Latest news with #Philipsen
Observer
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Observer
Merlier wins stage three of Tour de France
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 179 km 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 happened during an intermediate sprint 60 km away from Dunkirk and ripped the green best sprinter's jersey from Philipsen's back as he slid along the road in the 70kph crash. Much of what Philipsen's team Alpecin had planned for the Tour revolved around the sprinter, team-mate Van der Poel revealed. "It's always one of our goals to win stages so this is a bad day," the 30-year-old said. Van der Poel suggested the wind had emboldened the sprinters. "In a head wind it's easier to come from behind in the sprints, it made things more chaotic," he said. There were three more falls, including two nasty looking ones in the finale with Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel, Merlier's teammate, involved. A MESS 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 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 2.3 km ascent of Mont Cassel at 31 km 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 after 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 on Sunday were all found before the stage's end — five of them were recovered abandoned in a forest early on Monday with the others being tracked down by the police later in the day. Tuesday's fourth stage is a 174 km run from Amiens, as the Tour leaves the North region, to Rouen in Normandy, with five hills in the final 25 km 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. — AFP
NBC Sports
08-07-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Jasper Philipsen has successful surgery after breaking collarbone in Tour de France crash
PARIS — Belgian cyclist Jasper Philipsen had successful surgery after breaking a collarbone during the crash-marred third stage of the Tour de France. Philipsen was knocked over by Frenchman Bryan Coquard and landed heavily on his right side. The Stage 1 winner abandoned and was taken to hospital. 'He underwent a successful surgery last night at AZ Herentals (hospital) to repair his collarbone and AC (shoulder) joint,' Philipsen's Alpecin-Deceuninck team posted on X. 'Now the road to recovery begins, and we'll be behind him all the way.' Philipsen has won 10 career stages on the Tour and was a contender for the best sprinter's green jersey.
DW
08-07-2025
- Sport
- DW
Jasper Philipsen crash a reminder of Tour de France risk – DW – 07/08/2025
Jasper Philipsen, one of the world's best sprinters, is out of the Tour de France. A heavy crash is the Belgian's undoing - not unusual for the traditionally hectic first week of the race. You can almost set your watch by it. The first week of the Tour de France almost never goes by without serious crashes and on the third stage of the 2025 Tour, Belgian Jasper Philipsen, who was wearing the green jersey (the best sprinter), was hit. Frenchman Bryan Coquard skidded at around 60 km/h during an intermediate sprint, and Philipsen, who was riding next to him, was unable to avoid him and crashed onto the asphalt. Philipsen, who had won the first stage and even wore the leader's yellow jersey for a day, broke his collarbone and at least one rib. The 27-year-old's Tour is now over, and Swiss rider Stefan Bissegger and Italian Filippo Ganna had already had to abandon the race after crashing during the opening stage. "The first week is probably the most dangerous, because everyone thinks they can make cycling history," said former rider Rolf Aldag, now sports director of the German team Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. "In the second or third week, everyone knows where they belong. Then they pull back and slow down." There are a total of seven flat stages in this year's Tour de France, and most of them are in the first week. That adds to the pressure of the first week for those looking to go fast because in the difficult mountain stages in the Pyrenees and the Alps later in the race, the sprinters are only concerned with reaching the finish within the prescribed time window. The goal is to still be in contention for the final stage on the Champs Élysées, which is usually decided in a sprint. The third stage from Valenciennes to Dunkirk had actually started at a leisurely pace - as the author was able to see for himself at the edge of the route in the small town of Seclin: The peloton rolled along at a slow pace, even the usual breakaway attempts by individual riders failed to materialize due to the strong winds. But at the only sprint classification of the day, 60 kilometers before the finish in Dunkirk, the crash occurred. Two more were to follow, the last one during the final sprint, when several sprinters landed on the asphalt. Unlike Philipsen, they escaped with grazes. "After the World Championships, the Tour is the biggest thing you can achieve as a professional cyclist. That's why the willingness to take risks is extremely high here," said German sprinter Phil Bauhaus, who finished third in Dunkirk. "We rode through hell," said Eritrean Biniam Girmay, who won three stages and the green jersey in 2024. "I'm just super happy that I arrived safely. Whenever I heard a crash behind me, my heart rate went up to 300." In order to control the risk of falling, the UCI (cycling's world governing body) introduced yellow cards at the beginning of the year - similar to football. Sprinters can be warned if they "deviate from the chosen line and thus hinder or endanger another rider" or if they brake suddenly during a sprint. In these cases, a fine of 500 Swiss francs (€535) will be handed out as well as a deduction of points in the classification for the best sprinter. A second yellow card during a race results in a seven-day ban. For a multi-week tour such as the Tour de France, this means disqualification. Another new feature this year is that the finish zone can be extended from three to five kilometers before the finish line in flat stages where sprints are expected for the stage win. If a professional cyclist crashes within this zone, he will be counted with the same time as the group in which he was riding at the time of the crash. This means that they do not lose any time in the overall standings as a result of the crash, but they still have to cross the finish line somehow.
Hamilton Spectator
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Philipsen has successful surgery after breaking collarbone in Tour de France crash
PARIS (AP) — Belgian cyclist Jasper Philipsen had successful surgery after breaking a collarbone during the crash-marred third stage of the Tour de France. Philipsen was knocked over by Frenchman Bryan Coquard and landed heavily on his right side. The Stage 1 winner abandoned and was taken to hospital. 'He underwent a successful surgery last night at AZ Herentals (hospital) to repair his collarbone and AC (shoulder) joint,' Philipsen's Alpecin-Deceuninck team posted on X on Tuesday. 'Now the road to recovery begins, and we'll be behind him all the way.' Philipsen has won 10 career stages on the Tour and was a contender for the best sprinter's green jersey. ___ AP sports:
San Francisco Chronicle
08-07-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Philipsen has successful surgery after breaking collarbone in Tour de France crash
PARIS (AP) — Belgian cyclist Jasper Philipsen had successful surgery after breaking a collarbone during the crash-marred third stage of the Tour de France. Philipsen was knocked over by Frenchman Bryan Coquard and landed heavily on his right side. The Stage 1 winner abandoned and was taken to hospital. 'He underwent a successful surgery last night at AZ Herentals (hospital) to repair his collarbone and AC (shoulder) joint,' Philipsen's Alpecin-Deceuninck team posted on X on Tuesday. 'Now the road to recovery begins, and we'll be behind him all the way.' Philipsen has won 10 career stages on the Tour and was a contender for the best sprinter's green jersey. ___
