, and France's Lenny Martinez during the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy) Belgium's Tim Merlier, center, and Italy's Jonathan Milan, right, sprint to the finish line during the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Belgium's Tim Merlier, left, and Italy's Jonathan Milan cross the finish line during the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Belgium's Tim Merlier celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) The pack with Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar wearing the best climber's dotted jersey rides during the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy) Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar wearing the best climber's dotted jersey, right, rides with Germany's Nils Politt, center, and France's Lenny Martinez during the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy) Belgium's Tim Merlier, center, and Italy's Jonathan Milan, right, sprint to the finish line during the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Belgium's Tim Merlier, left, and Italy's Jonathan Milan cross the finish line during the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Belgium's Tim Merlier celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Belgium's Tim Merlier celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) The pack with Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar wearing the best climber's dotted jersey rides during the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy) Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar wearing the best climber's dotted jersey, right, rides with Germany's Nils Politt, center, and France's Lenny Martinez during the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy) Belgium's Tim Merlier, center, and Italy's Jonathan Milan, right, sprint to the finish line during the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Belgium's Tim Merlier, left, and Italy's Jonathan Milan cross the finish line during the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Belgium's Tim Merlier celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) The pack with Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar wearing the best climber's dotted jersey rides during the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy) Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar wearing the best climber's dotted jersey, right, rides with Germany's Nils Politt, center, and France's Lenny Martinez during the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy) Belgium's Tim Merlier, center, and Italy's Jonathan Milan, right, sprint to the finish line during the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Belgium's Tim Merlier, left, and Italy's Jonathan Milan cross the finish line during the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Belgium's Tim Merlier celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) DUNKERQUE, France (AP) — Belgian rider Tim Merlier won the third stage of the Tour de France in a photo finish and Mathieu Van der Poel kept the yellow jersey on Monday. Defending champion Tadej Pogačar and two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard — the main contenders — finished safely as they rolled in together with the main pack. Advertisement When the sprinters turned for home into a strong headwind, several crashed near the line at top speeds of 65 kph (40 mph). Merlier just got the front of his wheel in front of Italian Jonathan Milan as they lunged to the line. German rider Phil Bauhaus was third. Van der Poel, who rides for the Alpecin-Deceuninck team, did not contest the sprint the day after narrowly beating Pogacar to win Sunday's rainy and hilly second stage. Riders set off on Monday in wet conditions and wore light rain jackets on a 178-kilometer (110-mile) flat route from Valenciennes to the coastal city of Dunkerque. The pace was slower than the two first days but the conditions were treacherous and, about 50 kilometers from the end, Stage 1 winner Jasper Philipsen abandoned. Advertisement The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider was knocked over by Frenchman Bryan Coquard and landed heavily on his side. Coquard was not to blame, however, as he lost balance only after being clipped by a rider overtaking him on the right. Another crash with three kilometers left felled double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel, who was able to continue. Then, with the finish in sight, a few more crashed — including Coquard, who somersaulted off his bike. Tuesday stage is hilly The 174-kilometer fourth stage is another hilly one for allrounders like Van der Poel and his former cyclo-cross rival Wout van Aert. It starts from Amiens and ends with five consecutive small climbs to the Normandy city of Rouen. This race is entirely in France, with no stages held abroad as in previous years, and ends on July 27 in Paris. ___ AP sports:
Associated Press
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Tour de France: Belgian rider Merlier wins third stage, Pogačar finishes safely
DUNKERQUE, France (AP) — Belgian rider Tim Merlier won the third stage of the Tour de France in a photo finish and Mathieu Van der Poel kept the yellow jersey on Monday. Defending champion Tadej Pogačar and two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard — the main contenders — finished safely as they rolled in together with the main pack. When the sprinters turned for home into a strong headwind, several crashed near the line at top speeds of 65 kph (40 mph). Merlier just got the front of his wheel in front of Italian Jonathan Milan as they lunged to the line. German rider Phil Bauhaus was third. Van der Poel, who rides for the Alpecin-Deceuninck team, did not contest the sprint the day after narrowly beating Pogacar to win Sunday's rainy and hilly second stage. Riders set off on Monday in wet conditions and wore light rain jackets on a 178-kilometer (110-mile) flat route from Valenciennes to the coastal city of Dunkerque. The pace was slower than the two first days but the conditions were treacherous and, about 50 kilometers from the end, Stage 1 winner Jasper Philipsen abandoned. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider was knocked over by Frenchman Bryan Coquard and landed heavily on his side. Coquard was not to blame, however, as he lost balance only after being clipped by a rider overtaking him on the right. Another crash with three kilometers left felled double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel, who was able to continue. Then, with the finish in sight, a few more crashed — including Coquard, who somersaulted off his bike. Tuesday stage is hilly The 174-kilometer fourth stage is another hilly one for allrounders like Van der Poel and his former cyclo-cross rival Wout van Aert. It starts from Amiens and ends with five consecutive small climbs to the Normandy city of Rouen. This race is entirely in France, with no stages held abroad as in previous years, and ends on July 27 in Paris. ___ AP sports:
