Tour de France: Philipsen-Sturz overshadow Tour stage-Merlier wins

Jasper Philipsen bumped into pain on the side of the road and was slowly realizing that his eleventh stage victory at the Tour de France had to come in coming. The fans have to do without a star early in the course of the 112nd edition of the three -week tour: The leaving of the Belgian professional as a result of an unfortunate fall dampened the mood of the numerous spectators in northern France and fans on the screens.

Philipsen then came directly to the hospital. Philip Roodhooft, team leader of the Alpecin racing team, was visibly affected. “Of course this ensures emotions. Today’s result is also irrelevant,” he said, and has not yet been able to give any details about the extent of the injuries. “Jasper is down,” he said in English.

The 27-year-old, who won the opening stage in Lille and then carried the yellow jersey for a short time, came down on the third stage about 60 kilometers before the finish in Dunkirk and had to end the tour.

Bauhaus on podium: “Already quite good”

The German Sprinter Phil Bauhaus missed the day victory as the third place after a turbulent race end with many falls. In the past few years he had always narrowly failed on a stage victory on the tour. The Belgian European champion Tim Merlier secured the day victory after the mostly flat 178.3 kilometers. The Italian Jonathan Milan finished second on his debut tour. Pascal Ackermann from the Palatinate became ninth.

“I mean, we are here on the tour and the other two who are in front of me – one also has a special jersey, i.e. as a European champion – they are a little better than me, so third is quite good,” said the 30 -year -old Bauhaus in the ARD.

Treatment directly on the roadside

Bauhaus saw Philipsen on the street, but did not see the fall itself. The Belgian had fallen after a ripple shortly before the intermediate sprint and had to give up the race. He fell on his right shoulder, his entire jersey was torn – numerous abrasions were seen. He was then treated by the tour doctor for minutes.

The fall of the Belgian Laurenz Rex had triggered the team around the German road bike master Georg Zimmermann. Rex brought the Cofidis driver Bryan Coquard out of balance, the Frenchman finally collided with Philipsen, who could no longer avoid. Team boss Roodhooft did not want to make any blame: “At that time it is not really relevant to analyze that. Everyone saw the pictures,” he added.

Tour continues without the best sprinter of her last years

The tour is losing its best sprinter in recent years. In 2024 the 27-year-old had won four stages and the green jersey in 2023. In Lille he had gained superior to the start, a day later his teammate Mathieu van der Poel took over the yellow jersey with the victory in Boulogne-sur-Mer.

There were no changes at the top of the overall ranking. The Dutch van der Poel continues with four seconds before defending champion Tadej Pogacar and six seconds in front of the Danes Jonas Vingegaard.

Demanding finale on fourth stage

On Monday, the professionals took it easy before the unfortunate incident around Philipsen over long distances. The German Sprinter Ackermann only won the day in the city in May at the one -day race in Dunkirk. After that, the Palatinate also hoped for his first stage win at the Tour de France – in vain on Monday.

On the fourth day of the tour on Tuesday, a demanding final is waiting for the cycling professionals – Pogacar and Vingegaard could also be distinguished there again. On the last 50 kilometers from Amiens to Rouen, two climbs of the third and fourth category are waiting. Five kilometers before the finish, the dreaded ramp from Saint-Hilaire awaits up to 16 percent climb. Here there should be a duel between the favorites around Tadej Pogacar and challenger Jonas Vingegaard.