Which GC riders lost time on stage 3 of the 2021 Tour de France

Stage 3 of the Tour de France brought another day of carnage to the peloton as multiple crashes ruined the final run to the line in Pontivy. With it came sizeable time losses for multiple general classification contenders, with some challenges possibly already over before any of the major showdowns of the race.

In the end, only Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) and Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep) managed to finish among the front group with stage winner Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix).

Race favourite Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) suffered the biggest blow, falling from fourth to 20th in the standings after losing 1:21 at the finish. The Slovenian crashed nine kilometres from the line, shredding his jersey and shorts after touching Sonny Colbrelli's wheel in the peloton.

Despite a furious chase with several of his teammates – including a bloodied Steven Kruijswijk – he was unable to make it back to the peloton. The crash was more bad news in addition to the earlier loss of Robert Gesink, who abandoned after a fall.

A slew of GC men finished in the second group on the road, crossing the line 14 seconds down on the leaders. Enric Mas (Movistar), Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo), Jakob Fuglsang (Astana-Premier Tech), Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic), Wilco Kelderman (Bora-Hansgrohe), and Pierre Latour (Team TotalEnergies) all managed to limit their losses.

The next group on the road, 26 seconds down, was led home by Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), who was held up by a crash in the peloton four kilometres from the line.

He was joined in losing 26 seconds by EF-Nippo pair Sergio Higuita and Rigoberto Urán, Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), the BikeExchange duo of Esteban Chaves and Lucas Hamilton, and Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citroën).

Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers), who dislocated his shoulder in the crash with Gesink, also finished in that same group at 26 seconds.

Movistar pairing Alejandro Valverde and Miguel Ángel López finished in the Roglič and Kruijswijk group, 1:21 down. Further back, Israel Start-Up Nation leaders Dan Martin and Michael Woods finished at 2:11, while Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) finished 2:46 down.

The stage was the end of the Tour of Bahrain Victorious rider Jack Haig, meanwhile, after he abandoned having been involved in one of the crashes in the final kilometres.

Check below for the updated overall standings featuring the major GC contenders.