Mathieu van der Poel explains why he deliberately took it easy in the final sprint of stage 3 after Jasper Philipsen's crash

“It's definitely not a good day; all my thoughts are with Jasper,” the Dutchman said during his flash interview as the wearer of the yellow jersey. “It's very sad to lose him for the rest of the Tour de France. Our ambition was to win the green jersey with him, so this is not a good day.”

What now? "I think Kaden Groves will be the team's designated sprinter. He has also shown in the past that he can win. Now, it was a bit difficult to refocus after what happened, but we will pick it up in the coming days and fight for victories with Kaden," said Van der Poel, who provided more details during the press conference in Dunkirk.

Mathieu, you probably already said this in the mixed zone, but how do you feel after Jasper's crash?
"It's a huge setback. Winning stages and the green jersey with Jasper was one of our big goals, so this is not our best day."

There were also several crashes in the last kilometer. Was that due to the route or the riders' nervousness?
"There were indeed a lot of crashes. In my opinion, the headwind was to blame. All the riders were still pretty fresh, and many of them saw opportunities to go for the stage win. With the headwind, it's easier to come from behind, which makes it more dangerous."

Did you feel the madness in the peloton?
"That's why I stayed a bit behind. And constantly on the side of the group, because you could just feel that it was hectic. So I'm thrilled that I stayed upright."

It may be a bit early, but do you now have a plan to go for the green jersey?
“It will be difficult because I've already lost some opportunities and didn't participate in the intermediate sprints and such. We're mainly going for stages with Kaden and me. We already tried that in this stage, but after Jasper's crash, we struggled to regain our focus and weren't sharp enough. But we're definitely going to try again.”

Can you switch gears for the next stage?
"I'll need a good night's sleep, but for now, it's just sad that we don't have Jasper with us anymore. He was one of the reasons we were here, to go for stages. I don't know exactly how he is, but hopefully, the damage isn't too bad.

We have to switch gears, but it's unfortunate that we no longer have him with us, both on and off the bike. He always makes us laugh at the dinner table, and he's a good friend, but right now, it's even harder for him than it is for us."

What do you expect for stage four?
"It looks like it's going to be a pretty tough stage, so I hope I have good legs to fight for the win and defend my yellow jersey."