Merlier celebrates stage 3 Tour de France victory but rules out green jersey

Tim Merlier wins stage 3 at the Tour de France
Tim Merlier wins stage 3 at the Tour de France (Image credit: Getty Images)

A day after their remarkable victory with Mathieu van der Poel in the Tour de France, Alpecin-Fenix showed no sign of easing up on Monday as Tim Merlier secured their second stage win in 24 hours. Van der Poel both led out his teammate and then crossed the line with the yellow jersey still securely in his own grasp.

To make matters even more impressive, Alpecin-Fenix collected the top two places on stage 3, the top spot thanks to Merlier and teammate Jasper Philipsen, the German team’s third alternative for a bunch sprint, in second.

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Alasdair Fotheringham

Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews, he has also written for The IndependentThe GuardianProCycling, The Express and Reuters.