Tour de France 2021 – Tim Merlier wins Stage 3, crashes galore in 'one of most chaotic days ever'

ByTom Owen

Updated 28/06/2021 at 17:29 GMT

“One of the most chaotic days we have ever seen at the Tour de France,” said Rob Hatch on Eurosport commentary. He wasn’t wrong. Geraint Thomas, Primoz Roglic and Caleb Ewan were among those to hit the deck – in separate incidents – as the 2021 Tour de France continued to throw up drama.

A day of carnage at the Tour de France concluded with Tim Merlier (Alpecin–Fenix) taking victory on Stage 3 and a worrying crash involving Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) and Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe).

Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) kicked off the drama when he dislocated his shoulder in a crash with 145 kilometres remaining – an incident that saw Robert Gesink (Jumbo-Visma) abandon the race entirely.

The Welshman was guided back into the peloton by teammates Luke Rowe and Dylan van Baarle, after having his shoulder popped back in, before the race settled down. Briefly.

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'Does not look good' – Thomas dislocates shoulder in nasty crash on Stage 3

General classification hopeful Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) hit the deck with 10 kilometres remaining to spark a frantic chase – and impromptu team time trial – before Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) was among those caught up in another incident down the road. Roglic finished the stage over a minute down, putting him 20th on GC at 1'35".

And just when the action looked over, Ewan and Sagan collided metres from the line as Merlier swept to a victory on a day that will be remembered for what happened elsewhere.

'This is a disaster' – Roglic crashes late on Stage 3, Jumbo-Visma launch rescue mission

It was labelled “one of the most chaotic days we have ever seen at the Tour de France” by Rob Hatch on Eurosport commentary. It was hard to disagree.

Ewan's teammate Thomas De Gendt gave a doomy pronouncement to Eurosport post-stage, saying: "I think his collarbone is broken and it's finished." And the bad news was later confirmed by their team's Twitter account.

Another rider whose Tour de France looks like it is over is Jack Haig (Bahrain-Victorious). The Australian rider was the main victim of the incident that waylaid Pogacar and is listed as a DNF in the official results.

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