Tour de France Tour de France 2025, Stage 3: Valenciennes – Dunkerque (173.8k)

[Unchained]

I look forward to Horner finding some obscure detail of this stage that changes my position on it completely.

Age told truth.. The easier the course the more dangerous and increase in crashes.. Watch yesterday's Move they predicted exactly what happened for last 3 days!! Speeds high, no geography or weather condition, like low temp, rain ,high winds to discourage anything aggressive.. They kept saying over and over the fear of losing a favorite ( or 2 ) to crashes.
Hindcappie shaking his head, it's likely going to have lots of crashes.

 

[AmRacer]

Age told truth.. The easier the course the more dangerous and increase in crashes.. Watch yesterday's Move they predicted exactly what happened for last 3 days!! Speeds high, no geography or weather condition, like low temp, rain ,high winds to discourage anything aggressive.. They kept saying over and over the fear of losing a favorite ( or 2 ) to crashes.
Hindcappie shaking his head, it's likely going to have lots of crashes.

19 MTF's, 1 flat TT and one Mountain TT.

 

[Samamba]

Van Poppel has been relegated, by the way.

Funnily enough he was complaining about rider behaviour on national TV after the finish.

No way he was complaining? Actually for once good jury decision as I haven't seen a lot of blame on Van Poppel while he is definitely at least partly (also parcours, the bend makes it that other can't save themselves) responsible for that last crash. Dude is a danger for every other rider around him and it isn't new.

 

[T-Nielsen]

I mean, on a sociological scale, it's everybody's fault.

I blame the Thames water authorities and the production crew behind the Antiques Roadshow.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

No way he was complaining? Actually for once good jury decision as I haven't seen a lot of blame on Van Poppel while he is definitely at least partly (also parcours, the bend makes it that other can't save themselves) responsible for that last crash. Dude is a danger for every other rider around him and it isn't new.

You may need a VPN, but here's the interview.

 

[Divergence]

Merlier wouldn't be.... he's (also) a CX rider, not a track rider.
Maybe you should just accept that road racing does indeed include sprinting, and therefore sprinters also deserve their chance.

Ok, track and CX. Although he is not that good in CX.
Why should I accept that? I do not believe it is the right direction for the sport. I believe that "sprint" stages should not exist in GTs and I express my opinion here with the hope of maybe convincing somebody that matters to move away from this sadism. Cycling has changed and route design should evolve as well. Nowadays, the way thing are, there are many more riders trying to be at the front, banging shoulders, and trying to go for nonexistent gaps than in the years past. Plus the speeds are higher. What was previously a show of pure power on the bike has now become a pure act of recklessness.
Lastly, the argument about deserving a chance... I mean...Maybe I deserve a chance to ride the TdF? Why not? Nobody deserves anything a priori, therefore the argument you made is pretty bad.

 

[Rob5091]

... and the whole peloton got the same time. Not something that happens every day.
Elbows, barging, shoulder to shoulder pushing and all the normal sprint antics. 2025 version is much the same as past years.

 

[YellowSocks]

Remco spending the whole day practicing his positionning (and crashing without going to the hospital skills). Good boy.

 

[noob]

As a noob I'm so fascinated by how different opinions there are on safety in a GT. What sounds logic doesn't seem to be logic, but rather the opposite.

I am just so confused because I remember Tdf used to be an attrition test and this doesn't seem to be it. It's not raced as an attrition test.

 

[ice&fire]

19 MTF's, 1 flat TT and one Mountain TT.

It'd be enough with a front loaded route with very tight time limits to decimate the field

 

[dobrien]

It'd be enough with a front loaded route with very tight time limits to decimate the field

I say the winner of every sprint stage automatically gets kicked out of the Tour; that oughta do it!

 

[ice&fire]

I say the winner of every sprint stage automatically gets kicked out of the Tour; that oughta do it!

The first stages this year show they'd also need to kick out the winners of KOM and intermediate sprints

 

[Samu Cuenca]

The first stages this year show they'd also need to kick out the winners of KOM and intermediate sprints

Don't kick a man while he's already down.

 

[Red Rick]

Vauquelin power data: 156W average for today

 

[Faserr]

Vauquelin power data: 156W average for today

On a 30km/h headwind stage without breakaway all of us could finish on the bunch.

 

[Jagartrott]

And this massacre on organization continue while reckless sprinters are out there doing stupid things in wide roads.

Poor organizers. Now they get criticized even when they design a TdF sprint stage with several funnels in the last 3 km and bends until right before the finish.

