Stage 3 of the 2025 Tour de France was never likely to stir an upset in the general classification, promising a mass sprint in Dunkerque.
Yellow jersey Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) entered the stage with a four-second advantage over returning champion Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG), in turn two seconds ahead of Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike).
That podium remains intact, despite a crash-marred finale where Tim Merlier (Soudal–QuickStep) outsprinted Jonathan Milan (Lidl–Trek) for the stage win, with the dramatic exit of Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) from the race affecting the shape of the wider top 10.
The 5km rule means that despite several GC contenders coming down in crashes in the finale, their overall time in the race remains unchanged.
Post-stage, Van der Poel still leads the 2025 general classification, with the major GC favourites Pogačar and Vingegaard at a gap of four seconds and six seconds respectively, and capable of holding spots on the podium all the way to Paris.
Fourth is Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) tied on time with fifth-placed Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) and sixth-placed Enric Mas (Movistar Team).
Having entered the stage in seventh place, Philipsen's abandon after his crash with 60km remaining sees him disappear from the top 10, meaning Joe Blackmore (Israel-Premier Tech) moves into seventh place at a gap of 41 seconds to Van der Poel. He shares that time with eighth-place Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) and ninth-place Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla).
Rounding out the top 10 at a gap of 49 seconds is EF Education–EasyPost's Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost).
Tuesday's stage 4 takes us into puncheur territory in the low hills of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, where we may see a disruption in the narrow gaps at the top of the race.
The Tour de France is the biggest race in cycling, and a Cyclingnews subscription offers you unlimited access to our unrivalled coverage. Get all the breaking news and analysis from our team on the ground in France, plus the latest pro tech, live race reports, and a daily subscriber-only newsletter with exclusive insight into the action. Find out more.
Here's a rundown of all the ongoing competitions at the Tour de France.
Yellow Jersey/Maillot Jaune – The yellow jersey is worn by the overall race leader on the general classification who has completed the stages so far in the lowest accumulated time.
Green Jersey – The green jersey is the points classification. Riders accrue points at one of the two intermediate sprints during stages and also at stage finishes, and the man with the most points leads the ranking.
Polka Dot Jersey – The red and white polka dot jersey is the mountain classification. Points are handed out to the first riders over certain hills and climbs during the Tour de France, with the hardest mountains giving the most points. Once again, the man with the most points leads the ranking.
White jersey – The white jersey is the best young rider classification. It works the same way as the yellow jersey, but only riders aged 25 or under are eligible to win.
Cyclingnews is the world's leader in English-language coverage of professional cycling. Started in 1995 by University of Newcastle professor Bill Mitchell, the site was one of the first to provide breaking news and results over the internet in English. The site was purchased by Knapp Communications in 1999, and owner Gerard Knapp built it into the definitive voice of pro cycling. Since then, major publishing house Future PLC has owned the site and expanded it to include top features, news, results, photos and tech reporting. The site continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative English voice in professional cycling.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
