TOUR DE FRANCE 2021 STAGE 3 RESULTS SAGAN, EWAN, THOMAS, ROGLIC CRASH HARD

Race favorites Primoz Roglic and Geraint Thomas, as well as ace sprinters Peter Sagan and Caleb Ewan were all involved in nasty crashes before Tim Merlier won a drama-filled stage three of the Tour de France on Monday with one manager making a passionate plea for new safety measures. Merlier’s teammate Mathieu van der Poel kept hold of the overall lead on a brutal day of racing peppered with falls on the rain-slick, narrow winding roads in Brittany with Thomas dislocating a shoulder and 2020 runner-up Roglic losing valuable time.

Yellow jersey wearer van der Poel cut a dour figure compared to the tear-filled elation he experienced after winning Sunday’s stage two.

“It was a very fast, technical run-in with all the general classification guys racing for their places, it’s difficult to say anything now,” said van der Poel.

“It’s a big race, (in the) overall standings guys fighting against sprinters, for sure it’s a dangerous sport,” said the Dutch Alpecin rider in muted celebrations after he not only retained the yellow jersey but also led out Merlier’s sprint train.

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Primoz Roglic (SLO – Jumbo – Visma) – Miguel Angel Lopez (COL – Movistar Team)

TOUR DE FRANCE STAGE 3 RESULTS

1	MERLIER Tim	Alpecin-Fenix	4:01:28
2	PHILIPSEN Jasper	Alpecin-Fenix	0:00
3	BOUHANNI Nacer	Team Arkéa Samsic	0:00
4	BALLERINI Davide	Deceuninck – Quick Step	0:00
5	COLBRELLI Sonny	Bahrain – Victorious	0:00
6	ALAPHILIPPE Julian	Deceuninck – Quick Step	0:00
7	VAN DER POEL Mathieu	Alpecin-Fenix	0:00
8	BOL Cees	Team DSM	0:00
9	TURGIS Anthony	Team TotalEnergies	0:00
10	WALSCHEID Max	Team Qhubeka NextHash	0:00

OVERALL STANDINGS

1	VAN DER POEL Mathieu	Alpecin-Fenix	12:58:53
2	ALAPHILIPPE Julian	Deceuninck – Quick Step	0:08
3	CARAPAZ Richard	INEOS Grenadiers	0:31
4	VAN AERT Wout	Team Jumbo-Visma	0:31
5	KELDERMAN Wilco	BORA – hansgrohe	0:38
6	POGAČAR Tadej	UAE-Team Emirates	0:39
7	MAS Enric	Movistar Team	0:40
8	QUINTANA Nairo	Team Arkéa Samsic	0:40
9	LATOUR Pierre	Team TotalEnergies	0:45
10	HIGUITA Sergio	EF Education – Nippo	0:52

Caleb Ewan (AUS – Lotto Soudal) – Peter Sagan (SVK – Bora – Hansgrohe)

RBA/AFP Photos: Bettini