Paris [France], July 9 (ANI): Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) won a chaotic Stage 3 sprint at the Tour de France as Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) crashed out in the green jersey. Stage 1's winner, Philipsen, was the principal victim of a high-speed incident ahead of the intermediate sprint at Isbergues. That forced his team to turn to their Plan B, Kaden Groves, but the Australian was caught on the wrong side of a late crash and could only finish seventh. Merlier kept free of trouble and positioned himself well to pip Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) to the line.

It all came at the end of what had been, for most of its duration, the sleepiest stage so far. So strong was the consensus that the day should culminate in a bunch sprint that there was no interest in forming a breakaway at all.

For almost 120 km, the peloton cruised through northern France at a relaxed, almost club pace.

Only as the bunch neared the intermediate sprint did things heat up, with most of the big names, with the exception of Merlier, looking to contest the green jersey points. Whose fault was the crash, if anyone's, was almost all but impossible to adjudicate.

Philipsen was the last rider in the chain reaction, knocked hard by an out-of-control Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), who had himself been knocked into a blameless tailspin and was fortunate to stay upright. Pictures later showed he had not come off unscathed, and although he continued onto the finish, he was in no position to contest the stage. Philipsen, though, was not so lucky. He hit the ground hard, losing most of the top half of his green skinsuit and was soon taken away in an ambulance for further assessment.

The race continued on in subdued fashion. Ahead of the only categorised climb, Tadej Pogacar's team-mate Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) politely asked permission of the peloton to head out to claim the single point available. Doing so meant he would draw level on points with Pogacar, but would relieve his leader of the polka dot jersey and the podium duties that come with it. Wellens would also join a select group of riders to have served as King of the Mountains at all three Grand Tours.

Although he had a lead of almost two minutes over the bunch at the Cote de Cassel, Wellens was obliged to wait rather than press on, and allow the rest of the race to proceed according to the script.

Into the final 10km, those teams most intent on contesting the stage began to organise into their trains. The safety zone, where any incident would allow riders to take the same time as the group they were in, was set at 5km. That allowed the GC teams to ease to the back, but could not mitigate against every and any eventuality, or make it actually safe. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quickstep) was caught in one off-camera, eventually rolling home visibly injured.

The finale was fought most aggressively by the teams least expected to fight for the general classification. They included Bahrain Victorious, Picnic-PostNL, Uno-X, Groupama FDJ, and Lidl-Trek. Plus Merlier, who was expected to fend for himself and float through gaps where he could find them.

A complex run-in to Dunkirk involved several roundabouts, a fast right bend and a narrow, 6m wide finish straight into a head-wind.

Milan's last lead-out rider dropped away just before the final right turn, leaving him to come off the Picnic PostNL-train. Merlier did brilliantly to force his way onto the Italian's wheel on the right, with Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) locked to his. The crash happened just behind Bauhaus, six riders back, as Danny van Poppel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Davide Ballerini (Astana XDS) and a Groupama rider all tried to squeeze into a gap made for one, the reaction sending all three towards the opposite fence.

That left Milan, Merlier, Bauhaus, Soren Waerenskjold (Uno-X) and Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty) in a drag race to the line. Milan had the highest speed, reaching 70kph at one point, but Merlier's timing was better. He came off the wheel and carried enough speed to edge ahead of Milan at the line. Pavel Bittner (Picnic PostNL) looked good on the left but faded to fifth, while Waerenskjold did well for fourth behind Bahaus.

'At first I was sure I had won,' said Merlier. 'So I put my hands in the air, but then I was not sure anymore. I waited until I was sure. The headwind was really difficult. You lose so much energy being in position but I knew I could make it. I came to win a stage and I'm happy to have the stage.'

The general classification remains largely unchanged, although Philipsen's abandonment moves every rider from sixth place downward up one. Jonathan Milan is the new leader in the points competition and will wear the green jersey on Tuesday.

Action from the Tour De France 2025 - Stage 04 - Amiens Metropole - Rouen will be broadcast live on Eurosport. (ANI)