Riders are reckless, yes, but a design like this makes it far worse. It invites recklessness even more, and definitely in the first real sprint stage of the TdF. Imagine the final kilometers if it rained. It's just a very stupidly designed stage.

 

[ice&fire]

On a 30km/h headwind stage without breakaway all of us could finish on the bunch.

Yeah, first stage without Lenny's dedicated camera

 

[Peyroteo94]

Vauquelin power data: 156W average for today

Even I could be there!

 

[Izzyeviel]

Falls observed by the doctor:
(101) PHILIPSEN Jasper – ADC
Right shoulder trauma.
Evacuated to Béthune Hospital.
(185) JEANNIERE Emilien – TEN
Facial trauma.
Concussion protocol completed.
Assessment in the radiology truck.
(75) PITHIE Laurence – RBH
(73) MEEUS Jordi – RBH
(153) BERTHET Clément – DAT
(45) REX Laurenz – IWA
Multiple dermabrasions.

 

[Izzyeviel]

& seconds after i post this, TEN updated their insta with the following. Amazing he might be able to continue tomorrow.

Fell heavily in the last 300 meters, Émilien was quickly taken care of by doctors, he is on his feet and will return to the hotel in the evening after further examinations.

He suffers from facial trauma with no sign of severity, multiple bruises to the shoulder and sutured wounds.

A re-evaluation will be done by the medical staff tomorrow morning for the continuation of the competition.

Good luck Émilien

 

[Oldman]

Ok, track and CX. Although he is not that good in CX.
Why should I accept that? I do not believe it is the right direction for the sport. I believe that "sprint" stages should not exist in GTs and I express my opinion here with the hope of maybe convincing somebody that matters to move away from this sadism. Cycling has changed and route design should evolve as well. Nowadays, the way thing are, there are many more riders trying to be at the front, banging shoulders, and trying to go for nonexistent gaps than in the years past. Plus the speeds are higher. What was previously a show of pure power on the bike has now become a pure act of recklessness.
Lastly, the argument about deserving a chance... I mean...Maybe I deserve a chance to ride the TdF? Why not? Nobody deserves anything a priori, therefore the argument you made is pretty bad.

I totally agree on evolving the courses; particularly as they've evolved themselves into largely auto traffic channels. They may be effective for car and pedestrian safety but it's insane to race in them.

As for "sprinters" not being featured as a good thing: at least one Tour Winner and one of the best TT riders (crashed out in Stage 2) were World Champs on the track. They belong but maybe fewer teams and fewer riders per team would greatly reduce the carnage.
The Tour has turned into Nascar for cycling fans.

 

[Izzyeviel]

Now the moment you've all been waiting for - whose to blame? Multiple yellow cards

COMMISSAIRES' JURY DECISION NO. 3
Crash in the last 5 kilometers:

All riders involved in the crash less than 5 km from the finish line will be credited with the winner's time.

Article 2.12.007-5.1: Irregular sprint (Intermediate sprint)
(163) COQUARD Bryan - COFIDIS - 10006895064
(88) THEUNS Edward - LIDL-TREK - 10007079970
Fine of 500 CHF - 13 points in the points classification for each rider.
Yellow card.

Article 2.12.007-5.1: Irregular sprint (final sprint)
(172) BALLERINI Davide - XDS ASTANA TEAM - 10008661777
Fine of 500 CHF - 13 points in the points classification
Yellow card.

(77) VAN POPPEL Danny - RED BULL BORA HANSGROHE - 10006914969
Fine of 500 CHF - 13 points in the points classification and relegation to 36th place
Yellow card.

Article 2.12.007-8.3: Rider carelessly disposing of waste
(125) MEZGEC Luka - TEAM JAYCO ALULA - 10005560710
Fine of 500 CHF - 25 points in the UCI ranking
Fine of 500 CHF - 25 points at points classification

 

[Andre]

to me this Tour is already soured up now. The green jersey seemed like it was going to be the most interesting part of the race. I, personally care nothing about the polka dot jersey...and the yellow jersey was already decided months ago. With Jasper out whoever wins the green will not be a bona fide winner. It was shaping up to be a great race for the green with Jasper in there and a whole other bunch of great sprinters...bu now...fck it. Color me defused, for lack of a better term.

 

[Izzyeviel]

The biggest argument against sprint stages should be that on a typical GT stage, everyone can get the same time. GT's are supposed to be hard. That's literally the point.

 

[Red Rick]

Tbh most of these incidents can also simply happen on sprint stages with some moderate difficulties in them, it's not really only that it happens because they went 35 kph all day and climbed two speed bumps max.