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Tim Merlier Edges Jonathan Milan in Sprint Finish to Win Tour de France Stage 3 Amid Crashes

Posted : 08 July 2025

Tim Merlier clinched a narrow victory over Jonathan Milan in a dramatic sprint finish to win stage three of the 2025 Tour de France. The Belgian rider timed his surge perfectly in the final metres of the 178.3km route from Valenciennes to Dunkirk, edging out Milan by the slimmest of margins. Germany’s Phil Bauhaus completed the podium in third place.

 

“It was tough to find position in the battle before the final corner,” Merlier said after the race. “But my team did an amazing job in the last 5km, and that gave me the opportunity. Milan is always difficult to beat, but I’m glad I could take my second Tour de France win today.”

 

The finish was so close that Merlier initially celebrated before second-guessing himself, awaiting confirmation of the result.

 

The stage was not without incident. A significant crash around 60km from the finish saw Belgian sprinter Jasper Philipsen, winner of stage one, go down hard after Bryan Coquard veered into his path. Philipsen’s team, Alpecin–Deceuninck, later confirmed he had suffered a fractured collarbone and at least one broken rib, ruling him out of the race.

 

Several more crashes occurred, including two in the chaotic final 5km, with top riders like Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel and former Tour winner Geraint Thomas appearing to be involved. Fortunately, general classification contenders Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard avoided the mishaps and finished safely in the main group. They remain in second and third overall, trailing Mathieu van der Poel, who retained the yellow jersey.

 

Adding to the day’s drama, police confirmed that all 11 bicycles stolen from the Cofidis team truck on Sunday had been recovered by Monday evening. Five of the bikes were found abandoned in a forest, with the rest later located by authorities.

 

Looking ahead, stage four on Tuesday features a 174.2km route from Amiens Métropole to Rouen, with five categorised climbs in a hilly and potentially decisive finale.

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