Green jersey wearer Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) is out of the Tour de France after crashing heavily at the intermediate sprint on stage 3. His team confirmed in a medical update that he has fractured his right collarbone and that it will require surgery to correct once he is transferred to the hospital in Herentals, Belgium.
"Displaced fracture of the right collarbone, surgery will definitely be required. At least one broken rib, possibly two. He will be as soon as possible transferred to the hospital in Herentals, where he will undergo surgery. We wish Jasper all the best!" Alpecin-Deceuninck stated.
Rival sprinter Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) and Intermarché-Wanty lead-out man Laurenz Rex bumped in front of Philipsen as they accelerated for the intermediate sprint with 60km to race. Philipsen had nowhere to go and landed on his shoulder at close to 60 kph.
Latest Videos From
He got up with his green skinsuit heavily ripped, and race doctors treated him at the roadside, but it was clear he would not be able to ride on in the Tour de France. Doctors put his right arm in a sling.
The crash ended Alpecin-Deceuninck's dream weekend at the 2025 Tour. Philipsen won stage 1 and pulled on the yellow jersey, then Mathieu van der Poel won stage 2 and took the yellow jersey.
"Joy and sorry so close together," the team said on social media when confirming the Belgian's abandon.
While Philipsen went down heavily, Rex and Coquard were able to stay up, though the Frenchman had to unclip his foot from the pedal to keep from going down.
In the aftermath, one of Philipsen's teammates was seen angrily gesticulating and shouting at Coquard. The Alpecin rider appeared to place a hand on Coquard during the interaction.
With Van der Poel in green, several of Philipsen's teammates carried on to stay with the yellow jersey, though two did stop with the Belgian before riding on, as he was seen by race doctors.
Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) won the intermediate sprint, though the group fighting for the line slowed down after Philipsen crashed.
The knock-on effect of the crash also saw other riders swerve off the road, including one Movistar rider veering into a ditch, but no one went down with Philipsen, or as heavily as him.
Philipsen's abandon saw Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) move into the virtual green jersey, though Milan later took over the points lead with a second place behind Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) at the finish in Dunkerque.
Fractures for Philipsen
Alpecin-Deceuninck co-manager Philip Roodhooft initially said that the team feared Philipsen had suffered a fractured shoulder in the fall, although the diagnosis had yet to be confirmed when he spoke to Cyclingnews and other media while the stage was still ongoing.
"We can't say a lot already, but at this moment, he just arrived in the hospital. Our doctor and assistant director are there. It's not very clear if the collarbone or shoulder is broken or not. That's what we fear. Apparently, there's no concussion so far, but we still have to wait for the outcome," Roodhooft said.
The team, however, later confirmed Philipsen's injuries to include a broken right collarbone and possibly two broken ribs.
Roodhooft was careful not to assign any blame for the fall, instead calling it a "stupid crash" and also saying that right now is not the time to plan for the future, with Philipsen still in the hospital.
"Jasper is the victim of something he's totally not involved in, that's clear. To be honest, the two others who collided, I think it's not about blaming. It's just a stupid crash. Things can happen, and the consequences for us as a team, but mainly for Jasper, are very bad, but what can you say? Bad things happen sometimes.
"Jasper is still there in the hospital with his probable broken shoulder, his clothes torn, his back is – how do you say it? Burnt? Literally. So we shouldn't talk about how we continue. Of course, we know we have to continue. We will, and Jasper will want us to, but at the moment, it's just not right to talk about that."
Roodhooft also spoke philosophically about racing and the nature of crashes at the Tour, with time trial favourite Filippo Ganna having crashed out on stage 1. He said that you have to "enjoy the moment" with his team having won the opening two stages, knowing "how fast things can turn", as was proved at that ill-fated intermediate sprint.
"I think everybody who saw it happening feels very bad about it. What can you say? It impacts us," Roodhooft said. "And when you see it happening elsewhere, like with Ganna on Saturday, you also see it and say, 'Oh, bad luck for them,' and you move on. Of course, when it happens to you, you live it differently.
"It's probably a metaphor. Everything is unpredictable. Enjoy the moment. You see how fast things can turn. But it's not something you don't know upfront. Now we're in the middle of it, and we deal with it."
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.
