Tim Merlier stays upright and wins bunch sprint after photo finish ahead of Milan, Philipsen crashes and abandons Tour

The flattest stage on paper, covering more than 178 kilometers, headed towards the coast of Dunkirk. There was only one categorized climb along the way: the Mont Cassel. The peloton is familiar with this climb, especially Benjamin Thomas and Mattéo Vercher, the duo who crashed on this cobbled climb in the battle for the mountain points in the first stage.

After a six-kilometer neutralization, it was time to wait for the first attack. It came after some hesitation: Jonas Rickaert (Alpecin-Deceunink) gained a small lead. Was it a serious attack? That was not clear at the time. Shortly after the Belgian was joined by Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Victorious), Philipsen's lead-out kept his legs still and returned to the peloton. Mohoric also realized that he would fail on his own and waited for his colleagues to catch up.

Things would remain ‘restless’ in the peloton for a while. Restless in quotation marks because there was no real nervousness. It was more a case of playfulness. A few riders jumped out of the peloton with smiles on their faces. Feeling bored? Undoubtedly. The average speed in the first two hours of the race was below 38 kilometers per hour. For GC leader Van der Poel, it was time to pull out his bag of tricks with a bunny hop.

Meanwhile, the rain jackets disappeared as the rain gave way to sunshine. With 82 kilometers to go, the first teams began to make their move at the front. The entire width of the road was occupied by several teams, all wanting to ride at the front with their train.

This was all in preparation for the intermediate sprint, which was 60 kilometers from the finish line in Isbergues. That's where it all went wrong for Jasper Philipsen. The Belgian rider from Alpecin-Deceuninck was unable to avoid Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) at full speed, who in turn collided with Laurenz Rex (Intermarché-Wanty). As a result, Philipsen hit the ground very hard and was forced to abandon the race. Philipsen was taken away in an ambulance with serious injuries.

After Philipsen's crash and his withdrawal, things settled down in the peloton. A few kilometers later, Tim Wellens asked his fellow riders if he could attack in pursuit of the only mountain point of this stage. The brand-new Belgian champion rode solo over the cobblestones of Mont Cassel, taking the mountain jersey from his UAE Emirates-XRG teammate Tadej Pogacar. After three stages, the two are tied on points. Immediately after his breakaway attempt, Wellens slowed down and was caught by the peloton.

The trains immediately began to form. Remco Evenepoel, in particular, was kept well at the front by his Soudal Quick-Step team. Right behind the Belgian team's leader was Tim Merlier. In the so-called sprint zone, the last five kilometers, Evenepoel dropped back. Then, the road got narrower, with Lotto leading the peloton.

A crash occurred in the last two kilometers: Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) appeared to be the most severely affected, with Evenepoel also involved. Lidl-Trek increased the speed in the final kilometer but failed to roll out the red carpet for Milan. Picnic PostNL took over, with Milan in third place. The Italian then started his sprint but saw Merlier come up alongside him, after which a photo finish had to decide the winner. Merlier emerged victorious, with Milan in second place.