Joy for Merlier and Soudal-Quick Step after chaotic stage 3 win, but: "We’re still aiming for a good GC with Remco"

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deuninck) went down hard during the intermediate sprint and had to abandon the race. This meant that the Tour lost the wearer of the green jersey, and there were more crashes later in the stage. Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) crashed hard, while Arnaud De Lie (Lotto) also crashed in the final few hundred meters. Merlier had to tackle the chaotic sprint all by himself, but still managed to win.

“It was a tough battle,” the Belgian from Soudal Quick-Step said after the race. “It was really a struggle to get into position. I lost Bert (Vanlerberghe, ed.) before the last corner. Then, the real chaos began. It was tough to find the right position.”

“I think I fought my way back from far behind in the last two kilometers,” Merlier continued. “I was in the wind the whole time. It wasn't until 500 meters to go that I found a slipstream again. I know it's always difficult to beat Jonathan Milan, but I'm happy to have secured my second victory in the Tour de France today.”

It was close, but the Soudal Quick-Step Belgian quickly flung his hands in the air. "I was sure at first, but the moment you raise your hands in the air... Then I wasn't so sure anymore. So I had to wait until it was made official," said the stage winner.

In the end, it was anything but an easy sprint. “Sprinting into a headwind is always very difficult. No team can stay in line, so you can always come back. You lose a lot of energy trying to stay in position. I know that when I'm in position, I can do it. So that's what I was focusing on,” said the Belgian with a calm tone.

The victory is very welcome for Merlier, who saw his chance for the yellow jersey vanish on Saturday. “I came here to win a stage. Of course, the yellow jersey was a goal, but I'm happy to win a stage here,” concluded the Belgian.

Lead-out rider Van Lerberghe was also delighted after the race. ‘I'm very happy. We did it, but it was very hectic. We were well-positioned going into the last corner, but I didn't know if he was on my wheel. He wasn't with us. I heard it was a close sprint in the end,’ he told Sporza.

“We lost each other a few times,” Van Lerberghe continued. “In the end, he proved that he is very fast. I think we still have three or four sprints to go, and I'm excited about the upcoming sprints,” said the Belgian, who also spoke about the victims of the day. “It's unfortunate that Jasper (Philipsen, ed.) crashed.”

That happened during the intermediate sprint. “Fortunately, we weren't involved. Those intermediate sprints come after difficult climbs and are not a goal in themselves. We hope for a good GC with Remco,” said Van Lerbeghe about his teammate, who also crashed on Monday.