'We're here to race, to try to win' - Soudal-QuickStep endure day of contrasting emotions at the Tour de France

The third stage of the Tour de France was a day of highly contrasting emotions for Soudal-QuickStep as Tim Merlier won the sprint, but Remco Evenepoel was caught up in a crash with three kilometres to go on the roads into Dunkerque.

In addition, the Belgian team was forced to go on the defensive after reports of Evenepoel's possible move to Red Bull or Ineos emerged with new details.

The riders and team staff celebrated with hugs and high-fives at the team bus as Merlier stood on the winner's podium. Earlier, Evenepoel stopped to hug Merlier as he rode to the podium. The Belgian team has now won at least one stage at the last 13 editions of the Grande Boucle.

However, there was also a sense of concern when Evenepoel eventually arrived at the team bus.

He finished 158th on the stage and several minutes down, crossing the line with teammates Ilan Van Wilder and Valentin Paret-Peintre. The crash happened within five kilometres of the finish, and so Evenepoel, like every other affected rider, was given the same time as Merlier.

He remains 21st overall, 49 seconds down on race leader Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and so 45 seconds down on GC rivals Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates).

Cyclingnews observed that Evenepoel had road rash on his right arm when he arrived at the team bus, with his shorts torn under one leg and on his back, likely due to an impact with his race radio.

When Evenepoel arrived at the team bus, he tried to enter quickly via the front door and was frustrated when the door failed to open. He did not respond to team manager Jurgen Foré, who reached out to shake hands, and instead, he walked to the rear door of the bus. Fans called out his name, but it was not the moment for autographs or selfies.

Evenepoel's gold time trial bike was in position for a possible warm-down, but after a few minutes, the bike was removed, and the team informed the waiting media scrum that Evenepoel would not speak post-race.

"He seems OK," directeur sportif Tom Steels explained.

"Crashing is never good because at the Tour, you don't get time to recover. Hopefully, it won't be too bad.

"It was an annoying fall. Someone panicked, slammed on the brakes, and Remco was there."

Foré faced questions about the importance of Merlier's success for Soudal-QuickStep, about Evenepoel's crash and the reports that Evenepoel has begun talks with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and that Ineos Grenadiers are also interested in signing him.

Evenepoel's contract with Soudal-QuickStep ends in 2026, but he could try to buy himself out of his current contract to pursue his Tour de France GC dreams elsewhere.

Flemish newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws suggested any transfer talks have been put 'on hold' during the Tour de France so that Evenepoel can focus on performing as well as possible for Soudal-QuickStep.

Foré was keen to close down any transfer talk during the Tour de France.

"For me, there's no news. It's just recycling what has been around for four years, two years or two months. We are focused on racing, and Remco is focused on racing, and so we race," the Belgian team manager claimed, glossing over the new aspects of the reporting.

Foré suggested that he would sit down for talks with Evenepoel and his father, who acts as his agent after the Tour de France.

"There are times to talk about the future, and when there is a time, we will sit down and we will do that, but now we’re here to race, to try to win in the Tour de France," Foré said.

"It will not affect anyone, because we are used to it, everybody is used to it. We knew up front that this again could be the case, and it is what it is."

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